The chances of viewing a rare supermoon in the Netherlands on Monday evening are extremely slim and cloud is expected to cover most of the country at key times, weather forecasters say.

Supermoons occur when a full moon’s orbit brings it particularly close to earth. On Monday, this means the moon will appear to be larger and much brighter than it normally does.

Tonight is the closest the moon has been to earth since 1948 and the phenomenon will not happen again until 2034.

The best time to view the moon is when it is close to the horizon. The moon will rise in the east at around 5.30 pm on Monday evening and go down on Tuesday morning at 7.30 am.

The best chance of catching a glimpse of the moon is in Limburg where there could be some clear spells, weather forecasters say.