A fast-moving cold front bringing clouds and rain slowed the afternoon commute and viewing of a partial solar eclipse.

Clouds and rain around the front area reached Oahu this afternoon bringing heavy cloud cover and some rain. The front is expected to be followed by windy conditions. The National Weather Service posted a special weather statement warning of gusty north to northeast winds with locally strongl gusts, especially in areas downwind of mountain slopes.

The clouds interfered with people trying to glimpse a partial solar eclipse this afternoon as the moon passes between the Earth and sun.

In his monthly “Skywatch” column in the Star-Advertiser, Mike Shanahan, the director of visitor experience and planetarium at the Bishop Museum, said the eclipse was expected to start at 4:33 p.m., and peak at 5:37 p.m. with about 70 percent of the sun blocked by the moon. The eclipse was scheduled to end at 6:33 p.m., just a few minutes before sunset at 6:36 p.m.

Maureen Ballard, ameteorologist with the Honolulu office of the National Weather Service, said viewing of the eclipse was expected to be “spotty.”

There should be patches of clear sky behind the main front that will allow for some viewing of the eclipse, she said.

Shanahan also offers an important note of caution that it is not safe to view a partial solar eclipse directly. To protect your eyes, you should use safe viewing glasses.

The museum hosted a partial solar eclipse viewing event from 3 to 6:30 p.m. today. Volunteers from the Hawaiian Astronomical Society and the Institute for Astronomy set up large, safely filtered telescopes to provide views of the eclipse in progress.

The museum also featured a webcast of the eclipse from Micronesia, where it will be total, and eclipse planetarium shows, hourly from 3 to 6 p.m., exploring why eclipses occur and previewing both this eclipse and the “Great American Eclipse” of summer 2017.

The last partial solar eclipse in Hawaii was on May 9, 2013 and the next happens at dawn on Aug. 21, 2017, Shanahan notes.

The forecast for Honolulu and south shores of Oahu calls for a 50 percent chance of rain and winds shifting from the west to the north, blowing at 15 to 35 mph with gusts to 45 mph.

The front is moving quickly and any rains should pass by this evening, Ballard estimated.

The front should also push out the vog over Oahu.

Breezy tradewinds are likely to continue for the next several days.