The August 21, 2017 Great American Eclipse

[Hoosier]

14 minutes ago, ice1972 said:

Final preps under way.....leave for Tewksbury MA tomorrow afternoon to stay with sister and she'll take me in to Logan early Sunday......nervous AF

You doing Nebraska?

[ice1972]

4 minutes ago, Hoosier said:

You doing Nebraska?

Ya.....cancelled hotels in Quincy IL and Louisville KY.....Missouri looked awful and I really didn't want to contend with southeast traffic.....I've got an ambitious/aggressive schedule that has fail written all over it but it won't be dull and will be an all time great tale.....wishing everybody the best of luck and looking forward to all the posts.....I'll post to if I have cell in BF Nebraska....lol

[Hoosier]

5 minutes ago, ice1972 said:

Ya.....cancelled hotels in Quincy IL and Louisville KY.....Missouri looked awful and I really didn't want to contend with southeast traffic.....I've got an ambitious/aggressive schedule that has fail written all over it but it won't be dull and will be an all time great tale.....wishing everybody the best of luck and looking forward to all the posts.....I'll post to if I have cell in BF Nebraska....lol

Good luck.  I am going to try to be as far east in Missouri as possible but if that doesn't look promising, then I should be flexible enough to get into southern IL or western KY.  Just gonna try to stay away from Carbondale lol.  I have abandoned any notion of trying to make the entire drive on Monday morning... that is just another stressor and I'd be kicking myself big time if traffic did me in.

[ice1972]

40 minutes ago, Hoosier said:

Good luck.  I am going to try to be as far east in Missouri as possible but if that doesn't look promising, then I should be flexible enough to get into southern IL or western KY.  Just gonna try to stay away from Carbondale lol.  I have abandoned any notion of trying to make the entire drive on Monday morning... that is just another stressor and I'd be kicking myself big time if traffic did me in.

Ya good luck man...you going towards De Soto? Right on center line.....if you have to bail on that would you try to blow through IL and set up in KY?  I just think the southern IL situation is gonna be crazy....good luck

[Hoosier]

7 minutes ago, ice1972 said:

Ya good luck man...you going towards De Soto? Right on center line.....if you have to bail on that would you try to blow through IL and set up in KY?  I just think the southern IL situation is gonna be crazy....good luck

Even farther east... like Sainte Genevieve. It's basically on the Illinois border and if I'm trying to outrun clouds moving in from the west, then I may try to get farther away and head for KY.

[winterymix]

7 hours ago, Hoosier said:

  I am going to try to be as far east in Missouri as possible but if that doesn't look promising, then I should be flexible enough to get into southern IL or western KY.

Looking like the correct play for now.

[weathafella]

I'm surprisingly calm.   Plan to pack my little bag tonight.  Usually first thing in is socks and undies but this a time it's my eclipse glasses.  Pick up the car at BNA, check in to the hotel-maybe take a practice run up to Gallatin and come back for dinner.  Monday AM up early-coffee and up to gallatin to park, maybe breakfast, setup my position-everything contingent on the forecast being right...lol.

[ice1972]

Flight leaves early tomorrow out of Logan.....pick up car at MSN then drive to Omaha.....will assess forecast early Monday morning it target is still central NE NW of Grand Island......I hope that's NW enough - I don't want to keep going west.....puts me further from hotel room in Iowa City.....lol these travel plans....

[wackymann]

Staying in Belleville tonight, driving to Nashville early Sunday morning...  not sure where we will watch the eclipse, but our hotel is in Hendersonville.  Worst case we just watch from there...

[winterymix]

1 hour ago, weathafella said:

I'm surprisingly calm.   Plan to pack my little bag tonight.  Usually first thing in is socks and undies but this a time it's my eclipse glasses.  Pick up the car at BNA, check in to the hotel-maybe take a practice run up to Gallatin and come back for dinner.  Monday AM up early-coffee and up to gallatin to park, maybe breakfast, setup my position-everything contingent on the forecast being right...lol.

 

24 minutes ago, ice1972 said:

Flight leaves early tomorrow out of Logan.....pick up car at MSN then drive to Omaha.....will assess forecast early Monday morning it target is still central NE NW of Grand Island......I hope that's NW enough - I don't want to keep going west.....puts me further from hotel room in Iowa City.....lol these travel plans....

Guys, the GFS is trending cloudier with each run.

I've attached cloudiness and 850.     Jerry, I have no clue as to how you picked north-west-central TN but it looks to be a

nice [partly cloudy] choice  based on the current numerical guidance.    STL  AFD:

Quote

the thought at this time is the best eclipse viewing
still appears to be in southern IL which should be farthest away
from any clouds and storms.

[ice1972]

18 minutes ago, winterymix said:

 

Guys, the GFS is trending cloudier with each run.

I've attached cloudiness and 850.     Jerry, I have no clue as to how you picked north-west-central TN but it looks to be a

nice [partly cloudy] choice  based on the current numerical guidance.

Anybody believe that's what it's gonna be like in Casper?  Lol.....I hate that cloud cover map

[ice1972]

Also the almost new moon is passing by the sun now .....I tried to find the sliver by couldnt

[ice1972]

43 minutes ago, winterymix said:

 

Guys, the GFS is trending cloudier with each run.

I've attached cloudiness and 850.     Jerry, I have no clue as to how you picked north-west-central TN but it looks to be a

nice [partly cloudy] choice  based on the current numerical guidance.

Oh wait I got the shading backwards.....IDK....NE down into MO looks fine.....it doesn't have to be 100% clear.....you just need 2.5 min of clear.....the sun is like 0.02% of the sky.....final assessment SundH night....good luck everybody 

[ice1972]

So of AMWX members will I be the furthest west?  First to put eyes on this beauty?

[winterymix]

kill-I     kill-I   kill-I

 

 

[Hoosier]

You can get these on regional views at TT

[Hoosier]

6 minutes ago, ice1972 said:

So of AMWX members will I be the furthest west?  First to put eyes on this beauty?

I thought I saw somebody in one of the forums saying they will be in Oregon.  But you'll at least be one of the first.  Incredible to think of how fast the shadow travels...

[Hoosier]

I'm gonna have some degree of nervousness until I am viewing it.  This isn't like missing a big snow where there's always some hope that the next one may come soon.  We know we're not getting another shot at this for almost 7 years (at least in this country).

[ice1972]

8 minutes ago, Hoosier said:

I'm gonna have some degree of nervousness until I am viewing it.  This isn't like missing a big snow where there's always some hope that the next one may come soon.  We know we're not getting another shot at this for almost 7 years (at least in this country).

I go between second guessing my target and accepting that I should just enjoy the whole trip and the eclipse whatever the conditions....it's the only eclipse you got 

[weathafella]

I don't know Richard....being under a 594 dm ridge tends to be a good thing cloud and qpf wise if you want less of each.

[ice1972]

Really nervous about traffic in and out of these little 2,600 pop towns in NE.....anywhere really in the path.....probably will leave at like 2am or 3am from Omaha....love spending $130 for 6 hrs sleep lol

[Hoosier]

17 minutes ago, weathafella said:

I don't know Richard....being under a 594 dm ridge tends to be a good thing cloud and qpf wise if you want less of each.

I'd def be feeling more confident around BNA.

[wxsniss]

Not sure how these cloud prediction algorithms are done... weather.us and pivotalweather GFS trended cloudier for BNA area, entirely high clouds, though ridge placement looks about the same as the best run 0z Fri for GFS + Euro. Kohx sounded optimistic this morning, scattered ci + diurnal cu.

I think we are in good vs. great territory. We'll take it and hope it trends even better in next day!

 

 

[TellicoWx]

A friend in Richmond said traffic is already horrible, took them 4hrs to go 5 miles...looks like the "Great Migration" has begun lol

[wxsniss]

3 hours ago, weathafella said:

I'm surprisingly calm.   Plan to pack my little bag tonight.  Usually first thing in is socks and undies but this a time it's my eclipse glasses.  Pick up the car at BNA, check in to the hotel-maybe take a practice run up to Gallatin and come back for dinner.  Monday AM up early-coffee and up to gallatin to park, maybe breakfast, setup my position-everything contingent on the forecast being right...lol.

Key word might be "surprisingly" lol... I'm quite giddy. I'll PM you my cellphone #.

Packing includes hardcopy road maps assuming cellular service will be inundated.

Picking up rental at BNA, have to also pick up my brother, then we will head to motel in downtown Nashville. Not sure we will trial run to Gallatin though I'd definitely do that if I were alone. Monday AM early wakeup, plan to leave for Gallatin by 9-9:30am, and will adjust earlier if crowds are obviously insane Sunday night.

Reminder for everyone to turn off cellphone service / texting etc so as not to get annoying distractions during eclipse.

My only plan is to video record ~ 10 min of event on my iphone. Nothing distracting, no practice needed, no messing around with camera settings. Otherwise just taking in every second of the experience.

[winterymix]

1 hour ago, weathafella said:

I don't know Richard....being under a 594 dm ridge tends to be a good thing cloud and qpf wise if you want less of each.

Jerry, I guess so.   It seems that having a stew of very weak steering current in the lower mid-West leads to a ton of non-specific

clouds, some of which are debris from decaying thunderstorm clusters.

[ice1972]

10 minutes ago, wxsniss said:

Key word might be "surprisingly" lol... I'm quite giddy. I'll PM you my cellphone #.

Packing includes hardcopy road maps assuming cellular service will be inundated.

Picking up rental at BNA, have to also pick up my brother, then we will head to motel in downtown Nashville. Not sure we will trial run to Gallatin though I'd definitely do that if I were alone. Monday AM early wakeup, plan to leave for Gallatin by 9-9:30am, and will adjust earlier if crowds are obviously insane Sunday night.

Reminder for everyone to turn off cellphone service / texting etc so as not to get annoying distractions during eclipse.

My only plan is to video record ~ 10 min of event on my iphone. Nothing distracting, no practice needed, no messing around with camera settings. Otherwise just taking in every second of the experience.

All I want to get is a few shots of the 360 sunrise/sunset.....and a selfie with the black hole in the sky behind me.....other than that I will just take it in.....just finished packing....not checking baggage....I have downloaded detailed eclipse state maps and I downloaded the whole plains/upper Midwest section of the country to my iPad that I can use offline.....Google Maps.....it behaves just like it was online....I've packed a small umbrella for shade on the ground....a towel....lol

[WxBlue]

40 minutes ago, TellicoWx said:

A friend in Richmond said traffic is already horrible, took them 4hrs to go 5 miles...looks like the "Great Migration" has begun lol

Which is why I took I-81 from NH. Traffic haven't been horrible in Pennsylvania yet, but there's lot more northerners heading down comparing to southerners traveling northward for a nice week in New England.

[TellicoWx]

14 minutes ago, WxBlue said:

Which is why I took I-81 from NH. Traffic haven't been horrible in Pennsylvania yet, but there's lot more northerners heading down comparing to southerners traveling northward for a nice week in New England.

81 gets bad around Harrisonburg 

[wxsniss]

35 minutes ago, ice1972 said:

All I want to get is a few shots of the 360 sunrise/sunset.....and a selfie with the black hole in the sky behind me.....other than that I will just take it in.....just finished packing....not checking baggage....I have downloaded detailed eclipse state maps and I downloaded the whole plains/upper Midwest section of the country to my iPad that I can use offline.....Google Maps.....it behaves just like it was online....I've packed a small umbrella for shade on the ground....a towel....lol

Was thinking of photos with black hole in the sky behind... how will you angle your camera? The sun will be nearly overhead (vs. those shots you see with the eclipse near the horizon).