Our meteorologists agree that conditions look favorable for the rocket launch on Wednesday. But what are the chances of seeing it from the Tampa Bay area?

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The first crewed moon mission in more than 50 years could launch as soon as Wednesday evening from Florida’s Space Coast.

Because so many specific conditions must be met, the Artemis II launch plans remain flexible. But our 10 Tampa Bay News meteorologists agree that conditions look favorable for the first launch window, which opens at 6:24 p.m. on April 1.

As of Tuesday, there’s an 80% chance of liftoff for Wednesday evening.

Cape Canaveral could see gusty winds, increased cloud coverage and the chance of isolated showers in the morning, but it looks like those showers will shift over to the Tampa Bay area for the afternoon and evening. 

So while weather likely won’t interfere with the launch, cloudy conditions could make it difficult for us to catch a glimpse of the rocket from the Tampa Bay region.

NASA released a visibility range chart for the Artemis II launch, which shows that here in Tampa, St. Pete, Clearwater and Sarasota, we should be able to see the rocket about 40 seconds after liftoff if skies are clear — which they aren’t expected to be.

If you want to get a better view, you could take a drive to the Lake Wales, St. Cloud or Orlando areas, where clouds should be clear by launch time.

Can you see our Moon rocket lift off from your backyard?

Skywatchers in Florida and southern Georgia will have a shot. Check out this map to see when you should look up! Artemis II is targeted to launch no earlier than April 1. pic.twitter.com/3WsJlEVufK

— NASA (@NASA) March 31, 2026

The good news is, our crews will be at Kennedy Space Center giving you a front-row seat to the Artemis II launch on the free 10 Tampa Bay News streaming app.

Anchor Dave Wagner will be live from the launch site and take you behind the scenes with a retired NASA astronaut to explain why this mission matters so much and why this crew will be flying around the moon, not landing on it.


What time will Artemis II launch?

There are a series of potential launch times in April for the Artemis II mission:

April 1: 6:24 p.m. – 8:24 p.m. ETApril 2: 7:22 p.m. – 9:22 p.m. ETApril 3: 8:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m. ETApril 4: 8:53 p.m. – 10:53 p.m. ETApril 5: 9:40 p.m. – 11:40 p.m. ETApril 6: 10:36 p.m. – 12:36 a.m. ETApril 30: 6:06 p.m. – 8:06 p.m. ET

TEGNA Digital and the Associated Press contributed to this report.