ice1972

I'll be coming from Omaha leaving probably early early Monday morning and sticking to back roads......my target is northwest of Grand Island - Ravenna......theres a 9 hole golf course that was selling admission onto the property for $11.....I just booked it not knowing if I would go there but since I have to pull the trigger on my hotel reservations I am thinking this is gonna be my target......I have three reservations - Omaha, Quincy, and Louisville.....probably cancel Quincy and Louisville....

Oh wait.....you're targeting MO.....I meant better in NE.....

I thought it looked better.......

I subscribed.....it was 99 cents for 4 weeks....whatever

Pay site

lol I was looking at that earlier......here is the 12z GFS valid same time......

Right now I'm planning on NE.......central NE.....it looks dicey but ATM Monday looks Mostly Sunny sandwiched between convection on Sunday evening and Monday evening....playing with fire.....I'll be driving to Omaha from Madison all day Sunday....

Meanwhile....Fayette MO still looks good.....decisions decisions.....

Looking good.....please hold up.....

I really want my Ravenna NE golf course viewing thing to work out......seems like the best location I've found based on Google Earth views......

Also.....if it wasn't so far wouldn't you rather be behind the spill over rather than trying to out pace it and risk the chance its faster than expected.....thats part of the reason I like Nebraska.....but I also have an Omaha hotel reservation.....

Ya....I have until late tomorrow to make the call otherwise I'm on the hook for the reservations.....honestly I can't believe I got the rates I did but they are a few hours outside the totality zone.....still thinking Nebraska is my final target.....once the decision is made its an all in thing.....no regrets.....can't wait

Ya seems reasonable.....you can get 300 miles out of Dodge that way and probably be fine.....where are you headed?

Ya thanks for reminding me of that......I was also thinking that those cloud cover maps at longer lead times diffuse or creap more.....sort of like those spaghetti plots go bonkers the farther you go out in time as the uncertainty just explodes......anyway my totally uneducated take......its also annoying how those cloud cover shades are basically zero clouds to 100% clouds with no realistic transition in between.....they're like the NAM clown snowfall maps...lol

Question.....if you are driving in those last few hours to your target will you bring extra gas tanks full of gas? Legit question.....or is that dumb in low population areas like NE and WY.....

Its beginning..... http://komonews.com/news/local/traffic-backups-already-forming-in-oregon-4-days-before-eclipse

Those two minutes are only on the totality path......if you stay in Denber, at 93% you may sense a dimming and if you have the glasses you will definitely see something great but if you are only a short drive or so from the totality path you need to find a way to get there......I hear it is other worldly and this is why I am trekking 1500 miles into the middle of the nations heartland in Nebraska to see it.....I have a tight time schedule and I am unsure about a lot of things.....the logistics are insane.....but I will try to get there.....dude you are like only 4 hours away from the path in WY or NE.....GO!!!

And is the oval the shadow at 96 hrs there? That's literally my primary target in NE as of now.....not sure I can get further west than central NE.....Missouri looks like **** there....

You mean the eclipse being overhyped? Lol.....so many people live in a box.....and so few know nothing about astronomy.....

Not really feeling the AD out of KEAX for my central Missouri target.....still a ways to go.....nothing decided yet..... 000 FXUS63 KEAX 172304 AFDEAX AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION National Weather Service Kansas City/Pleasant Hill MO 604 PM CDT Thu Aug 17 2017 .Discussion... Issued at 248 PM CDT THU AUG 17 2017 A beautiful afternoon across the Lwr Missouri Vly as high pressure remains in control for the time being. Afternoon temps have warmed into the lower 80s across most areas, with noticeably less humidity thanks to drier air following last night`s frontal passage. Similar conditions should persist through the overnight hours with lows fall into into the lower 60s for most. Next wave of energy seen on water vapor imagery this afternoon digging across the Northern Rockies. With time, this feature will continue tracking to the east-southeast through the overnight hours with model projections suggesting main surface reflection will pass to our north through the afternoon hours on Friday. This will ultimately result in a weak boundary lifting north across the area with scattered shwr/storm chances Friday morning, with additional activity possible during the afternoon hours as associated cold front passes later in the day. For now, best severe potential looks to hold off until after 21z as wind fields aloft should be increasing during this timeframe as main trough axis passes just to our north. Given this scenario and the expected instability, the current SPC day 2 marginal risk may get elevated with future outlooks. Beyond this, drier weather looks to return for much of the day on Saturday with another round of nocturnal convection possible early Sunday morning as the stage becomes set for an active mid range forecast period as zonal flow returns to the central U.S. Under this flow pattern, several midlevel shortwaves look to impact the region towards the early to middle portions of next week. Obviously this is going to lead to potential impacts for Monday`s total solar eclipse and additional details are provided below. Regardless, chance pops appear reasonable through much of next week as forecast guidance continues to suggest a stalled frontal boundary interacting with the above referenced midlevel disturbances.

KGID for my target area...central Nebraska....not bad....need some clearing trends though..... .ECLIPSE... A total solar eclipse will occur Monday, Aug. 21st around 1 PM CDT. Before getting into this, want to make sure anyone reading this acknowledges a "reality check" that this event is still 4 days away and we are not overly-confident on the finer details. With each passing day this confidence will increase, especially over the weekend as Monday comes into the time range of various shorter-term, higher resolution computer models. That being said... Precipitation/thunderstorm chances: As it currently stands, a consensus of two of our primary longer range models (ECMWF/GFS) suggest that the majority of our coverage area (CWA) should be dry during the daytime hours, likely in a "break" between somewhat better chances for showers/thunderstorms both Sunday night and Monday night. This is obviously good news for most folks, but it`s also probably a bit too soon to declare it "guaranteed dry". Sky cover/clouds: Despite the overall lack of rain chances, this type of west- southwest flow aloft pattern, along with the presence of both a departing and incoming mid level disturbance that are relatively close in time and space, will likely make a "highly confident" cloud forecast rather dicey for a few more days yet. As best we can tell for now, "partly cloudy" is the most likely scenario for most of our area, as we surely cannot make a declaration yet of "pristine sun" or, conversely "plentiful clouds". If anything though, any clouds appear to be mainly of the higher/thinner variety, which is better news than lower overcast stratus. Stay tuned... Temps/winds: In other departments, it still looks to be seasonably warm day with afternoon highs mainly upper 80s Nebraska and low-mid 90s KS. It does look to be a touch breezy from the south, with sustained speeds at least 10-15 MPH and some gust potential to 20+ MPH.

Just reserved a spot in Ravenna, NE.....at the Ravenna Golf Club......$11.....gets me entry onto the property and can pick anywhere on the course to watch.....its a tremendous spot....wide open.....its 2:45 drive from Omaha and north of I-80 so I can get there using back roads without crossing the interstate..... https://goo.gl/maps/PizjpP9HsAJ2

I mean IDK why anybody would just park themselves at the edge of the totality window.......you gotta get yourself as close to center line as possible....

Imagine not knowing one was coming and then on that day you're out working in the yard and it just goes dark.......that would be tremendous

LOL......ya I got the feeling from this guy at work he didn't understand the basic mechanics of a total solar eclipse.....