Overcast skies could put a serious damper on the total solar eclipse, especially in Buffalo, New York, where there’s a chance viewers won’t be able to see the moon obscure the sun at all.
On Monday afternoon, the moon will be positioned so that the entire disc of the sun will be blocked in several states, plunging millions of people into darkness during the early afternoon. The path of totality will start in Mexico and extend across Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, New York, Pennsylvania, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine before heading over the North Atlantic.
The spectacle is expected to draw crowds from around the nation as people head to areas in the path of totality to witness the eclipse. Meanwhile, officials across the country have voiced concerns about stretched public safety resources and an “enormous strain” on local hospitals and congested roadways. At least four states have urged residents to stock up on groceries and gas and to fill medical prescriptions in the days leading up to the eclipse, as it is expected that traffic could overwhelm local roads.
However, recent weather forecasts may have some people scrambling to find a better viewing spot as clouds threaten to disrupt the spectacle. In Buffalo, New York, heavy cloud cover could prevent viewing of the eclipse. It will still get dark in the area, but viewers won’t be able to see the moon move in front of the sun.
National Weather Service (NWS) meteorologists are tracking the clouds as they progress.
“Here is the current satellite. The concern is the thicker clouds over the Buffalo area that block most of the sun,” the NWS office in Burlington, Vermont, posted on X, formerly Twitter on Monday morning. “The thinner clouds over the western Adirondacks still let some of the sun through. The thinking is the thicker clouds will make it to the Adirondacks by eclipse time.”
Here is the current satellite. The concern is the thicker clouds over the Buffalo area that block most of the sun. The thinner clouds over the western Adirondacks still let some of the sun through. The thinking is the thicker clouds will make it to the Adirondacks by eclipse time pic.twitter.com/vtkJgXPrbS
— NWS Burlington (@NWSBurlington) April 8, 2024
NWS meteorologist Liz Jurkowski told Newsweek it’ll be a close in Buffalo, as forecasts show a clearing in the sky that just passed over Cleveland, Ohio, late Monday morning.
“Based on our timing, it will be really close whether that clearing is going to get in for the totality,” she said.
The partial eclipse begins at 2:04 p.m. in Buffalo. Totality begins at 3:18 p.m. and will end at 3:22 p.m., Jurkowski said. If the clearing does arrive in time, viewers might be able to observe the eclipse through some opaque clouds. If it doesn’t, heavy cloud cover could block the sun.
Jurkowski said there’s an extremely small chance that skies will be perfectly clear in the Buffalo area during the eclipse.
Getty
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.