Will I be able to see the ‘Blood Moon’ lunar eclipse in Central Virginia?

RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) -- Overnight Thursday, there will be a very special lunar eclipse with a red moon. Will Central Virginians be able to see it?

While virtually all of North America is in the visibility zone, Central Virginians woke up on Thursday, March 13, to rather cloudy conditions. It's these conditions that had us wondering if locals would actually be able to see the lunar eclipse.

StormTracker8 meteorologist Matt DiNardo said that the vast majority of Virginians should be in the clear.

The heavy clouds that were across Central Virginia for the majority of the day thinned out this afternoon and they should remain thin for most places along Interstate 95 and west Thursday night.

This will give us decent conditions to see the lunar eclipse, which will happen overnight Thursday and into the morning of Friday, March 14. The lunar eclipse will begin at 2:26 a.m. and end at 3:31 a.m., with totality around 2:56 a.m.

The only area of concern in the state will be along the immediate coastline of the Chesapeake Bay through Virginia Beach, where the clouds may be just too thick to see the lunar eclipse.

The name of the moon tonight is the Full Worm Blood Moon. The moon will appear reddish tonight as it passes in the shadow of the earth, which is where the term "blood moon" comes from.

The portion about the "worm moon" is because this is the time of year when earthworms begin to move in our ground as we start to prepare our soil for planting. And, of course, the "full" part comes from the phase of the moon, which is full.

Unlike a lunar eclipse, where you need some type of eyewear protection, you do not need that when looking at the moon. It is perfectly fine to look at the Full Worm Blood Moon with your eyes.