wxsniss

Just saw this... Funny at Prouty Beach in Newport, ~1-2 minutes before and after totality, a group of guys ran over to a snow pile yelling "snakes in the snow!". My wife for a moment thought they saw actual snakes. As @nrgjeff posted, must have been shadow bands. Here's a good example from Tennessee 2017 for those who haven't seen:

So many great perspectives in this thread, and this another understated aspect of how this all implausibly came together perfectly: How the hell did NNE get such flawless weather? Literally the best in the nation. After such a wet winter. Multiple reports of people abandoning their Texas flights and driving up from Virginia/Carolinas to VT/NH/ME, or wagons east from NY: https://www.boston.com/community/tell-us/readers-cancelled-flights-to-texas-and-traveled-to-new-england-for-the-solar-eclipse/ I actually had trouble sleeping Saturday night giddy with what the Euro/GFS and then NAM/HRRR were locking in for cloud cover... the amazement that we might actually pull this off.

This is a beautiful account! Thank you! I had to read this to others. I love seeing these spontaneous poetic impressions from so many posters independently and across-the-board expressing how extraordinary this experience was. And hits the spot as we all try to cling to the magic while real life shoves its way back. I wish I had space to upload a video I took of the scene before/during at Prouty Beach, which apparently was a makeshift forum GTG... the anticipation the 30 seconds before, and then the eruption of shrieks and oh-my-gods the instant we get to 100%... still gives me chills.

I imagine northern coast of Spain, where you might see the umbra shadow race over the ocean, would be pretty amazing... also close to sunset over the ocean which could be pretty wild. Interestingly totality only lasts 1m50sec max. Looks like path also goes over Ibiza, but not sure I'd have patience for that vibe while seeking natural beauty. All again highlights just how special this NNE occurrence was.

Ditto... was in that same exact traffic jam as you and Weathafella on 112 "Lost River Road" to get onto 93 North Woodstock NH 10:30pm... you Jerry and I'm sure others were in this: Backed out of our parking spot in Newport 4pm Finally exited Newport 5:30pm Arrived in Boston 2am, (non-stop... empty bottles in car) I don't remember hearing a single honk the entire drive. As Powderfreak and others said, I'd do it all again in a heartbeat. I think compounding things was that Google / Apple Maps really struggled to update anything and gave some ridiculous suggestions even with cell phone service (I had downloaded offline maps before trip). Some media attention to this: https://www.boston.com/news/local-news/2024/04/10/eclipse-traffic-new-hampshire/

With maybe a hint of solar retinopathy (some bilateral eye pain)... transiently felt the same after 2017... apparently I'm not alone, Google trends for "solar retinopathy":

Another Sugarloaf photo from a co-worker: @AstronomyEnjoyer, enlighten us on the planets we saw yesterday, one visible in this photo (?Venus):

How funny! We are 2 for 2 for impeccable total solar eclipse locations. I actually somewhat regret not taking 10 seconds for a photo of the eclipse with my wife and I and setting in the background... it's fading like a dream now, so I wish I had a visual reminder. Yeah the exit from Newport was something. The parking lots were full when we arrived so we parked in some private house that opened up their driveway to cars ~ 1 mile away and were so generously guiding people (imagine that in Boston, they'd charge $50 a spot). So we had the walk back, then slow crawl drive to center of town, stopped at the "City Cinema" for bathrooms, and next stop Boston 2am. Extreme, but absolutely worth it.

Great post, and exactly captures the vibe. People who haven't seen totality think "profound", "stunning", "otherworldy" adjectives are melodramatic... they are not. Aside from a sight so alien to anything we know, and on a scale that reminds us how small we really are, the vibe was magic. Strangers were enthusiastically nice to each other. The camaraderie of witnessing something amazing that makes all our divisions seem so stupid. I fully appreciate why some people are brought to tears, and why people chase these experiences that you may only get with optimal conditions once or twice in your life. It's like pressing a "reset" button to momentarily wipe all our man-made bs.

Some comparisons to 2017 observed in Gallatin Tennessee: - seemed larger to me, not sure if the moon was closer to us this time - much more noticeable temp drop in 10 minutes before, I'm estimating 62F to 50F with noticeable breeze - red solar prominence at 7 o'clock, so cool that everyone saw that - "shadow snakes" on snow piles, only happened minutes before and after totality For better or worse, did not even try to photo the eclipse... wanted no distractions from taking it all in during totality so only a set-it-and-forget-it video. That's me pointing up in the center: Photo from my brother who flew to Cleveland:

How cool, it seems a bunch of us here were at Newport, Prouty Beach! 5.5 hrs driving up (7:30a-1p), non-stop 8.5 hrs driving back non-stop (and not including ~1 hours just to get out of Newport)... I-91 was 5-10mph for 100+ miles, we did some backroads to I-93 and they were intermittently bumper to bumper as well... pretty remarkable at 12:30am Monday night to see stopped traffic on I-93 And I'd do it all again in a heartbeat. Such a stunning celestial feat + pristine weather + in our own backyard... not again in our lifetime.

Great luck everyone! Heading out from Boston soon, target Newport. 9z HRRR looks great:

Same exact plan Agree I think cloud cover will be a thin veil at most + we'll be far enough east that Newport vs. Colebrook should work. Defaulting to Newport given the extra seconds of totality. I'm so nervous just about getting there leaving Boston at 8am. Still can't believe New England may have one of the the best patches of viewing on the planet... I'll PM you my cell #

Totally sympathize... at one point, I naively planned to bring my 1 and 4 yo... then wisened up not to squander a once-in-a-lifetime 3 minutes to a "daddy my glasses keep falling off" tantrum lol Thankfully the grandparents will babysit

BTV did the same, pretty cool... For Monday, trends in guidance continue to be for a slightly faster arrival of high clouds which will likely provide a filtered view of the eclipse for the North Country and Champlain Valley, while east of the Greens should remain more clear through 4 PM before the clouds move in. 925mb temps of +6-8C and steep low level lapse rates would normally support highs in the low/mid 60s but with totality occurring right around normal peak heating backed off on high temps a few degrees for 55-60. We`ll additionally see a brief drop in temps of 4-6 degrees during totality as well, which will be cool to observe. Mid/high clouds stick around Monday night with no precipitation expected and low temps milder ranging through the 30s. And thanks for pinning this thread!

Model Maps > Model Animator > Parameter --> select Cloud Cover Only available on ECMWF and 3k NAM You can find Cloud Cover for GFS, GEFS, 12k NAM on Pivotalweather

Yeah the at-worst plan is pull over on I-91 breakdown lane, sit on grass. I'm nervous even that option won't be possible if the breakdown lane is already a parking lot. But hopefully 7 hours drive from Boston is enough to reach Newport and stage someplace more reasonable. So happy you're doing New England instead of Eagle Pass! Unbelievable that NNE will be the best viewing in the country. A month ago I was bracing myself for a washout. 18z NAM as you wrote above looks great...

Am I being totally ridiculous thinking at absolute worst you could just pull over on I-91 (or whatever road you're on)? My thinking is just get to the destination in time (and I'm increasingly nervous of that leaving Boston 8am) and the rest is gravy... I too remember the drive back to airport from Gallatin was surprisingly OK.

I linked a watch event at Newport, VT earlier in the thread... my plan is to leave Boston 8am, 93 to 91 to Newport. At the very least will stage on southbound 91 and just pull over on the interstate. A bit nervous what cloud cover over pretty much the rest of the nation's path will do to crowd surge and driving on Monday, but I'm hoping 4 hours extra buffer will be enough for an ordinarily 3.5 hour drive.

12z Euro... note this is for 18z (2pm) and 21z (5pm)... ie. northeast VT, northern NH, all ME should be excellent:

19z NBM (blue/grey is cloud cover, white is clear with % cover shown): Further northeast seems better at this point... Euro has the cloud cover a bit further northeast than the NBM and GFS/GEFS as wxeyeNH posted above. So if it's a no-cost decision between the 2 destinations, I'd go further northeast. But see what others here say...

GFS/GEFS holding steady for VT/NH/ME BTV: As of 415 PM EDT Friday...Surface and upper level ridges remain over the region for Monday, leading to pretty ideal viewing conditions for the eclipse Monday afternoon. Some high clouds will approach from the southwest, but at most some high clouds around. Maximum temperatures will range through the 50s.

It's like getting 99% instead of 100% of the numbers right on a lottery ticket. Those who haven't witnessed totality might extrapolate incrementally, but it's infinitely different. It's like the minute before or after, cool but no big deal. 2017 eclipse was easily one of the most amazing and freaky things I've ever seen. Not at all about money or hype... quite the contrary. You could be as in awe just standing in an open field, for free. Aside from the otherworldly sight, it's rare we get to witness with our own eyes just how small we really are.

"A partial eclipse is like a cool sunset. A total eclipse is like someone broke the sky." Hat tip: https://xkcd.com/2914/