Weather thread

[+TheBF]

North shore of lake Erie with the grandkids was amazing. My first total eclipse.  

We got very lucky. Stormy morning but it cleared mostly by 2:30 PM. 

 

Drive home was nuts.  2.5 hours for a 50 minute trip.  Everybody stole my idea!  

 

[JB]

54 minutes ago, Gary from OPA said:

This is the best it got here, with 99% coverage for about 2 minutes the streetlights came on and the bottom part of the cloudy sky was all dark. And then about 10 minutes after the event all the clouds disappeared and now you can get a sunburn there so much sun out.

Dang. That sucks, especially with it all clearing away as soon as the show was over.

[+OLD CS1]

Temperature track for the 2017 (August) eclipse (peak just before 1445EDT):

Temperature track for the 2024 (April) eclipse (peak just after 1500EDT):

 

[Gary from OPA]

People want refunds after spending thousands on a hotel room in Niagara Falls to watch the eclipse and it’s cloudy skies! 😳

[+OLD CS1]

36 minutes ago, Gary from OPA said:

People want refunds after spending thousands on a hotel room in Niagara Falls to watch the eclipse and it’s cloudy skies! 😳

Fat chance.  Life sucks.

 

Now, there is a valid case going on against some hotels in which people booked today a few years in advance and the hotels gave them a great off-season rate, then cancelled their reservations and booked the rooms at higher rates when they found out about the eclipse.  This one is going to be epic.

[+mizapf]

12 hours ago, TheBF said:

North shore of lake Erie with the grandkids was amazing. My first total eclipse.  

We got very lucky. Stormy morning but it cleared mostly by 2:30 PM.

Congratulations!

 

The camera obviously pulled up the brightness; it should have been a lot darker. Isn't it a spooky atmosphere when you look around and see the orange horizon, and above you this weird spectacle with the dark sun and the white corona in a deep blue sky, and then you notice there are stars and planets, maybe Venus or even Mercury?

 

In the time before the totality, the eyes can easily adapt to the weaker light, and you don't notice that 80%, 90%, or 95% of the sun are eclipsed. Everything around seems to cast hard shadows, as the light source is getting smaller. Around 98% you feel like wearing sunglasses, and it's not like a sunset where you have diffuse lighting. But when the totality comes, the light suddenly dims down like in a movie theater just before the curtain opens.

[+5-11under]

9 hours ago, Gary from OPA said:

People want refunds after spending thousands on a hotel room in Niagara Falls to watch the eclipse and it’s cloudy skies! 😳

 

We should have done the eclipse on Sunday... clear skies.

[+TheBF]

1 hour ago, mizapf said:

Congratulations!

 

The camera obviously pulled up the brightness; it should have been a lot darker. Isn't it a spooky atmosphere when you look around and see the orange horizon, and above you this weird spectacle with the dark sun and the white corona in a deep blue sky, and then you notice there are stars and planets, maybe Venus or even Mercury?

 

In the time before the totality, the eyes can easily adapt to the weaker light, and you don't notice that 80%, 90%, or 95% of the sun are eclipsed. Everything around seems to cast hard shadows, as the light source is getting smaller. Around 98% you feel like wearing sunglasses, and it's not like a sunset where you have diffuse lighting. But when the totality comes, the light suddenly dims down like in a movie theater just before the curtain opens.

Exactly.  That's a good description. 

My son in law took that picture with his phone so ya, auto exposure.

[Kchula-Rrit]

8 hours ago, mizapf said:

Congratulations!

 

The camera obviously pulled up the brightness; it should have been a lot darker. Isn't it a spooky atmosphere when you look around and see the orange horizon, and above you this weird spectacle with the dark sun and the white corona in a deep blue sky, and then you notice there are stars and planets, maybe Venus or even Mercury?

 

In the time before the totality, the eyes can easily adapt to the weaker light, and you don't notice that 80%, 90%, or 95% of the sun are eclipsed. Everything around seems to cast hard shadows, as the light source is getting smaller. Around 98% you feel like wearing sunglasses, and it's not like a sunset where you have diffuse lighting. But when the totality comes, the light suddenly dims down like in a movie theater just before the curtain opens.

This is a much as we got, in North Idaho.  With apologies to Judy Collins, "Send In the Clouds..."

We went to the 2017 one, stopped by the side of the road in eastern Oregon the night before and slept in the car.  It did seem spooky.  Aside from the "main event," I was fascinated by the sunshine seeming to turn blue-white shortly before totality.  It reminded me of seeing an arc-welder, or those coruscating actinic headlights they put on new cars.

We stopped on the side of a high hill that overlooked a valley for some miles and, I swear, I saw the shadow coming across the valley at the start of totality and the returning sunshine doing the same at the end.  I set up a thermometer in front of my laptop camera to record any temperature drop; it was about 6 degrees, and the wind definitely felt cooler.

There were, maybe, a hundred people showed up at the wide spot, and someone played "Dark Side of the Moon" during totality.  They cleared-out pretty quickly, once it was over.

It was pretty neat, would have like to have gone to this one.

K-R.

[+mizapf]

You can indeed see the shadow approaching. We were a group of about 15-20 people at the 2006 event, we just found a very good position on a small hill, with a view down to the coastline. I remember people from that group suddenly shouting that they see the shadow coming over the sea. The scientific guide who was with us stated that the shadow would be approaching at about Mach 2 or 3.

 

I did not see the shadow, as I was busily preparing my camcorder and my camera. The bad thing is that you have to decide how to experience the eclipse. It's too short to do everything. For instance, apart from the shadow you may see shadowy waves swooping over the landscape, shortly before totality, which are caused by effects in the atmosphere when the sun is eclipsed to a very small part. Or you can see the hundreds of sun sickles on the ground below a tree.

 

Your impression of the cold light shortly before totality may come from the fact that your vision expects everything in red when the sun sets, so you associate low light with warm light. Here, however, the light temperature stays the same, but it's getting dark like sunset, so it seems as if everything looks much too cold.

 

I remember I had a weird impression of a sort of violet color during totality, maybe because of the mix of the red horizon and the dark blue sky above.

 

It is absolutely believable that such an event may have triggered a war, mass suicide, or other hefty reactions in ancient times.

[Tursi]

I missed this one, but I did see the 2017 one. My friend and I drove up to Oregon from California. He has sussed out a little field along a side-road he hoped we could park by long enough to watch. When we got there all the roadside stops were blocked by the police (as they were already full). We got on the side road and found the field he'd found on Google Earth had been blocked by the owners with signs posted not to trespass. So we kept driving.

 

By fluke we saw a little sign that said 'eclipse parking, $20', so we followed that. A family had cleaned out their horse pasture and opened it up to people to park. For your $20 you got parking, cookies, fresh coffee and even a bathroom. I felt bad that they only got about six of us but it was such a relief and such a comfortable way to watch.

 

I was impressed how quickly the air cooled and how the birds got quiet. I was very hesitant with the glasses until I trusted them, and I was really surprised that at the moment of totality it was suddenly too dark to see through them at all. Caution again as I looked without them, but then yeah. If I've ever had a religious moment in my life, seeing the corona was it.

 

I didn't know how long totality was meant to be, so I kept checking for any hint of bright again with the glasses. I think we got just over 2 minutes.

 

My buddy used a cheap camera to record the whole thing (we didn't know if it would fry the sensor but it was okay to lose this one). It captured the eclipse wonderfully, especially for what it was, but you can also see the shadow moving across the field of view on the ground and even in the sky, which is really cool.

 

Uploaded it here. Especially if you view it in fast forward the shadows are easier to see.

 

 

 

 

[Gary from OPA]

Most expensive Disney World ticket ever...coming August of 2045!

[Kchula-Rrit]

5 hours ago, mizapf said:

You can indeed see the shadow approaching. We were a group of about 15-20 people at the 2006 event, we just found a very good position on a small hill, with a view down to the coastline. I remember people from that group suddenly shouting that they see the shadow coming over the sea. The scientific guide who was with us stated that the shadow would be approaching at about Mach 2 or 3.

Thanks for the confirmation!  So, I'm not nuts...

The Moon orbits at 2000mph/3000kph, so Mach 2-3 makes sense.  I just figured it's too fast to see with the eye.

5 hours ago, mizapf said:

I did not see the shadow, as I was busily preparing my camcorder and my camera. The bad thing is that you have to decide how to experience the eclipse. It's too short to do everything. For instance, apart from the shadow you may see shadowy waves swooping over the landscape, shortly before totality, which are caused by effects in the atmosphere when the sun is eclipsed to a very small part.  Or you can see the hundreds of sun sickles on the ground below a tree.

I was all set to do the camera thing, but just decided to enjoy the experience!  Didn't see the waves or the sun sickles (no trees where we were).  In 2012 we went to an annular eclipse at Lassen National Park, and had sun sickles.  Cool.

5 hours ago, mizapf said:

Your impression of the cold light shortly before totality may come from the fact that your vision expects everything in red when the sun sets, so you associate low light with warm light. Here, however, the light temperature stays the same, but it's getting dark like sunset, so it seems as if everything looks much too cold.

 

I remember I had a weird impression of a sort of violet color during totality, maybe because of the mix of the red horizon and the dark blue sky above.

The Better Half agrees with you.  My thought was that the sky was still pretty bright-blue, while the yellow sunshine was diminished so much that the blue showed.  Sort of how shadows appear bluer in winter up here when the Sun is only 20 degrees above the horizon at noon.

5 hours ago, mizapf said:

It is absolutely believable that such an event may have triggered a war, mass suicide, or other hefty reactions in ancient times.

I remember reading of a war being stopped because both sides were terrified.  Probably thought the gods were mad at them for picking a fight.

K-R.

[+OLD CS1]

3 hours ago, Gary from OPA said:

Most expensive Disney World ticket ever...coming August of 2045!

Supposed to come right over me in 2045.  Except that I do not expect to be living here another 20 years.

[Gary from OPA]

7 minutes ago, OLD CS1 said:

Supposed to come right over me in 2045.  Except that I do not expect to be living here another 20 years.

Well I will be 76 in 2045 and by then I will be allowed to enter the USA without issues (anytime after 2033), so I am good. The place to be on 2045 is Little Rock as that is the X point as this year one passed through it, just like Carbondale was the X point this year for having the previous experience as well.

 

If we both have not kick the bucket by then, we should meet up in Little Rock with our TI99 systems it would be sure one less item on our bucket list!

[Flottmann1]

When the total solar eclipse was visible in Germany in 1999, our work was interrupted for 30 minutes

We stood outside with our safety glasses and were able to see the natural spectacle clearly
Here is a video from the German News at the time, there were 45 km of traffic jams around Stuttgart, the visibility there was very limited due to clouds,

but in Karlsruhe the visibility was good, as was the case here near Heilbronn
In this Video  you can see a flight with a Concorde that took off from Paris. Since it flew at 2,200 km, the solar eclipse was visible for almost 3 times as long

 

I can't insert the YouTube link, so I attached the video here

 

The next total solar eclipse in Germany is in 2081, I probably won't experience it unless I turn 130

[+mizapf]

I was in Saarland in 1999, south of Saarbrücken, when shortly before the eclipse, a think cloud layer came up and obscured everything for several hours. People north of Saarbrücken were more lucky; those clouds opened for them at the same time.

 

I waited for that eclipse since I was a small boy and read about the eclipse in one of those scientific books for kids (titled "Was ist was" (lit. "what is what")).

 

I could only heal this trauma by traveling to the 2006 eclipse in Turkey, and well, it worked out, I was instantly cured. 🙂

 

Some pictures from that event can be seen here: https://www.mizapf.de/de/astro/sonne/sofi06

 

(in case you wonder: "Sonnenfinsternis" (short SoFi) literally means "sun darkness", even in scientific context)

[Flottmann1]

translated with translator !

 

a report from our Heilbronner Stimme Newspaper from August 11, 2019, ( 20 years of SoFi in Germany)

Worry number two was even more serious, because if it had happened
What many feared, even the worry about glasses would have been superfluous: a whole
and completely overcast skies. Clouds that obscure the view of the event of the century
Sky would be blocked when the moon slowly moves in front of the sun and
this finally completely eclipsed. Twenty years ago today, August 11, 1999.

Bad weather adds to the spectacle

Because of bad weather forecasts, you had to go to the right from the start
Shadowed by Stuttgart? The Heilbronn program was plentiful
honest therefore. Here the farmers were at the forefront of transparent production
Kiliansplatz, a Dixieland band played, the observatory had an information stand. The
The people of Stuttgart, on the other hand, had been pushing hard for a sun festival
was supposed to attract half a million guests to the state capital. Pforzheim had
a restaurant mile was planned, Göppingen made use of the cosmic event
Mask spectacle.

Heilbronn was modest. It was 100 kilometers wide
Strip in which it became pitch black, but just on the northern edge. That meant:
Our total Sofi, as she was affectionately called by many, only lasted one
Minute and 29 seconds and was 48 seconds shorter than the one in Stuttgart
would have seen. The party collapsed at the beginning of the climax
At 12:33 p.m. it was raining heavily there.

Sofi fever on Kiliansplatz

The region, however, won the jackpot when it came to weather. At twelve o'clock
o'clock the sky opened up and the thick clouds moved away. The region fell collectively
Sofi fever. 3,000 people came to Kiliansplatz. Whether on
the Wartberg, from the flat roof of the Heilbronn police headquarters or alone in
free nature. Those who could stared reverently at the sky, forgetting the gloating
and was silently amazed. The traffic on the avenue came to a standstill for minutes
There were kilometers of traffic jams on the highways and parking spaces were closed. Many
had set off at the last minute.

Sofi was like that. Anyone who has experienced it will not forget it. Anyone who missed it
have to live with it. In 2081 it will be that time again in the south of Germany -
provided the weather cooperates.

Sofi party on Kiliansplatz in Heilbronn. 3000 people marvel at the natural phenomenon.

Looking forward to the celestial spectacle beneath the summit cross of the Scheuerberg in Neckarsulm. our local mountain in Neckarsulm

Waiting for the solar eclipse on the 304 meter high Scheuerberg in Neckarsulm

 

You can't top something like that!

 

Michael, you should take a vacation to Spain for the total solar eclipse
plan for August 12, 2026!

[+mizapf]

I'm planning for the Aug 2, 2027 eclipse in Egypt. Imagine the black sun above the Karnak temple in Luxor! And it will be 6 min 21 secs long.

 

https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sonnenfinsternis_vom_2._August_2027

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_eclipse_of_August_2,_2027

 

[Gary from OPA]

Crazy people still believe in some solar eclipse myths

 

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/rest-of-world/us-astrology-influencer-allegedly-kills-partner-baby-amid-solar-eclipse-concerns/articleshow/109211115.cms

[+OLD CS1]

Holy smokes.  Between 3:14am and 3:45am we received 1.9 inches.  Good bit of my front yard washed away last night, exposing some comms cabling.  The back porch flooded the worst of all the time I have lived here, but all the modifications I have made to the yard kept my storage room, which sits lower than the yard, from flooding.

 

 

[Gary from OPA]

8 minutes ago, OLD CS1 said:

Holy smokes.  Between 3:14am and 3:45am we received 1.9 inches.  Good bit of my front yard washed away last night, exposing some comms cabling.  The back porch flooded the worst of all the time I have lived here, but all the modifications I have made to the yard kept my storage room, which sits lower than the yard, from flooding.

 

 

Have not looked at my back yard but been raining non stop all day today and will be tomorrow as well, and my darn squirrel ate thru my repaired window screen so once it stops raining I going to add chick coup metal net over my window to stop the squirrel from getting inside.

[GDMike]

 Hail of a time in my yard.

I just want to finish my deck!!!

Edited April 20 by GDMike

[+mizapf]

Really mad weather here in Germany. Two weeks ago we had high temperatures at about 23 °C (73°F), now the snow is back (low temp of today at 3°C = 37°F). Not only did I put summer tyres on my car already (you'll be fined when the police meets you with summer tyres in snowy conditions), but the bloom has already been there for many plants, and many orchards now call it a total loss. All fruit frozen on the trees.

 

Again, the weather forecast warned of snow some minutes ago.

[+mizapf]

Weather is getting better again ... well, April. The rapeseed is out.