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August 21, 2017 Solar Eclipse


Hoosier
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1 hour ago, BuffaloWeather said:

Omg 2024 it goes directly over WNY!!! I was thinking about driving to the one in August, but I can be patient. 

I'd still try to get to totality next month if at all possible. I'm stoked about 2024 being a stone's throw away and a better eclipse in general, but seven years is a long time and ya just never know what the future holds...

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On 7/1/2017 at 6:26 PM, Hoosier said:

I have heard that hotels in/near the totality zone are filling up fast, especially out west where clouds are climatologically less likely. Fortunately, many of us live close enough to be able to drive to the totality zone on the same day.  Obviously, weather will be so critical.  Hopefully the weather pattern is such that clouds will be at a minimum.

I was poking around just for the heck of it, and it looks like hotels are filling up fast in the path of totality in MO/IL/KY, and what is left seems to be charging higher rates compared to what they typically do.  Areas on the fringe or outside (say St. Louis) have more openings, at least for now.

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5 hours ago, Hoosier said:

I was poking around just for the heck of it, and it looks like hotels are filling up fast in the path of totality in MO/IL/KY, and what is left seems to be charging higher rates compared to what they typically do.  Areas on the fringe or outside (say St. Louis) have more openings, at least for now.

I managed to reserve a room in downtown Nashville in case I do decide to make the trip, and they're all charging no less than $300/night. Even then, I pretty much lucked up as every other hotel in the downtown and midtown area is just about completely booked.

In fact, I heard the schools in Sumner County (in Metro Nashville) will shut down for the day, in anticipation of all of the traffic.

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Booking a room in St. Louis and hoping I won't need it.  If the weather looks like it's going to be questionable in the IL/KY area, I will head to St. Louis on Sunday so that I can leave from there on Monday and head west in Missouri or into Kansas/Nebraska if necessary. The good thing is that almost all of I-70 in Missouri is in the path of totality, so it wouldn't matter if I-70 turns into a traffic jam by some chance.

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4 hours ago, Hoosier said:

..., so it wouldn't matter if I-70 turns into a traffic jam by some chance.

I would go with a 100% chance of a parking lot somewhere on I-70. Can you guess the number of distracted drivers during the event?

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13 hours ago, bowtie` said:

I would go with a 100% chance of a parking lot somewhere on I-70. Can you guess the number of distracted drivers during the event?

Yeah, could be an issue.  Hopefully people pull over. 

I was thinking about something. Imagine somebody traveling through who has no idea about the eclipse (hard to imagine with the publicity it will be getting but just for the sake of argument).  They will be wondering what the heck is going on lol

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  • 2 weeks later...

5 weeks from today.  

I hope we have weather like we're having around here today.  Not a cloud in the sky. 

People like us are going to have an advantage over others.  Not only will we be checking forecasts, but we can also dig into the models to get a sense of the pattern and how things can go wrong.  For example, a progged MCS regime that ends up farther south than thought.

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39 minutes ago, Hoosier said:

5 weeks from today.  

I hope we have weather like we're having around here today.  Not a cloud in the sky. 

People like us are going to have an advantage over others.  Not only will we be checking forecasts, but we can also dig into the models to get a sense of the pattern and how things can go wrong.  For example, a progged MCS regime that ends up farther south than thought.

Worst case, it then becomes a storm-chasing trip. :scooter:

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1 hour ago, Powerball said:

Worst case, it then becomes a storm-chasing trip. :scooter:

Boo.  :P

Though if you just want to see how dark it can get during the day, I have read that cloudy conditions will make the surroundings even darker during an eclipse, especially if there's also clouds on the horizon.

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On July 17, 2017 at 4:03 PM, Hoosier said:

5 weeks from today.

I hope we have weather like we're having around here today.  Not a cloud in the sky.

People like us are going to have an advantage over others.  Not only will we be checking forecasts, but we can also dig into the models to get a sense of the pattern and how things can go wrong.  For example, a progged MCS regime that ends up farther south than thought.

With the weather advantage, all of the eclipse experts have all the sophisticated weather resources you would want, there are special weather products coming just for the eclipse from various people including a met here in Canada. The average viewer may not use or know about the various sites that will start operational forecasts, but all the experts will. I have to keep reminding myself its not just weather systems and pulses, its plain clouds that might form which is far more insane to pinpoint to the exact spots within 1 minute intervals.
 

On July 17, 2017 at 5:59 PM, bowtie` said:

Nuts, I rescheduled a teeth cleaning today due to conflict with vacation. Just realized that they picked the 21st. Well it is for 10a.m. so I should be done before the fireworks start.

Even if your very close to the path of totality (in IN), there is no chance you will make it if you have an appointment at 10 am (even a 30 min drive). The traffic gridlock will be beyond anything you can envision. I think it'll be the worst in southern IL and MO but in places like OR the emergency management for that state who aren't blowing hot air, state if you live 2 hours outside the 70 mile path - leave SATURDAY evening to get there at 11 am MONDAY on the west coast. So a 2 hour drive would take 32-36 hours!!! No one really knows what's going to happen but once there was a 3 day traffic jam in China so its not impossible to get this kind of traffic.
 

On July 17, 2017 at 6:32 PM, Hoosier said:

Boo.  :P

Though if you just want to see how dark it can get during the day, I have read that cloudy conditions will make the surroundings even darker during an eclipse, especially if there's also clouds on the horizon.

I woke up one day with that question and read that if its a dense overcast during totality it will be so dark you won't know your way around. Can't say if that's true for certain.
 

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41 minutes ago, Torchageddon said:

I woke up one day with that question and read that if its a dense overcast during totality it will be so dark you won't know your way around. Can't say if that's true for certain.

This umbral shadow will be rather small, so as far as eclipses go, totality won't be particularly under clear skies – if you're standing at the centerline, it should still be quite bright around the entire horizon. As a rule, the eclipsed sun's corona is roughly as bright as the full moon. Overcast and a full moon would be navigable if your eyes are well adjusted to the dark, but with the light-switch action of totality, yeah... would be difficult to see.

 

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17 hours ago, Hoosier said:

Too early?  ;)

CFSUS_500_spd_774.png.086e6e404fe4b2c77af318b3a68b9acc.png

 

I wouldn't mind seeing a massive intense ridge in the area, as that would tend to be a high confidence low/no cloud pattern. Don't have it on that run though.

 

That's a decent setup also, as the area under the total eclipse would be in the subsidence region of that trough.

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Have been looking at some potential target locations in my favored zone (want to be as close to the center line as possible and not in the middle of nowhere, but not in a place with too many obstructions/artificial light). Seems like a lot of towns in the path are having special viewing areas and giving out tickets for that.  How can you know exactly where you'll end up given potential weather issues?!

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21 hours ago, Hoosier said:

Have been looking at some potential target locations in my favored zone (want to be as close to the center line as possible and not in the middle of nowhere, but not in a place with too many obstructions/artificial light). Seems like a lot of towns in the path are having special viewing areas and giving out tickets for that.  How can you know exactly where you'll end up given potential weather issues?!

Exactly! I'm going down to Carbondale, IL, with a photographer to cover the event, but knowing my luck it won't be clear or super stormy...we'll be stuck under thick cloud over with light rain most of the day :rolleyes: Hoping for the best!

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On 02.07.2017 at 7:48 PM, Hoosier said:

Looking at videos of past total eclipses, it's not difficult to imagine how people many hundreds/thousands of years ago before scientific understanding would've been scared to death at what was happening. Not only with how dark it gets, but how fast it goes from sorta dim to really dark.

This was really terrifying for people
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Question for someone with intimate knowledge of the models.  Does NWP make any attempt to account for the loss of incoming sunlight during an eclipse and thus, the temperature decrease that commences shortly before totality?  

I know that it's pretty common to have temperature drops on the order of 5-15 degrees depending on time of day and other factors.

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On 7/2/2017 at 11:16 AM, Hoosier said:

Here is some news coverage from the last total solar eclipse in the lower 48.  They mentioned that the next one wouldn't be until 8/21/2017.

 

 

Well, Frank Reynolds called this 38 years in advance haha

http://variety.com/2017/tv/news/solar-eclipse-abc-news-david-muir-1202512760/

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Almost getting into the end of the GFS timeframe.  What's being advertised at the very end of tonight's 00z run would cause some concern rolling forward... pretty stout ridge but the placement is not ideal... could be vulnerable to convective concerns on the northern edges. Fortunately this is a 16 day prog.

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