Clouds forecast for some hoping to glimpse eclipse
On Monday, for just the second time in seven years, day will suddenly become night for a few brief, wondrous minutes as the orbiting moon blocks the sun’s light along a southwest-tonortheast path across the continent.
Meteorologists continue to refine their forecasts for the total solar eclipse and now have a pretty good idea of where the spectacle will be most and least visible.
Where will the eclipse be visible?
Federal forecasters said Friday afternoon that the best chances for clear viewing of the total eclipse are in “northern New England and from southern Missouri to central Indiana.”
Outside the path of totality, which stretches from Texas to Maine, “the best locations for viewing should be across the Southwest, out of the mountains,” said Paul Pastelok, AccuWeather lead long-range forecaster. Other good spots include “California, again, out of the mountains, New England, and parts of the mid-Atlantic and Southeast.”
Unfortunately for viewers in the path of totality, “clouds may impede viewing from Texas into Arkansas, and possibly in Ohio, northwest Pennsylvania, and western New York,” the Weather Prediction Center said. “Rain showers are also possible during totality in all of those areas.”
The eclipse will begin in Texas at 1:27 p.m. Central time and end in Maine at 3:35 p.m. Eastern time, but the exact time of the eclipse varies by location.
What is the path of totality?
The path of totality is the area where people can see the moon completely cover the sun as the moon’s shadow falls on them. Space.com describes it as “the cone-shaped inner (umbral) shadow of the moon projected onto the Earth’s surface.”
To view all of the stages of a total solar eclipse, you must watch it from somewhere along that path of totality, NASA said. Viewers outside this narrow, roughly 115-mile-wide path will only see a partial eclipse of the sun.
Pet owners don’t have to worry
Don’t worry, dogs and cats will likely be oblivious to the eclipse, according to Pasco, a science education company.
“It is unlikely that dogs and cats will react to solar eclipses, as they typically do not have a strong biological or behavioral response to changes in light or natural phenomena like eclipses,” Pasco reports.
Eclipse boosts travel
The eclipse is proving to be good news for travel firms, as some parts of the country that fall in the path of totality are seeing unprecedented demand for lodging.
Airbnb listings along the path of totality have seen occupancy levels skyrocket to nearly 90%, the vacation rental firm said.
Occupancy for all active rental listings across the path in the United States, Canada and Mexico was at 92.4% for the night of April 7, according to travel data firm AirDNA.