I’m trying to hedge my bets where to go for the total solar eclipse. I will either wind up in Watertown, NY or Sandusky OH. From what I read, Sandusky is least likely to be affected by Lake Effect snow. (I foolishly failed to consider this for Upstate NY.). What do local weather watchers of OH and NY think? NOTE: The date is still too far out to appear in a 15 day forecast (not that a long-range forecast is very accurate). Your thougths?
Lake county Ohio here. No way to tell if it will be cloudy yet.
Yeah, the clouds are a concern, of course. Just hoping not to be rained or snowed on. Maybe we can catch some glimpses between the clouds, if the layer is thin enough…if it is not clear.
Comparing cloud cover data from Weather Spark for Watertown vs Sandusky, it seems Sandusky is somewhat less cloudy in early April, which is what I would have guessed. We’re still talking fairly poor odds in either place, with greater than a 50% chance of cloudy or overcast weather in both places. On average, Watertown gets clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy conditions about 42% of the time around April 8 vs. about 47% of the time in Sandusky.
The webpage below lists a historical chance of cloud cover. That is no guarantee for this time around. It seems the further north you go the more likely it will be cloudy.
https://www.cleardarksky.com/ec/2024-04-08_eclipse_map.html
(the map below is interactive on their website)
