Solar Eclipse 2017: Will Clouds Affect The View?

The 2017 Solar Eclipse is only a day away and a large swath of the United States, from Oregon to South Carolina, will be fortunate enough to see the eclipse in its totality while much of the rest of the country will see a partial solar eclipse. The eclipse will begin over Oregon and track over Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Nebraska, Kansas, Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia, and South Carolina, all states where the eclipse will be viewed in totality.

Even states where the eclipse will be viewed in totality with the moon completely covering the sun, viewing conditions may not be perfect if there is significant cloud cover. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration or NOAA reviewed past cloud conditions for Aug. 21 and found that the coasts might be more susceptible to cloudy conditions and increased cloud cover may be possible as the eclipse travels east around the country.

According to NOAA, the chance for clearer skies appears to be the greatest across the Intermountain West. NOAA says that historical cloudiness increases as the path curves southeastward across the Plains, making viewing the event potentially rarer as it moves towards the East Coast.

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NOAA has an interactive map that shows you the "viewable percentage" for a particular location in the United States. The percentage represents the likelihood of skies being clear enough for the eclipse to be visible, the higher the percentage the greater the chances of an unobstructed view.

In Newport, Oregon, the first location in the path of the eclipse, has a viewable percentage of 44 percent, meaning there is a 56 percent chance that viewing conditions will be affected by cloudy weather.

According to NOAA, Casper, Wyoming has the highest viewability percentage of 88 percent, followed by Alliance, Nebraska (82 percent) and Carbondale, Illinois (80 percent).

But there's no need to be discouraged as NOAA itself concedes that cloudiness calculations are based on past observations, which are no guarantee of future outcomes. For more up to date weather conditions, the National Weather Service has an interactive map where you can get your local forecast for the eclipse.

>>>Click here to see the viewability percentage for your location.

>>>Click here to see the local weather forecast for your location.

So far, the NWS is predicting mostly clear skies on Monday with the potential for some bad weather in the central U.S. and in South Carolina.

For more on the solar eclipse, including safety tips, see: Everything You Need To Know About The Solar Eclipse

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