Astronomers say this week's annual Orionid meteor shower, which is scheduled to peak overnight Tuesday, will be one of the best in years. But for many Americans living along the Eastern Seaboard and in the Pacific Northwest, it will all be for nothing, as storms are expected to scatter clouds over much of the United States.

In the Midwest, South and Southwest, clear skies and a new moon will provide ideal viewing conditions for the barrage of shooting stars -- its peak is expected to begin Tuesday night and last into the wee hours of Wednesday morning. Though not as famous as August's Perseids, the Orionids have developed a reputation for exceeding expectations among astronomers and stargazers. Typically producing around 20 to 30 shooting stars per hour, the shower has doubled that output in recent years.

The meteor shower is made possible by Halley's Comet, the dust trail of which carries with it and deposits rocky, icy debris -- and which when collides with Earth's atmosphere creates a bright, burning streak in the night sky. Orionid meteors create a uniquely short streak because they hit the atmosphere at a much more direct angle than others.

Unfortunately, those unique streaks will be hidden by cloud cover in the Mid-Atlantic and in New England, as a midweek nor'easter spins rain and clouds across much of the region. Storms in the Pacific Northwest will also make star watching nearly impossible, as will the approach of a weather system in Florida.

For those blessed with clear skies, the best time to catch the shower will be between one and two in the morning on Wednesday. The meteors will appear above and around the constellation Orion, and will become increasingly visible as Orion rises higher above the horizon.

For stargazers cursed with weather, there's always the Internet. The astronomy-centric site Slooh, the first electronic telescope to offer "live" viewing via the web, will stream the shower.