Wet weather across Michiana and an upcoming solar eclipse

SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- A warm front is moving northward as a center of low pressure moves in from the west into our area.

Not only does the front drive temperatures into more seasonable values, but it also produces light showers along its boundary due to the front lifting air above it.

Although warm fronts don't lift air as substantially as cold fronts do, with enough moisture and instability warm fronts can produce rain and seemingly permeant overcast skies for a period of time.

The front will eventually stall out over Michiana due to lack of consistent cold air movement and turn into a stationary front, hovering in a west to east orientation.

Stationary fronts often are responsible for the production of increased rain and wind, both of which will be prevalent heading into this weekend.

While it's raining in Michiana, other parts of the U.S. are gearing up for the first annular eclipse since 2014.

On Saturday, October 12, the western half of the United States will watch as the moon blocks out a portion of our sun.

There are four main types of eclipses, but the two most known are total and annular eclipses.

Total eclipses, as the name implies, are when the moon appears at or bigger than the size of the sun as it crosses between the two celestial bodies, completely blocking out the sunlight and creating a path of totality on Earth.

Total eclipses happen when the moon is at perigee, or its closest point to earth during its elliptical orbit.

Annular solar eclipses occur when the moon crosses between the sun and the earth in its farthest point away from our planet in its orbit, also known as the apogee.

Annular eclipses trigger what many know as a "ring of fire" in the sky as the moon is too far away to block out all the sunlight.

For any solar eclipse, make sure you wear specialized glasses designed to watch eclipses so that you do not get into an unwinnable staring match with the sun.