For Total solar eclipse on April 8Many people will strive to take part in path of integrityWhere the Sun’s face will be completely blocked by the moon’s shadow. But even if you are within this path, this does not guarantee that the skies will be clear on the day of the eclipse.
So what happens if it’s cloudy where you are on April 8? Will you notice anything as the moon’s shadow hovers over you?
This depends on how thick and how wide the clouds are. No matter what, you’ll definitely notice some very unusual effects when the moon’s shadow passes. I had the misfortune that two of the 13 total were completely overshadowed. solar eclipses I traveled there and managed to sneak a glimpse of the corona even though in the third case almost the entire sky was covered with clouds.
Relating to: How can you give yourself the best chance of clear skies for the solar eclipse on April 8?
So, based on these three experiences, here’s what you can expect to see if the weather doesn’t work in your favor and you end up saying the two words every eclipse chaser doesn’t want to hear: “It’s clouded!”
If you cannot watch the eclipse in person or the weather is unfavorable, you can watch the total solar eclipse live on Space.com. And stay up to date with our total solar eclipse 2024 live updates blog.
Passing of the moon’s shadow
In the event of significant cloud cover on “E-Day,” the clouds may actually have an advantage: They will provide a kind of projection screen for viewing the rapid approach and departure of the Moon’s dark umbrella shadow. Isabel Martin Lewis described this effect in her 1924 book “Handbook of Solar Eclipses.”
“When the Moon’s shadow comes upon us during the eclipse, we come into direct contact with a tangible entity from space beyond and feel the magnitude of forces over which we have no control,” Lewis wrote. “The effect is extremely awe-inspiring. In fact, the passage of the moon’s shadow will be one of the most impressive features of the eclipse if one is lucky enough to observe it.”
Mid to high level clouds
If your sky is covered with mid- to high-level clouds (cirrostratus, altostratus, and/or cirrocumulus), you will likely be able to see the leading edge of the elliptical shadow moving quickly toward you and then just before and after. the beginning of wholeness. With its passage, a notable change in the overall quality of light in the surrounding landscape and a dramatic change in the color of clouds can occur.
On July 10, 1972, My first total solar eclipse, my family and I were just outside Cap-Chat, Quebec, a sleepy Canadian community of 2,000 whose population swelled to nearly 30,000 on eclipse day. The eclipse began in bright sunlight mixing with wispy high clouds. But as the sun covered more and more, high cloud cover increased rapidly and began to descend; so much so that at the beginning of totality almost the entire sky was covered with a band of battleship-grey clouds.
But with the arrival of the moon’s shadow, we saw its distinctly sharp edge come in. For those of a certain age who may remember the long-running television series “Edge of Night,” which featured an animation featuring a line in the opening. What exactly reminded me of this, while surrounded by the shadow of the moon, was the darkness looming over a city. Once you experience this for yourself, it becomes easy to understand why this sight was so frightening to ancient people.
Along with the sudden darkness, there was also a change in the color of the clouds. There were strange and exotic colors behind the forward moving edge of the moon shadow. Dull gray suddenly turned yellow-orange, the hues you might see when looking at a bottle of beer or iodine. Actually on the verge of disappearing sun At the beginning and end of totality, a ruby red or fuchsia arc associated with the solar chromatic sphere appeared. It appeared bright red because hydrogen in the sun emits a reddish light at high temperatures, and some of this light may become evident in clouds at the beginning and end of the totality.
Some final comments regarding my 1972 eclipse experience. Despite heavy cloud cover, we managed to see the fully eclipsed sun through a coincidental gap in the cloudy sky about 30 seconds after the total eclipse began. As totality ended, we clearly saw the tail end of the shadow projected on the clouds, rapidly receding towards the northeast. I remember my grandfather calling to my grandmother, “Inez! Look, look! He’s going that way.” Meanwhile, my sister Lisa, understanding all this, simply said: “This strange!“
“An incredible view!”
Interestingly, when the total solar eclipse was being specially broadcast on CBS TV in March 1970, reporter Bill Plante (1938-2022) was on duty in Halifax, Nova Scotia, under cloudy skies. But he was very wary of the changes that occurred as the moon’s shadow moved in.
“Even though we couldn’t see the sun in the last 30 seconds, we witnessed an incredible sight because it became dark as night!” said. “The light dropped very quickly from an acceptable twilight or reading level or cloud cover level to virtual night. And just to the north and east, underneath this dark, pitch-black layer of sky, there’s a beautiful pink and orange horizon; orange and golden color. Again, it was an incredible and fascinating event for the sky to suddenly darken in less than 30 seconds, and now we are experiencing a total eclipse!”
Despite the clouds, Plante looks impressed.
just a few clouds
Sometimes you’re lucky enough to get mostly clear skies. But even then, unfortunately, during the exact phase of the eclipse, one of the few clouds in the sky may be in front of the sun.
This happened to me on October 12, 1977 in Colombia, South America. During the 38-second totality period, a single piece of cloud drifted in front of the sun. If something like this happens to you, the best thing you can do is find brighter stars and planets in the dark sky and try to watch the moon’s shadow pass by.
As I later noted in my personal journal, “When totality came, almost the entire sky was clear, and visibility and transparency were near perfect. We could easily see seven stars, and at the third contact, we marveled at the passage of the star. The Moon’s shadow cone is rapidly retreating eastward, and in the east a portion of the rainbow is in full view.” When totality begins, it turns completely red.
“There was only one thing wrong: the sun was behind a cloud! It started encroaching on the sun a few minutes before totality, and was gone only a minute or two after the sun began to re-emerge. As if to add salt to the wound, not as the sun was setting, partially eclipsed behind the Andes another cloud intervened! For me, Colombia was the opposite of Cap Chat. What goes around, goes around!”
For more information about this misfortune, read my colleague Comments by Glenn Schneider.
Thick, low clouds
Finally, on the day of the eclipse, there is a chance that your view will be obscured by clouds at lower altitudes, usually below 6,500 feet (1,980 meters). They tend to be thick, low, flat clouds that cover large areas and often bring precipitation.
In December 2021, my wife, Renate, and I were aboard an icebreaker sailing off the coast of Antarctica when we encountered the moon’s shadow for a total eclipse that lasted just over a minute and a half. Unfortunately, our skies were heavily overcast, filled with low clouds and spotty, light precipitation.
In such a case, the effects of a total solar eclipse can best be described as being in a bright room where someone has turned the dimmer switch down and then up again, causing the light to return.
as I stated My story for Space.com“Totality lasted 97 seconds. No obvious shadow or cone of darkness was noted. Rather, there was an amorphous darkening of the sky—like someone turning off a rheostat or dimmer switch. No color was visible, and the end of totality appeared more distinct than when the light faded away.” During totality it actually started to drizzle very lightly, and a few minutes after the third contact it actually started to snow lightly. The air temperature was around 0°C (32°F), but factoring in the winds made it noticeably colder .”
final thoughts
I think Antarctica was the most disappointing of all my eclipse experiences; It was dark again and there wasn’t much to see except light. I hope that anyone who settles in the path of the Moon’s dark shadow will be able to clearly see the April 8 eclipse. But as you can see, as long as the clouds aren’t low and thick and it’s not raining or snowing, the moon’s fleeting shadow and the eerie colors that accompany it will still make quite a spectacle!