wxeyeNH

I think we can wrap up winter up here.  The last snow piles on the north side of the house is about to go.  The grass is just starting to green up and awaiting the first Forsythia, which should be any day now.  That for me marks the official beginning of spring. 

My snow total is ending up at 90".  That is slightly above normal.  Although it was a very warm winter there were many marginal elevation type storms.  The last two  18" and 14" really helped my total.  I bet down at Newfound Lake level 600 or so below me the snow total was perhaps 15" less.  This is also the first winter since I bought this house in 89 that I did not record a 0F temperature.  Just last year my low was -19F the coldest I have recorded.

6 hours ago, powderfreak said:

Ha, you’ve seemed to be finding reasons to meh this for a while, odd given how stoked you get for certain things.

I am sure you can find people who had a rough time in traffic but read the thread, everyone is saying the same thing.

I’m definitely traveling for another one.

Ginx and I are the same age.  If we are still around in 2045 I am going to send him south for the next good eclipse in the US.  The trip will be on me!!  Once he experiences totality he won't  be saying meh anymore!

I'm sitting here reading all the great experiences of totality.  Over the past month I had been driving people crazy with...you just have to see it.  Many people that are not into things did take my advice and headed into totality. 

I read RU848789 traffic post with interest since he said at Coppertop B and B which is a couple miles from where I live. Leading up to the eclipse I thought NH did a poor job in preparing for the incoming traffic.  I wished they had set up contraflow through Franconia Notch in the one lane area.  It is interesting to go back and read my post the day before the eclipse.  Fortunately many locals took my advice and went west of 25, up along the Conn River on the NH side and made it up to Lyndonville and beyond with light traffic both ways.  

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Solar Eclipse Tomorrow. Peak coverage time 3:30pm

I wanted to update the group  one more time about the solar eclipse. The weather is looking good but there might be some cloudiness coming in during the afternoon. This cloudiness will be the high-thin type.

In the Newfound Area, this will not be a total eclipse. If you’re not going to travel north any area around the lake is good to view it. I would stay in your yard as long as you have afternoon sun. It will get somewhat darker and with eclipse glasses you will slowly see the sun eaten by the moon as the moon passes in front of it. Although we will have 97 to 98% of the sun covered at maximum around 3:30 pm the sky will stay surprisingly bright. You will not be able to see planets or stars nor the super cool effects that they will see under totality 45 miles north of the lake. Locally most people will find it somewhat interesting but I think will end up saying “What was all that hype for?” Anyone traveling north will say, “Wow I never thought it would be nearly that cool!

If you decide to travel north and get under the full shadow of the moon it is a whole different story. Either you get under the moon's full shadow or you don’t. It is a very sharp line and makes all the difference. The problem is going to be perhaps the worst traffic in NH history. Lack of facilities like gas, restrooms food service, and very limited and overwhelmed cell service. So plan accordingly. Avoid Franconia Notch. If it were me I would head up to the Plymouth traffic circle and head northwest on Rt 25 and then up along the Connecticut River. Cross over one of the bridges into Vermont. Perhaps there will be less traffic if you stay on the NH side until Monroe and then cross over into Vermont. Head up to St Johnsbury on Rt 5 or Rt 91. Anyplace northwest of there is good. The further north and west a longer and darker eclipse. It is going to be a warm spring day and people in the totality area may be having driveway barbecues etc. Perhaps bring a few six packs or some $$ and ask if you could just pull in their driveway to watch. Who knows they may even offer you or the kids a potty break.

1 hour ago, Typhoon Tip said:

It wasn't completely like night though.  We were in totality, no doubt, but it was more apt to suggest it was like that 30 minutes passed sunset, the dim side of dusk on a summer evening.  

I don't think it ever gets dark as night in all directions  Of course you were near the southern limit of totality so just a few miles to your south that final "light switch" never went out.  I assume right at centerline it is the darkest as the distance is greater to the sunlight on  either side.  That light switch effect is amazing because it happens so fast.  Even that last .25% of sunlight is so strong that until the 2nd contact there is not much to see except that sliver through the glasses. Then bam, it all happens!. At my location it was a 98% partial and my friend who was up was not very impressed.  Too much hype for what, the light just got a bit dimmer but really nothing of note to see.  It was a bit difficult to tell locals that they had to make that 45 mile trip north.

5 hours ago, MarkO said:

Left Thornton once I saw things were starting to slow down going through Franconia notch. My plan was to take the Kanc west from exit 32, which added 15 minutes, but avoided all traffic. Decided on Burke and I think it was a better plan than Jay, or Pittsburg, NH. I can honestly say it was a more incredible experience than expected, and that tends to be the general experience of those who were fortunate enough to experience totality. Google maps was useless. I took as many back roads as I could including dirt, and it still took me 4 1/2 hours to get back to my cabin. My buddy that went to Pittsburg didn't get back until 3AM! 

The most interesting thing happened a fraction of a second before totality. There was a flash of light going from what appeared to be from northwest to southeast. Almost like when an airplane shadow passes over you, except the opposite. I'm still trying to get video of it. 

Video from my drone at about 3000' as totality approaches: 

 

Mark,  great video.  Even as you panned around you can see how fast the light was changing over Burke.  Those strange light ripples you saw are called Shadow Bands.  It is a very unique phenomena.  Many scientists were setting up experiments to try to catch them as it is not very well understood.  They can best be seen over bright surfaces and the snowcover provided that.  I never noticed them in Aruba.

As far as traffic goes I figured Franconia Notch was going to be a Sshow.  I am very active on our  Newfound FB Group and I posted several times about the eclipse.  I suggested taking Rt 25 west towards the Connecticut River and going north but staying on the NH side and getting as far north as possible.  Then crossing the bridge in Monroe NH to get up to St Johnsbury.  From what I heard that the route worked well no backups at all.  From Thorton it might have been better to go south on Rt 93 to Plymouthhead west then north.  None of that matters anymore.  As long as you got to see it you did well.   Again, great drone video.

39 minutes ago, alex said:

We saw that too while it was happening and were wondering what it was. So cool. 
 

Took me 3 hours to get back from First Connecticut Lake but well worth it

T

10 hours ago, powderfreak said:

Love that lower left flare has been visible in photos no matter where they’ve been taken in totality.

That "little" flare is a solar prominence.  To put the size in perspective here is the size of the earth as compared.

A friend of mine up in Sherbrooke Quebec is not really into weather and such.  I have been harping about this eclipse forever.  Honestly he was not really into it.  This morning I said just wait and then give me your honest opinion.  His text just now was "No words.  Honestly the coolest 3 minutes of my life".  I'm glad it worked out.  

The next total solar eclipse for New England is 2079 but it is an early morning crappy  eclipse.  After that well into the next century for us

19 minutes ago, powderfreak said:

Once in a lifetime experience.

Hoo-lee-sheet.  That was incredible.

Wasn't it great?  Since we saw ours in 1998 I keep telling people you have to see one in your lifetime. Here at 98% it was no big deal.  Either your under the shadow or your not.  Congrats.  The weather along the swatch turned out much better than it had looked.  It was fun to watch from the Mansfield webcam.

61.4F at first contact.  Thin cirrus moving overhead now so the temperature drop will not be 100% from the eclipse

23 minutes ago, alex said:

Also not much snow at all which surprised me 

The kids will remember this afternoon for the rest of their lives.  Hope you guys enjoy it

Ouch.  From Rt 93 over the Pemi near Thorton to Cannon is 20 miles.  Lots of kids,  Mom I have to go to the bathroom!

The social element is really interesting to watch.  I have waited for this day since 1998 when I saw my last total.  I always thought NH was not prepared if it would be a nice day.  According to the traffic maps Rt 93 if you can get through Concord up towards the noth you will hit a 15 mile traffic jam.  I even had thought about contra flow after the eclipse to get people southbound but that would take so much $$ to setup.  

45 minute traffic jam to get through the Notch

3 minutes ago, wxeyeNH said:

Lancaster gets just barely under totality.  If you can even a 5 or 10 mile drive further north is a darker and much longer eclipse.  At the edge of a solar eclipse each mile towards centerline adds quite a bit more time for totality

I just checked.  Cabot Lodge only has a 45 second total eclipse.  Even the other side of Lancaster to the north adds 30 seconds.  You are so close to awesomeness but I would definately drive 15 minutes north.  Just my opinion who has seen a total

5 minutes ago, HimoorWx said:

Stayed in Lincoln last night on route 3 and drove to Lancaster this morning. Took about 30 to 40 minutes to get thru the Notch this morning but then it was easy cruising. Staying at the Cabot Lodge just inside the totality area. Huge parking lot with unobstructed views. Not going back until Wednesday so no traffic worries for us later. Enjoy!

Sent from my SM-A546U using Tapatalk
 

Lancaster gets just barely under totality.  If you can even a 5 or 10 mile drive further north is a darker and much longer eclipse.  At the edge of a solar eclipse each mile towards centerline adds quite a bit more time for totality

45 minutes ago, MJO812 said:

Are kids off from school in your area? Schools are open here. 

Early release in my school district Central Nh

These high clouds are going to screw things up a bit.  My feeling is that you still will see the eclipsed  sun but it will be slightly to the west at 3:30pm. towards slightly thicker cirrus.  That might block out the  corona, Bailey's Beads and planets.  

Looking at the traffic maps Franconia Notch has a 4 mile backup.  

I am curious to hear from you Mets.  The timing of that cirrus layer is critical.  Although the sun will filter through I don't know if it will be a thicker solid high overcast with filtered sun or a very thin layer of cirrus that is hardly noticable.  I'm not smart enough to look at the moisture layers to determine how thick the moisture layer might be.  

Even if the layer is thin it will screw up seeing the Diamond Ring, Bailey's Beads and the sun's corona. The planets would not be visiable either.  Any thoughts on how "thick" is thick?  Looks like a total layer with no holes.

One more thing.  At 3:30pm the sun is in the western sky to some degree.  So even if the forward line of cirrus is still slightly west of  any given point it may still block the afternoon sun

I just heard from a friend that just came up that RT 93 traffic is very heavy northbound.  Over a 3 mile backup at the split of Rt 89 and Rt 93.

1 hour ago, MarkO said:

I'm in Thornton, and the evolving plan now is to leave here tomorrow around 7AM and just get through the notch around 7:30 to try to beat out the Boston metro travellers who leave at dawn. Once through the notch, you're just about at totality, so even if the highways are packed (which I don't expect at that time, or am I being too optimistic?), there will be back roads we shoudl be able to take to get further into the thread f totality. Initial plan was Jay Peak, but I think a 1/2 day at Burke may be better. I think once at Burke we can decide if we want to travel further north. I'm just not sure what to do afterwards. Hang out and grab dinner and hope to make it back to the cabin by 7pm?

Watch what  those cirrus coming in from the west.  If you have choices more easterly options might be best.  I'm thinking epic traffic jam in the notch right afterwards in that area near Echo lake which is one lane.  This will be interesting to see how it plays out.  It seems to me so many people are going but my circle of friends are interested in things like this so it is hard to gauge.

Good post

1 hour ago, mreaves said:

Take 105 east to Canaan, VT if you think it’s going to be close. I would say cross the border and head towards Sherbrooke but I bet the crossing will be crazy busy. 

I have done the crossing into Sherbrooke many times.  Usually a wait even on a regular day.  I don't see how border patrol would be able to handle more than 50 cars per hour.  I guess you can do a Uturn right before the border and if you time it right just pull over.  All the traffic will stop at 3:25pm and with miles and miles of country land the police can't be everyplace to tell you to move on

2 hours ago, RU848789 said:

We're heading to a B&B in Plymouth early tomorrow and then had always figured it would be a Monday morning decision on where to go from there.  The past few days we were also thinking Newport, NH, as it looked clearer than further west, like Burlington and is still pretty close to totality, but we're also not happy with the cloud trends and have been thinking of Pittsburg, NH, which is about 15 miles NE of Colebrook. 

Another possibility is heading another 15 miles all the way up Rt. 3 to the border at Connecticut Lake State Forest, as it's a bit closer to totality, but I have zero idea how that road would be and if there's somewhere good to watch near there - no obvious towns and the one campground (Deer Mountain Campground about 4 miles from the border) says it's temporarily closed, but I think that's just because their camping season doesn't start until May.  My guess is one could just pull over and trudge through the snow to what looks like a nice clearing (we have nice chairs, lol) or maybe the US Customs folks won't mind people parking near there and watching. No idea and not even sure who to ask (NH Parks/Rec is closed, lol).  

And if the clouds really move further east, I guess we may have to go somewhere in Maine, but anywhere near totality, like Coburn Gore or Jackman will add a few hours to the trip, since there's no fast/easy way there - it's about 2:20 from Plymouth to Pittsburg, but it's 4:00 to Coburn Gore and 4:50 to Jackman and that's if traffic isn't bad.  I imagine thousands of others are pondering these same questions.  My wife's already not happy about a 2:20 drive from our B&B, so a 4+ hour drive won't go over much better, lol, but I might have to put my foot down on this one, as I really want a good shot at clear skies (I know there's no guarantee as 5 minutes of clouds in front of the sun at totality could happen on a 95% clear day).  

My town is adjacent to Plymouth NH so I know the local  roads well.  I think the traffic is going to be fair worse than most people are expecting. The problem going north from Plymouth is that there is only one way through Franconia Notch.  One lane each direction.  With hundreds of thousand people coming I don't see how Rt93 would handle that.  Remember that there is very little cell service in N NH and few gas stations and restrooms.  Take food with you and gas.  The few restaurants up in totality will be unable to help this amount of people.  Although it is probable that skies would be clear over Maine there is no easy way to get there from here.  Not even on a good day.  So my advice is from Plymouth go west on Rt25 up to Haverill.  Then use one of the bridges to cross into Vermont.  Monroe might be best.  Then Rt 5 to St Johnsbury.  Cirrus might be an issue but our limited road system will be so overwhelmed.  Just impossible to tell. 

1 hour ago, weathafella said:

So true.  After experiencing totality in 2017 there’s no going back.  We’ll see how it plays out but we’re also considering further east like Colebrook.   Game day decision.

I just heard that Burlington VT is now expecting 200,000 extra people.  Especially because New England may have the best viewing people that were heading to other areas like upstate NY may try to come east with less chance of that cirrus deck.  So traffic jams and few services may end up being the big story.  I still have 10" of heavy wet snow on the ground (that is melting quick) so people thinking they can just pull off the pavement into some snow are going to have a rude awaking.  With the 18" in the last storm and a foot or so the other day.  Also  whenever i drive NW of my area there is no cell service in vast rural areas so people that get stuck or rely on GPS maps are going to be in trouble.  The whole social element of this is very interesting to me.  

4 minutes ago, CT Rain said:

This was my view in 2017 in Sullivan's Island, SC. 

If we do have cirrus to the SW it will add to the spectacular as the sunlight returns right after totality