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April 8 Great American Eclipse forecast


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39 minutes ago, Chargers09 said:

Way too early 

The precise weather conditions at the exact time of the eclipse for any specific location remain unknown this far out, but we're now close enough to April 8th to discuss large scale pattern trends as well as ensemble data, which is what FWD has been doing for the past several AFDs.

 

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From my location MO/IL/IN are my preferred eclipse targets. All are about tied for shortest distance for me. I have backup and tertiary rooms booked to cover Texas to Ohio.

I agree that we can discuss the broad wx pattern, even if it'll be several days before pinning down locations. We do not want a system like April 1-2. That sucker gets positively tilted with fronts parallel to the Totality path. We just can't have that April 8. 

Current models have the April 7-8 system neutral, but the risk is that changes. Sometimes these things trend to positive tilt. A negative tilt would be easiest to manage, with the main moisture feed perpendicular to the Totality path. WF could be a painful exception, but still probably not the whole path.

Trough orientation is all I care about right now. Neutral and negative could be managed by picking a better spot on the Path. Positive tilt could cause much longer drives, heartburn, and gnashing of teeth. I really don't even care about timing as much as tilt. Timing can be managed by changing location. A positive tilt could be heartbreaking. 

If one thinks it's too early, scroll on. We don't need another noise post (comment with no discussion) in an important thread. If anything, it's been time for a couple weeks now.
 
Finally, perhaps we get lucky and at least short-wave ridging covers large parts of the path. Ten days out the forecast has as good a chance of improving as otherwise. If TX-OH is socked in, at about the 5-day mark I'll hit the panic button and think about the Northeast US.

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NWS IND:
 

.CLIMATE...
Issued at 231 PM EDT Fri Mar 29 2024

The eclipse is now 10 days away, and we`re starting to pick up on a
few long range signals. At 10 days out, there is still a lot of
ambiguity and uncertainty in the forecast, but given a few
consistent signals, a few assertions can be made.

Let`s start off with the 2-4 day outlook and how it will impact
April 8th. As mentioned previously, a deep trough is developing over
the Eastern Pacific, and will pass through the Midwest early next
week. The associated low pressure system is expected to reach the
Mid-Atlantic region late next week, and should subsequently rapidly
deepen as it interacts with increased coastal moisture. A upper
level system over Canada is also expected to merge, further
amplifying the East Coast trough/low.

Given a strongly negative NAO and PNA, synoptic scale influence
should dictate the pattern, and the rapidly deepening low pressure
system should "bottle-up" the upstream waves. This can be visualized
by a relatively tight Mountain-West ridge in the GEFS 500mb height
spaghetti plot around 140-200 hours from initialization. Many
ensembles are subsequently picking up on a Rex block type pattern
over the CONUS next weekend as we approach eclipse day. As stated,
there is still some uncertainty on where this blocking pattern will
be positioned, but typically, long range models are too progressive
with Rex blocks, leading to the current belief that downstream
ridging will be present over the Ohio Valley by eclipse day. It`s
difficult to downscale this synoptic pattern into a specific cloud
forecast for April 8th, but we will continue to monitor pattern
signals/consistency and update as needed.

 

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We live just about .5 miles inside the path of totality.    I have read that the closer you are to the center the longer it lasts.  I’ve also read that being right on the edge has advantages because of some unique effects can be witnessed that you don’t get in the center.   What would you do?  Drive further northwest towards center or stay put on the edge? 

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Same dilemma here in Bellbrook. Don't have an answer yet in my mind. Watching the forecast and optimistic we might have a fairly sunny day. Whatever is decided on the drive or not drive, stay away from the Interstates. They will be a mess. I have plotted a back country route into eastern Indiana if that's what I decide. My sister lives in Nashville Indiana, She is near the middle of the cone, thus a long duration period of totality. She told me retailers in town are selling parking spots for up to $150, with no refunds it ifs overcast. lol

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Go near the center if this is your first total solar eclipse. Or second or third, haha! 

On 3/31/2024 at 5:23 AM, buckeye said:

We live just about .5 miles inside the path of totality.    I have read that the closer you are to the center the longer it lasts.  I’ve also read that being right on the edge has advantages because of some unique effects can be witnessed that you don’t get in the center.   What would you do?  Drive further northwest towards center or stay put on the edge? 

Edge gives a longer diamond ring and I imagine just wild colors if thin high clouds. Still one can't safely look at even the diamond ring naked eye. I don't see myself playing the edge unless I'm lucky enough to see 10-12 of these (not likely).

Totality is safe naked eye. In totality one can safely observe the smaller orange prominences. Also the wider corona is safe to view and one of the most - if not thee most - spectacular things in nature. I love storm chasing, and Totality blows the doors off most tornadoes. It's even better than a long-track cyclical. Northern Lights from the Arctic might be the only thing that rivals Totality, but I give totality the edge.

Time charts you'll notice the length of totality quickly drops off toward the edges. But the center third one loses only a few seconds off the center-line. We got just off-center in 2017 and might have avoided traffic with the head start out. Same plan 2024.

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On 3/31/2024 at 5:23 AM, buckeye said:

We live just about .5 miles inside the path of totality.    I have read that the closer you are to the center the longer it lasts.  I’ve also read that being right on the edge has advantages because of some unique effects can be witnessed that you don’t get in the center.   What would you do?  Drive further northwest towards center or stay put on the edge? 

https://www.timeanddate.com/eclipse/map/2024-april-8

This is a pretty cool map you can see totality times for any point and click location. Thinking of doing the midway between outer edge and centrrline of totality, you still get 2+ minutes, but likely avoid traffic nightmare closer to the centerline. 

Close to the edge you only get a few seconds so Id probably drive a little further to get more time. 

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On 3/31/2024 at 5:23 AM, buckeye said:

We live just about .5 miles inside the path of totality.    I have read that the closer you are to the center the longer it lasts.  I’ve also read that being right on the edge has advantages because of some unique effects can be witnessed that you don’t get in the center.   What would you do?  Drive further northwest towards center or stay put on the edge? 

I'm in the same boat, but about 5 miles from totality. I'm staying put, the back yard is good enough for me. I've told everyone that will listen that it's gonna be cloudy anyway, just because that's the odds.

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22 minutes ago, IWXwx said:

I'm in the same boat, but about 5 miles from totality. I'm staying put, the back yard is good enough for me. I've told everyone that will listen that it's gonna be cloudy anyway, just because that's the odds.

with my luck the damn thing will defy all laws of astro-physics and trend NW.   That's how we roll in central Ohio

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1 minute ago, buckeye said:

with my luck the damn thing will defy all laws of astro-physics and trend NW.   That's how we roll in central Ohio

I said earlier in the banter thread that I was fearing the northwest trend

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I recommend the short drive to Totality. It's not hard if 30 minutes or less. Remember 99% partial is like losing the National Championship by a point. 

On 4/3/2024 at 9:59 AM, IWXwx said:

I'm in the same boat, but about 5 miles from totality. I'm staying put, the back yard is good enough for me. I've told everyone that will listen that it's gonna be cloudy anyway, just because that's the odds.

Even if the forecast is a mess, a 30 minute drive is absolutely worth the try for a once in a lifetime awe inspiring phenomenon. Even at 99.9% no corona or prominences are visible. No 360 degree sunset. The shadow would be evident to your side, and you'd see shadow bands on a white surface for several minutes. Animals will react. However the difference between that and Totality is the difference between kissing and getting married (and you know).

Take side roads, especially back. We did in 2017 from 45 minutes away. We were relaxing back in town over steak dinner, not caught in traffic. This applies local/close. Long distance travel will be a whip Monday afternoon/eve. We'll stay over another night there in 2024.

Bottom line: If you can get to totality in 30 minutes, even with a crappy forecast, try it. Totality hype is one of the few things in our hobbies that's not over-hyped. In fact it's under-hyped. No words or photos capture the incredible everything(s) about Totality! 

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Back in Feb 1979, when I was in school, we had a total eclipse nearby here. I remember the teacher had us poke a hole in a piece of construction paper, and aim it at the Sun during the eclipse. And had us lay a piece of paper flat behind it. You could watch the shadow of the moon on that flat paper slowly cover part of the Sun. No eclipse glasses back then, at least not for us. Got about as dark as when a strong storm complex moves in, and the street lights come on.

Here's the path of that eclipse from NASA files.

https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/SEhistory/SEplot/SE1979Feb26T.pdf

 

Jan of 1925 was the last time a total eclipse went over the Great Lakes. Started right over N MN.

https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/SEhistory/SEplot/SE1925Jan24T.pdf

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I'm honing in on somewhere in the corridor from SE IL, near the IL/IN border, into C IN. Guidance seems to be in best agreement in keeping this corridor out of the expected high clouds, or at least keeping them minimal until after the eclipse. 

TX/OK/AR/MO all seem to be a lock to have high clouds of higher coverage and significance. While it may still be visible through the higher clouds in some areas in this corridor, the experience will be far from the same.

I never really considered the Northeast as a possibility, as it's going to be cooler (Would rather view in quality weather conditions), and there will likely be a higher density of viewers/travelers there due to the proximity to the higher population centers along the East Coast... And plus, I'm just not really interested in heading up that way anyway.

In 2017, I was down in Southwestern Illinois, just outside of the STL metro. I was right just inside the range of totality, so I got to experience brief totality and the effects of riding the edge. This go around, I plan on setting up in full/max totality.

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12 minutes ago, Chicago Storm said:

I'm honing in on somewhere in the corridor from SE IL, near the IL/IN border, into C IN. Guidance seems to be in best agreement in keeping this corridor out of the expected high clouds, or at least keeping them minimal until after the eclipse. 

TX/OK/AR/MO all seem to be a lock to have high clouds of higher coverage and significance. While it may still be visible through the higher clouds in some areas in this corridor, the experience will be far from the same.

I never really considered the Northeast as a possibility, as it's going to be cooler (Would rather view in quality weather conditions), and there will likely be a higher density of viewers/travelers there due to the proximity to the higher population centers along the East Coast... And plus, I'm just not really interested in heading up that way anyway.

In 2017, I was down in Southwestern Illinois, just outside of the STL metro. I was right just inside the range of totality, so I got to experience brief totality and the effects of riding the edge. This go around, I plan on setting up in full/max totality.

My Aunt lives in Mt.Carmel will tell her your coming.

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6 minutes ago, buckeye said:

1200 feet inside line of totality.   Still debating whether to head a few miles nw or just get drunk in my backyard.

With razor thin margins like that you may want to reconsider. The exact borders of the eclipse path are hard to ascertain for sure. This article may interest you, https://www.forbes.com/sites/jamiecartereurope/2024/03/30/why-your-total-solar-eclipse-map-is-suddenly-wrong/?sh=a1b40e43d7d4


Also here is the map by John Irwin with the slightly altered eclipse path parameters. Whether he's correct, who knows.
https://www.besselianelements.com/path-of-the-2024-april-8th-total-solar-eclips/

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