Looks like clear skies and a balmy 12°c for the show at 435pm. Watching from the boardwalk on the dunes in Bouctouche, NB.
Two hours to partial, 3 to total and not much change. A nail-biter.
Only made it as far as Colorado (which is about 1/4 the way to Texas) before my back told me that I was in no shape for a 40 hour trip. Back home where it will only be 50% but at least the sky is clear.
Place where I was heading is “patchy fog then severe thunderstorms with flood watch” so glad I didn’t kill my back for that.
Will try again? 2035 in cloudy Japan, or 2045 in my backyard in sunny Utah.
So, is a welding hood good to view this thing? Two welding hoods? I’m only gonna be maybe 30% anyway. Probably not even worth the time or trouble to go get them from the garage…
Depends on the welding hood. Most aren’t dark enough but all offer good UV and IR protection. Two should work. Try looking at the sun through it and stop if it is uncomfortable.
Don’t use the auto darkening kind as the sun usually doesn’t trigger them. (It doesn’t trigger mine).
My guess is it will be just some puffy cumulus which should evaporate as totality approaches.
I used an auto-dark one in 2017. Had to increase the sensitivity and minimize the delay, but it worked fine. Shade 12 provides a pleasant and safe viewing experience.
It may be that not all auto-dark lenses have those adjustable settings.
The sun is out now.
The farther north and west we go, the more the clouds seem to be looming. Oh well. You never know…
Excellent name/post combo!!
I made it to Burlington, Vermont. I’m on a pier on Lake Champlain with nothing much to do. If anyone nearby wants to hang out and chat for the next couple hours, you can probably find me.
Wispy, very thin clouds just starting to come across the sky.
Checking Google Maps for traffic, and places like Dallas, which will have totality within the hour, are all green. In 2017 there was red all along the major interstates leading to the totality path. There is some red leading out of St. Louis to the SE, which is a few dozen miles from the edge of the path.
Both Cape Girardeau and Carbondale are in the path of totality, and both are about 90 minutes from St. Louis. I just checked Google maps and every route from St. Louis to both cities is running close to three hours, which is an hour longer than it will take the eclipse to go through..
Sad. Gotta get moving long before totality is due to arrive…
We just had first contact here in Mazatlán. It’s on!
The Sun is behind a bunch of cirrus, but is still blindingly bright to glance at without glasses. With glasses it’s indistinguishable from normal. Yet.
Hard to say how the cirrus and Sun will move relatively over the next hour+ to totality.
We have a good crowd here and they’ve closed the 4-lane road that runs along the beach, so the street party is getting underway. Not a horde. Yet.
Skies are looking pretty cloudy here, alas, hope it’ll clear up.
Watching NASA’s coverage.
Mostly clear skies in Indiana where we are. A few wispy clouds here and there.
Way less crowded than I feared. It’s busy but it’s like “Town Summerfest” busy, not but milk and bread busy. Got a few hours yet though but cautiously optimistic about the drive home. No doubt will be longer but hopefully not 3x longer
First contact here in Torreon 10 minutes ago and it’s cloudy. Sun just about visible but no hope of any decent photos yet.
We’re here in Lebanon outside Indy. Lots of high cirrus clouds, but it looks fine. Plenty of sun and shadow. Been this way since the morning.