What if it’s Cloudy During the Eclipse?
The sun and moon are trucking right along on their paths toward Monday's eclipse, you've purchased the eclipse glasses and you've staked out the perfect viewing spot. What could possibly ruin the view? Clouds!
The moon will come between us and the sun on Monday, creating the incredibly rare, total solar eclipse. But clouds could come between us and the moon, and block our view. Dang it! That might feel kinda like a clingy ex-boyfriend that suddenly pops up and tries to get in the way of you and your new man. Shoo, you pest, shoo.
If clouds do form on Monday and we wake up to a gray day, we'll still be able to view the eclipse. Sort of. We won't wake up with laser vision or anything that beams through the clouds, but we could move locations. Basically, we would have to drive out of the clouds into a clear spot, which might mean we're driving to Wyoming or Nebraska for a clear view. No thanks.
Romper says even if we don't view the total eclipse, the experience of it will be pretty amazing. The American Astronomical Society says, "a total solar eclipse is a phenomenal experience that overwhelms your senses, and even in the most ideal conditions, you'd never be able to take everything in — something would always be missed." Clouds or no clouds, the sky will probably be eerie and dark, and we'll know the eclipse is happening no matter what.
CBS News looked at where the cloud cover usually happens this time of year, and the clearest spot in the US is right here in the Northwest. The further south and east you go, the greater the chances for a cloudy eclipse, so folks in Tennessee might be making pinhole projectors for nothing.
It's early, but right now Accuweather says Monday's weather in Boise will be partly cloudy with a high around 90, with a chance of thunderstorms. We'll keep an eye on it, without a pinhole projector for now.