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Totality: Which states were a success and which were a bust?

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#26 tturtle

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Posted 10 April 2024 - 06:19 AM

We were in a campsite about 1 hour north of Little Rock Arkansas with beautiful wide open views of the sky and great weather.  I had set up a wide field refractor to see the corona up close and unfiltered and also watched the progression of the moon up until totality with a filter.  I was not expecting to see Solar prominences so clearly.  The whole thing just seemed unreal. 


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#27 RichNH

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Posted 10 April 2024 - 06:38 AM

Burlington, Vermont had somewhat hazy skies but that didn't dampen our enthusiasm at all, totality (my first!) was spectacular! 

The traffic however was another story.  It took us 3 hours to drive up there from Brookline, NH, which is normal. We left Burlington at 6PM. Traffic on Rt 89 was 5-10 mph. Waze detoured us to local roads. We arrived at the VT/NH border at 10:30PM and stayed overnight at a Comfort Inn. Finished the rest of the trip this morning, was home by 9:30AM. Everyone at the Comfort Inn told the same story, crowded curvy roads with many hairpin turns going up and down mountains, dirt roads across the mountain ridges and slow traffic.
 

But it was definitely worth it. 
 



#28 Sebastian_Sajaroff

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Posted 10 April 2024 - 06:43 AM

Canadian provinces :

 

Ontario : the western part of the totality path (Niagara Falls and Toronto area) was cloudy, the East (closer to Ottawa) was clear.

Quebec : mostly clear. I was there. I got a miraculous blue sky, specially for this time of the year ! Our chances of having a clear sky were < 20%

New Brunswick and Nova Scotia : clear as well, they got excellent conditions in an area known for its fog and rain.

Newfoundland : sadly, it was cloudy.


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#29 blahbobbyblah

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Posted 10 April 2024 - 07:03 AM

Bonham, TX (after deciding against Paris, TX), which was stressful. Once I got to Bonham I was going to monitor the weather and make adjustments as needed but unfortunately Bonham is not Verizon friendly so I was blind and decided to just roll the dice. Heavy clouds at 11:00 and then started breaking up some but the clouds kept rolling through. Less than 5 minutes before totality everything finally broke free and we had a great view Very much a success.


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#30 Tom Graham

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Posted 10 April 2024 - 07:16 AM

Do we have any reports from CN members that staged in Oklahoma, Kentucky, Indiana, Pennsylvania, New Hampshire or Mexico?



#31 Rons_World

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Posted 10 April 2024 - 07:38 AM

Toronto, Ontario, Canada = BUST! Heavy clouds, barely visible during totality only noticed it was totality because the skies became very dark.

 

I am planning to take the family to Spain or Egypt for the 2027 total eclipse - felt the FOMO with everyone's solar eclipse images. 

 

The worst part about the heavy clouds was about 2 mins after totality, the clouds parted and within 20 mins, it was clear and sunny skies! mad.gif  


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#32 Gil V

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Posted 10 April 2024 - 07:38 AM

I was 100 yards from the NH border in Vermont. A five minute drive south of Colebrook NH.

 

Virtualy clear skies all day. 


Edited by Gil V, 10 April 2024 - 07:39 AM.

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#33 GoFish

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Posted 10 April 2024 - 07:45 AM

Indianapolis, IN. Success!

 

High thin clouds throughout most of the eclipse, but never detracted from the views.


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#34 RyanSem

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Posted 10 April 2024 - 07:55 AM

Another Erie, PA checking in. Was positioned in Meadville but the forecast did not look as favorable as another 30 minutes north, so up we went. 

 

Clouds broke basically at first contact and stayed clear/thin throughout totality. There was a massive cloud front that we saw moving in as the clock ticked down, but luckily it held off until after totality. Literally minutes later and we might have missed it. I was planning on staying in my spot for another hour to get pictures of the moon receding, but within 5 minutes of totality the sun was lost again. 

 

HUGE SUCCESS. 


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#35 Sebastian_Sajaroff

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Posted 10 April 2024 - 07:57 AM

Toronto, Ontario, Canada = BUST! Heavy clouds, barely visible during totality only noticed it was totality because the skies became very dark.

I am planning to take the family to Spain or Egypt for the 2027 total eclipse - felt the FOMO with everyone's solar eclipse images.

The worst part about the heavy clouds was about 2 mins after totality, the clouds parted and within 20 mins, it was clear and sunny skies! mad.gif

I hear you, I lived the same scenario in Uruguay, 1992.
There is another total eclipse in Spain, Iceland, Greenland and Russia in August 2026.

Edited by Sebastian_Sajaroff, 10 April 2024 - 07:57 AM.

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#36 Cpk133

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Posted 10 April 2024 - 08:05 AM

Toronto, Ontario, Canada = BUST! Heavy clouds, barely visible during totality only noticed it was totality because the skies became very dark.

 

I am planning to take the family to Spain or Egypt for the 2027 total eclipse - felt the FOMO with everyone's solar eclipse images. 

 

The worst part about the heavy clouds was about 2 mins after totality, the clouds parted and within 20 mins, it was clear and sunny skies! mad.gif  

I don’t like that it was a bust, but like your comment about FOMO.  Spain 2027 sounds cool, but I’d be really upset if i got clouded out for that one.



#37 AJK 547

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Posted 10 April 2024 - 08:33 AM

Illinois checking in here.   My wife, daughter, Winsten (Blue Doberman) and I drove from the SW suburb of Chicago to far SE corner of Illinois to the small town of Mt.Carmel Illinois (~ 305 miles) on the border of Illinois and Indiana.  We had rain the day before so was hoping/praying for clear skies after the front passed.  Constantly monitored the Astrospheric app for projected cloud cover predicted clear skies was my priority.

 

Event day was excellent with only sporadic high cirrus clouds.  We set up at Beall Woods state park in Mt. Carmel.  Broke out the solar binos and solar glasses and was blessed with excellent viewing conditions throughout the entire C1 thru C4 eclipse.  Totality at this site was 4 min. 3 sec. This was my 1st total total solar eclipse and my family and I were simply blown away by this profound experience.  The quick cool-down in temp just before the C2, the intense ‘diamond-like’ quality of the ‘diamond-ring’ effect at beginning and end of totality, the neon pink/orange prominences (especially the large triangular prominence at 6 o’clock position), Carona, etc. left me utterly speechless.  The people gathered at the park broke into loud cheers at the beginning of C2 and then broke into a chorus of applause at the conclusion of C3.  Great feeling of ‘harmony’ all around!

 

I’m soooo glad I was able to witness this spectacular heavenly event!!!

 

Now time for me to decompress and plan for the next Total Eclipse…

 

Peace.


Edited by AJK 547, 10 April 2024 - 09:36 AM.

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#38 Mike Q

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Posted 10 April 2024 - 08:38 AM

In my part of Ohio, north central between Marion and Bucyrus we had some high thin clouds but that was it.  You could not have asked for a better day in April.  As to the rest of the State, so far reports in the local news say up on the lake was the best between Sandusky and Toledo.  


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#39 rutherfordt

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Posted 10 April 2024 - 08:44 AM

After originally planning to drive to San Antonio, where my wife has relatives, we decided at the last minute (on Friday evening) to head to Ohio instead.  Cincinnati is only about a five hour drive from here so we picked that as our destination.  We stayed at a Hampton Inn in Fairfield, OH which was right on the edge of totality (maybe a few seconds of it where the hotel was)-- surprisingly, there were plenty of vacant rooms at the hotel and a room was $112.

 

We got up at 6 AM, went down stairs for breakfast and noticed that there were a couple of other people in the breakfast room who were wearing eclipse shirts.  We checked out of the hotel and headed about 20 miles into the path to the town of Oxford, which put us at the 3-minutes of totality mark (we could have driven another 20 miles and gotten about 30 more seconds of totality, but we decided not to due the difficulty of getting back out afterwards).

 

We set up in the parking lot of the small Walmart (not like the larger ones we have around here)-- it wasn't very crowded so plenty of room-- plus-- bathrooms, food, and water in the store (also some last minute supplies for me to finish constructing a solar telescope out of the lens kit that Surplus Shed has been offering for a while).

 

The skies had been blue and clear when we left the hotel, but high cirrus clouds soon appeared and we were very worried about them although the Clear Sky Chart forecast was showing clear skies at eclipse time.  The forecast turned out to be correct-- the clouds had dissappeared by eclipse time and we had a grand show!  Wasn't that prominence amazing!  I have yet to see a photograph that shows it as the intense red that it looked to our eyes!

 

About 30 minutes after totality, we went into the Walmart for one last trip to the bathroom before hitting the road-- the store was empty and even the employees that I talked to said that they had gotten to go outside and watch it too.  Got into the car and headed south-- the GPS did a wonderful job getting out of there.  There were a couple of traffic slowdowns of about five minutes each at a couple of stop signs and when merging onto the interstate, but really, there were no traffic issues at all (which really surprised us)-- in fact, we got home faster from Oxford (370 miles) than I did after the 2017 eclipse (120 miles).  A truly great experience!

 

Tom


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#40 kdenny2

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Posted 10 April 2024 - 08:46 AM

There were zero clouds where I was north of Little Rock, Arkansas. Not even high clouds. It was a tremendous success. Just goes to show you can't always trust the models that were telling us that everywhere but Maine would be cloudy :) 


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#41 woolbrig

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Posted 10 April 2024 - 08:48 AM

We were camping at the World Shooting Complex in Sparta IL.  Great weather with just a few thin clouds.  Incredible view of the eclipse.  Got some great pics!


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#42 AbsolutelyNot

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Posted 10 April 2024 - 08:48 AM

Canadian provinces :

 

Ontario : the western part of the totality path (Niagara Falls and Toronto area) was cloudy, the East (closer to Ottawa) was clear.

Quebec : mostly clear. I was there. I got a miraculous blue sky, specially for this time of the year ! Our chances of having a clear sky were < 20%

New Brunswick and Nova Scotia : clear as well, they got excellent conditions in an area known for its fog and rain.

Newfoundland : sadly, it was cloudy.

I was near Hamilton, ON and it was NOT cloudy.  We had clouds up until about 14:40 (30%) and then it was totally clear / mixed high cloud until totality passed, and then 100% clear.

 

Here is a link to a time-lapse video from a few kilometres away from where I was.  It perfectly illustrates the conditions near Hamilton.  We had relatives in Niagara Falls (70 km away) and I don't think they saw much of anything.


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#43 djp183

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Posted 10 April 2024 - 08:51 AM

We were in Niagara Falls, Ontario and decided at 8am to drive west along Lake Erie to a place called Turkey Point beach where the clouds were predicted to be less and had success! We did have a cloud bank roll in for a period of about 10 minutes before totality, but it cleared in plenty of time. As a bonus it was cool to experience it on the beach!


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#44 WadeH237

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Posted 10 April 2024 - 09:00 AM

Aquilla, TX:  Bleak forecast, low clouds and misty air in the morning, alternating clouds/clear between 1st and 2nd contact - but clear for all of totality.

 

It was a resounding success.


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#45 Cpk133

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Posted 10 April 2024 - 09:02 AM

Most of us lucked out considering the time of year I’d say stunning success.  High cirrus in SW Cleveland area after rain than thick clouds in the AM.  We had a couple hour window of clear blue before the cirrus moved in.  No complaints here, transparency was acceptable.


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#46 kasprowy

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Posted 10 April 2024 - 09:07 AM

We were camping at the World Shooting Complex in Sparta IL.  Great weather with just a few thin clouds.  Incredible view of the eclipse.  Got some great pics!

We were at the same, as well as in 2017. Thin high clouds both times, but excellent views.


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#47 zuben122

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Posted 10 April 2024 - 09:25 AM

Our basecamp was Erie PA but iffy cloud forecasts made us decide to drive west 80 miles to Mentor Ohio just east of Cleveland at 9am on Monday where we had clear blue skies.  Some thin cirrus at eclipse time were not a hindrance at all so had a great view of the entire event.  Drive back to Erie ws fine (everyone was going south on I-79 instead).  Best choice ever was to shift to Ohio at last minute based on GOES imagery and real-time weather reports from area airports.


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#48 star69

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Posted 10 April 2024 - 09:32 AM

Hot Springs AR on Lake Hamilton. Excellent skies, spectacular totality. 

 

Tony, those prominences were incredible. 10x50 binos enhanced the observation tremendously. 

 

-Kevin 


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#49 groverro

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Posted 10 April 2024 - 09:46 AM

Granby, QC - Thin skies but spectacular success. After the 2017 bust in Kansas, this was so worth it. 


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#50 tommyboy

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Posted 10 April 2024 - 09:48 AM

I was in Watertown NY. Sunday was spectacular but Monday morning dawned with high thin clouds that were slowly thickening. I bugged out and headed East trying to outrun the clouds. I made it to Malone NY just before first contact so pulled into a small vacant spot near an intersection. There clouds wer thinner but I had no time to set up the Lunt. I was treated to a very nice view of the totality and the clouds were thin enough to let the prominences through.

 

I was joined by a young man who wanted to photograph totality. He had no safety glasses so I loaned him a pair which allowed him to enjoy the lunar approach instead of just waiting for totality.

 

What a spectacle! People have asked me to describe it but it is a unique event and I find it difficult to do it justice.


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