The early forecast for the total eclipse of the sun shows there is a greater probability of mostly clear skies along portions of the path of totality, in Texas and Arkansas as well as parts of northern Maine.
A total solar eclipse is visible on April 8th in parts of Mexico and Canada, as well as the United States, from Texas up to Maine. Total solar eclipses occur when the Moon completely blocks the Sun’s face for several minutes as it passes between the Sun, the Earth, and the Moon. This will be the final total solar eclipse to pass over the United States until 2044.
You’ll also need solar glasses to see the total eclipse. It is best to be on the path of the eclipse when it reaches 100 miles. To see a total eclipse, you’ll also need a clear sky.
FOX’s Forecast Center created the map with color codes below to show areas that are more likely or less likely to be affected by cloud cover. Computer forecast models will become more accurate as the eclipse approaches.
FOX Forecast Center: “We are confident that two weeks before the eclipse, Dallas and San Antonio, in Texas, Little Rock, in Arkansas, and Caribou, in Maine, are less likely to experience heavy cloud coverage on April 8th.”
Adam Klotz, a FOX meteorologist, said: “All things in green will give you the best chance of seeing the solar eclipse.” How did we arrive at this situation? It’s just a combination of historic climatology. This is an area where there’s usually less cloud coverage. We’re also getting close to the point where you can make some long-range predictions.
Texas is preparing to receive a large number of visitors and traffic during the solar eclipse. Some counties in the path of totality already declared states-of-emergency.
According to the FOX Weather Center, there is also a high level of confidence that cloud cover will be reduced in certain parts of northern Maine.
Cloud cover increases in the middle of eclipse’s path, west and north from Nashville, Tennessee.
Chicago, Illinois and Cincinnati, Ohio are more confident of a wider cloud cover during eclipse.
Cloud climatology data can be used to determine where the eclipse will most likely be covered by clouds on April 8. Below is a map that shows average cloud cover over the last 30 years. This data so far is in line with the forecast of an early eclipse for 2024.
You will still be able to see some of the eclipse even if there is cloud cover.
