A partial solar eclipse is coming this weekend, but weather could be an issue for many hoping to get a glimpse of the moon “taking a bite” out of the sun.
Skywatchers across much of New York State, New England and Atlantic Canada who are hoping to get a view of Saturday morning’s partial solar eclipse are unfortunately going to be at the mercy of a stationary weather system that will likely generate widespread cloudiness as well as a variety of precipitation ranging from rain, sleet and snow.
The front is expected to serve as the pathway for several waves of low pressure, with one moving east from the lower peninsula of Michigan, a second over Lake Huron, another over central New York and yet a fourth near Cape Cod. The broad area of unsettled weather being produced by this set-up is due chiefly to a marked contrast of airmasses.
Across northern New York State and central and northern New England, temperatures will be in the 30’s and lower 40’s. Meanwhile, over southwest New England, southern New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania, temperatures will soar into the 70’s and lower 80’s.
Prospective eclipse watchers traveling to northern parts of New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, as well as a slice of west-central Maine, likely will be bringing telescopes, cameras and special solar filters, but they may also need one additional item: A snow shovel. As much as one to four inches of snow is expected to be on the ground at eclipse time for these locations. Farther south, the snow will mix with and change to sleet and/or light rain.
Related: What time is the partial solar eclipse tomorrow?
Where to go to catch the sun show
And yet, in spite of the pessimistic outlook that was just presented, there are locations that will have a “fair chance” (about 40 to 60 percent) of getting a view of the partial eclipse.
This map shows the probabilities for getting a view of Saturday morning’s solar eclipse. Places in the “Poor” zone are likely to have 70 to 100 percent cloud cover. Places in the zone indicated as “Fair” are expected to have 40 to 70 percent cloud cover, with enough breaks in the cloud cover to get some occasional good views of the eclipse. For parts of Southern New England, Southeast New York and Northern New Jersey, clouds might not break in time to catch a view of the rising sun in partial eclipse until the eclipse is over. To the left of the line denoted as “Western Limit of Zone of Partial Eclipse” the eclipse will end before sunrise.
In the state of Maine, the northern half of Aroostook County may be situated just far enough to the north of the zone of thick clouds to allow observers to some good views of the eclipse; possibly some mid-to-high level clouds will be present, but hopefully they will allow the sun to freely shine through. Similar conditions may be present across the US/Canadian border for the northern half of New Brunswick province, as well as areas of Quebec province north of Quebec City.
Much of Nova Scotia, as well as Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland will probably be plagued by clouds, although it is just possible that some good breaks in the cloud cover could develop for Nova Scotia’s Minas Basin and Eastern Shore. In those regions where the sun may be visible, skywatchers will see a rather large percentage of the solar disk hidden behind the moon at around sunup, with four-fifths or more of the sun’s diameter eclipsed.
Take a bite!
Farther to the south, across southern New England and southeast New York, the question is, will low cloud cover break up in time to allow for a view of the eclipse? The closing stages of the eclipse will take place in the half hour following sunrise. It could very well be, that the sun will be stuck behind clouds during that short interval and will not break through until after the eclipse is over.
Farther south, across Pennsylvania, New Jersey and the Delmarva Peninsula, skies should be partly to mostly sunny. But the amount of the sun that will be covered in this region will be quite small, amounting to only a bite or nibble or barely a nick in the sun’s disk.
Latest forecasts
Take note that what we have provided here, are generalizations. To get the very latest updated forecast for the region you are hoping to view the eclipse from, NOAA has provided a website depicting the locations of all National Weather Service Forecast Offices nationwide. Just click on the location you are interested in and you will be taken to the NWS Forecast Office where you can get all of the latest weather information. In Canada, Environment Canada provides a similar website.
So, what’s the big deal?
Normally, a partial eclipse of the sun gets little, if any attention. In this particular case, however, over parts of Canada and northern New England, a considerable amount of the sun will be eclipsed at maximum phase, which will also closely coincide with the time of sunrise.
So, if you live in northern Maine, Quebec, New Brunswick or Nova Scotia where the weather hopefully will cooperate, you should pay extra attention to morning twilight on Saturday, which may be quite subdued and possibly a bit unusual due to the eclipse. You might try visually comparing the appearance of the horizon on Saturday to the mornings thereafter. Better yet, at dawn on eclipse morning, try capturing a series of photos with a wide-angle lens or a video sequence, The results could prove to be quite dramatic.
In those locations where the rising sun will be reduced to a crescent, observers may wonder if there will be a noticeable change in daylight illumination. Since maximum eclipse of 80 percent or greater coverage of the sun’s diameter occurs over the easternmost border of Maine, as well as parts of eastern Quebec and Atlantic Canada, with the sun very low, the difference might not be great enough to dim the landscape appreciably. Then again, with so much of the sun covered, perhaps the effect won’t be to diminish the brightness of sunlight so much as to alter its quality: Scenery may appear strangely dusky and yellower than usual.
Be careful!
Of course, all the usual eclipse-viewing precautions must be taken with this event. Even when the sun is close to the horizon, it’s still potentially blindingly bright. For telescopic or naked-eye viewing, a safe solar filter must be used. It is NEVER safe to look directly at the sun during a partial solar eclipse without suitable eye protection. Make sure to use solar eclipse glasses or a solar filter if you are viewing it through telescopes or binoculars. A pinhole projector is always a great option if you don’t have solar filters, and you can easily make one with some basic items from around your house.
But for a partial solar eclipse occurring at sunrise, the usual ground rules might be fraught with uncertainty. What if, for example, a thick layer of horizon haze significantly attenuates the sun’s light, dimming and reddening it to such a degree that you’re tempted to look directly at it? After all, just about everyone have watched sunrises (and sunsets) under such conditions. Or perhaps the sun passes behind a cloud that diminishes its light considerably.
While it’s true that the sun’s visible rays may be significantly reduced under such conditions, its infrared rays can still freely penetrate horizon haze and clouds, however thick they may be. Damage to your retina can happen without any sensation of pain. So, if the sun is low and dimmed by haze or thin clouds, use discretion, and err on the side of caution. Take only brief looks and don’t stare long enough for infrared rays to build up heat on your retina. Under no circumstances should you use binoculars or a telescope without full-aperture filters covering the objective lenses.
While a partial eclipse is certainly no match for a total one, it’s nonetheless a most interesting sight. And this one, occurring right around sunup, will certainly be all the more dramatic, with the possibility of unusual twilight effects. The sun’s low elevation also means your photos can include beautiful foreground scenery to spice them up.
To those blessed with good weather early Saturday morning, good luck!
If you’re unable to catch the solar eclipse in person you can enjoy all the action from the comfort of your home via these solar eclipse livestreams. We will also be updating our solar eclipse live blog throughout the event, bringing you the best views and comments from those on the ground and watching online.
Joe Rao serves as an instructor and guest lecturer at New York’s Hayden Planetarium. He writes about astronomy for Natural History magazine, Sky and Telescope and other publications.
