Toulouse, Rome and Athens to enjoy best views of Lyrid meteor shower

The Lyrid meteor shower is the first to occur since January and many major European cities can expect an unobstructed view of the sky on Saturday night.

"Due to when this meteor shower is set to peak, the best viewing was on Friday night in the United States," AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist and Astronomy Blogger Dave Samuhel said.

"However, in Europe and Asia, the meteor shower will be better on Saturday night."

With a crescent moon set to rise during the early morning hours, there will be little celestial light to interfere with the meteor shower. It will be better to observe during the evening than later at night, according to Samuhel.

If possible, those wishing to witness the predicted 10-20 meteors per hour should view the event far from areas of potent light pollution, such as cities or active stadiums.

Residents and visitors in France, Portugal, Italy and Greece can expect very few clouds to interrupt the overnight spectacle. Patchy clouds will cross southern Sweden, Norway and the Baltics, but conditions will still be good.

“The best viewing conditions will be from central France into Italy and the southern Balkans with high pressure in control of the weather,” said AccuWeather Meteorologist Brett Rathbun.

The meteor shower’s namesake stems from the fact that the streaks will seem to originate from the constellation Lyra.

As this constellation rises in the northeast during the evening, meteors will become brighter and more frequent.

“It would be best to face toward the northern half of the sky with the moon at your back,” according to the American Meteor Society.

“This will allow you to see the fainter Lyrids, which will be more numerous than the bright ones.“

“Those from northern Germany into Ukraine will face clouds and showers on Saturday evening,” said Rathbun.

Areas from the English Channel to the Baltic Sea shouldn’t expect an expansive view of the stars, though brief clearings in the clouds will allow for intermittent peeks of the night sky.

“Clouds may break for a time for the meteor shower to be viewed in London, Berlin and Warsaw, Poland,” said Rathbun.

Unfortunately for those throughout the Alps, northern Carpathian Mountains and the majority of Ukraine, a cold front will stir up enough clouds to shroud the skies throughout the night.

An area of unsettled weather will lead to limited views of the sky in Madrid and the rest of the Meseta Central in Spain.

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