ice1972

3 minutes ago, weathafella said:

Ice-are we the only ones from the New England forum going?

Ryan is going to Charleston.....but ya....I haven't seen posts from anyone in NE other than you......

Yep.....I can't wait.....its gonna be a little solo adventure for me to in the nations heartland.....never been to any of those states before other than the drive through or airports.....I was gonna go to Nashville initially - I have a friend that actually lives just south of there - but then I was worried about being in that TN to SC corridor where there are tons of people coming......and contending with traffic.....so I opted for the Wisconsin angle where I have another friend that offered up her couch on Monday night.....looks like the hotel I booked in Omaha is the way to go ATM......didn't see that coming.....still time to adjust

1 minute ago, weathafella said:

I know!  All these ignorant people with that reaction! 

I'm actually pretty surprised at how meh a lot of folks are.......I mean this is a weather board and lots of geeks here where this sort of stuff is on the radar more than the average schmo but seriously.......I'm getting a lot of "wait wut? you're flying to Wisconsin and have 3 hotels booked where? and you're gonna drive hours to one of them so you can then drive hours in the morning to see something thats how long? 2.5 minutes? lol"..........a lot of that

1 minute ago, weathafella said:

I well remember that event.  In Boston, we had nearly 97% yet it didn't get that dark.  That's when I knew I had to get to totality.  Or if I were lucky I could have flown my "Lear jet to Nova Scotia to see the total eclipse of the sun"

Ya you definitely need to be in the total zone.....its crazy how unnoticeable 97% even 98% is and how just being outside the zone even a mile or two can make all the difference.....this guy at work was like "meh I'm not gonna waste my time I've seen one before and I wasn't impresssed"...........I asked him if he was in totality and he was like "IDK".....lol

45 minutes ago, JBG said:

I actually remember that happening during the March 1970 eclipse, and some cumulus clouds dissipating in the process

Here you go.....this was refreshing to watch.....total throwback.....I wasn't even born yet but despite it being 47 years ago everything that happened then and what folks experienced then is gonna all repeat itself on Monday.....watch all of the episodes.....

Just now, weathafella said:

I wonder if that's the quick temperature drop and humidity rise briefly due to darkness at the eclipse time?

It's gotta be.....I read earlier some WFO's were trying to incorporate it into the forecasts.....pretty cool

13 minutes ago, mayjawintastawm said:

Will be in Hastings, NE, hopefully in between shortwaves. Anyone from here targeting NE?

The whole dang Denver metro area is COMPLETELY out of eclipse glasses and the ones I ordered from Amazon last week never came. Maybe some places along our trip route might have some, but feeling a bit out of luck there at this time. Everyplace I've tried has just sold out when I get there. Wish I could make some- a longtime ago I used to use 35mm film...

I may decide to opt for staying in Omaha and heading into zone in Nebraska also....Hastings was an option I looked at a couple weeks ago.....all up in the air right now

Just booked hotels in Omaha and Louisville......so with the on in Quincy IL I've got some options for where to go Sunday when I fly in to Madison.....long drive but I get in early...all those spots are 6 to 7 hour drives.....and they put me within 2 to 3 hours of totality.....I can cancel free by Friday night 11:59.....lolz

lolz....for Gallatin.....

1 minute ago, wxeyeNH said:

Hum,  still quite aways out there.   All in all the weather looks about as good as it can get if you factor in the whole track from Oregon to South Carolina.  I see that moisture in Missouri and East Nebraska but again its only Wednesday.  Too early to make adjustments.....

True but I will begin looking at places that may be better within driving distance from Quincy, IL where I have a room booked......gotta say this is very stressful

Not liking the forecast for Missouri.....Nebraska may be better?

27 minutes ago, Derecho! said:

I'm going to Idaho; based out of Mountain Home and driving morning of...somewhere.  I am leaning Idaho/Oregon Border. Totality path forecast is clear but some clouds forecast for Southern Idaho worry me. 

I hate not knowing where the clouds will be in this whole planning thing....makes you realize not everything can be planned....lol

1 hour ago, winterymix said:

I'm fantasizing about displaying a thermometer at two meters and with some sort of sun shade.

It would be interesting to record 2m temperatures during the event.  I 'm reading that with favorable conditions, the

2m temp. can drop 15 to 20 degrees.   I'm guessing dry soil, no clouds, no pollution, no wind shear will allow quick

transfer of outgoing radiation starting about 40 minutes before second contact.   I'm sure these stats will be gathered

across the centerline and near center.   Hopefully a lot of good temp logs will emerge.

Can any-of-ya suggest a reasonably priced air thermometer I can buy before Friday, not the POC in Home Depot.

Any tricks on a legit way to provide sunshade?  Will the temps count if I do not have motorized ventilation?

 

Thanks to the red taggers, keep those probabilistic forecast products coming.

Does the moon count as sun shade? Lol....

3 minutes ago, heavy_wx said:

I think it's probably best to be at your intended viewing location at least a couple hours before the eclipse. I would definitely avoid big metro areas like St. Louis or Nashville if possible. Major interstates near the path of totality will probably be OK a few hours before the eclipse. Interstates that connect directly to large cities like I-55 and I-70 in Illinois, I-65 in IN/KY, and I-75 in KY may be pretty busy early in the day if people are driving south for the day.

I'm considering going to Sparta, TN because it isn't near any north-south interstates and it's also not really that close to I-40, so traffic shouldn't be bad a few hours before the eclipse.

Ya...avoiding the big interstates and not having to cross I-70 was sort of my priority.....if I do go to Fayette, MO its all back roads from Quincy, IL......Probably will leave early to make sure.....like 4 or 5 am

6 minutes ago, heavy_wx said:

It's only like an extra second longer in southern IL vs. central MO so I'm not sure that will really cause people to seek out that area especially; weather and convenience are probably the dominant factors in where people end up going. Getting to the center of the totality path is also important if you want a longer eclipse.

I booked a hotel in Richmond, KY for Sunday night with plans to drive into central TN or western KY depending on the weather.

True.....whats your thought on the traffic as you get closer to ground zero?  What time do you think you will leave Monday morning?

Fayette, MO is not right on the centerline but offset a few miles to the north.....its right on the northern 2min 30sec totality time line......I figure less than 5 seconds is fine.....also looking at a few other spots so that I can decide Monday morning where I ultimately end up.....

12 minutes ago, bdgwx said:

FWIW the Euro looks better for MO. It has clear skies in the morning giving way to cumulus clouds in the afternoon. Research shows that the reduced solar radiation at the surface can slightly suppress convectively forced cumulus clouds (see here) so maybe that'll help this time too, I don't know. Regardless, be flexible. Right now official forecasts are more favorable the further southeast along the path you go so consider a drive more toward St. Louis if necessary. Keep in mind that traffic could be a problem especially along major interstates and near the St. Louis metro area. 

Ya thats something I do not want to have to contend with that day......anywhere south of St. Louis.....I picked Fayette since its north of I-70 and I won't have to use an interstate to get there from Quincy......I can adjust as we get closer but really really really don't want to have to go south or southeast......that area southeast of St. Louis into southern IL and western KY is gonna be a ****show with max eclipse happening there....

38 minutes ago, winterymix said:

 

Where?    I'm looking at 

MU Extension in Howard County.

You gotta be kidding me.....At the fairgrounds?  Lol ya.....I emailed the coordinator yesterday and she's like "yep, it's free and we're gonna have the 4-H building open for bathrooms and to get out of sun....don't forget to reserve your glasses, we have those too...."

How will you be getting there?

Total Solar Eclipse Flyer(1).pdf

10 minutes ago, Hoosier said:

This stuff is so high stakes.  If totality lasted a couple hours there'd be a lot more margin for error.  We can model watch ourselves to death but it only goes so far. Get some poorly located/timed clouds even on a "mostly sunny" day and you're screwed, unless you just want to see how dark it can get in the middle of the day..

It's like the holy grail....you give yourself the best chance you can muster and at some point you go all in and whatever happens happens....in committed to a flight to Madison WI....I'm somewhat committed to an overnight in Quincy, IL....I can cancel as late as Saturday....at some point I'll be forced to make a decision....and there's nothing you can do after that...like Goodfellas...."and that's that....there was nothin we could do"

Cutthroat man.....cutthroat.....at least I only gotta wait 7 years....and that one is closer to me...lol....but during New England spring.....awful

Also given what I know about how benchmark storms can be 100 miles off as late as 24 hrs out I probably shouldn't even worry about it....lol

33 minutes ago, Hoosier said:

Here's the cloud cover map valid same time.

 

Been closely following the model runs ever since this got in range (especially for the Plains/Midwest region), and after absorbing all these runs, I will be pleasantly surprised if there aren't some cloud concerns somewhere in that region.  That is a general takeaway that I'm getting even though there's the usual variance on specific details.

Thanks.....gotta say that's discouraging for the town I've targeted - Fayetteville, MO - but I've got flexibility leaving from Quincy, IL early early Monday....like 3 or 4 am....lol

Fella....are you flying out of Logan?

7 hours ago, Torchageddon said:

For those sleeping in their car for 1 or some of the days of traveling, where would you park for the rest?

When I was looking past and future eclipse maps I noticed different spreads of band width of totality which I guess is when the moon is further away or closer. However some tracks at the mid-latitudes are really wide (300 miles or more) and I have no idea why. When looking at the database of all annular and total eclipses there would be mostly annular ones that are half circle (close to the poles) but a few where total eclipses that had the half circle! What's the reason?
 

IDK man pulling off the road and just sleeping in the car seems, at best, weird......I booked a hotel in Quincy, IL for $128 - right on the Mississippi River.....lol I booked it tonight.....its only 2 hrs from the totality path.....early Monday I plan to leave for Fayette, MO......112 miles......theres no interstates to Fayette and I don't have to cross any major interstates to get there.....stay north of I-70.....really have no idea what to expect.....gonna be a fun few days either way

5 hours ago, bdgwx said:

Nebraska through Tennessee. South Carolina had higher cloud coverage.

Great thanks.....I just checked 18z GFS 700 RH and it looks great on Monday for the entire path....I didn't check cover maps but so far this is looking like epic viewing coast to coast....not staying up for 0z......new target is Fayette, MO......its just north of the centerline on the 2min 30sec totality line.......someone suggested being a bit north of the line....I mean its only a few miles north lol

This is great.......

13 minutes ago, bdgwx said:

12Z Euro has clear skies in the morning and then broad CU coverage in response to the unstable environment. Much of the eclipse path is under some pretty decent ridging so hopefully this trend continues.

For what part of the path?  Southeast? Plains?

47 minutes ago, Hoosier said:

Models have cloud cover output maps.  At the College of Dupage website, it's located under the Precipitation Products menu on the left side.  

Here is the 12z GFS at 1 pm central time on the 21st

Bookmarked....thanks