TEXAS, USA — We are less than 60 days away from the total solar eclipse, and Central Texas is right in the path of totality!
It's all happening on April 8, 2024.
However, the month of April is known to be cloudy and rainy, which is why people are wondering if you'll still be able to see and experience the eclipse if the weather that day is gloomy.
THE QUESTION
Can you experience an eclipse if it's cloudy?
OUR SOURCES
Matt Farrell, Chief Meteorologist for KCEN and KAGS, Dr. Barbara Castanheira Endl, Assistant Professor of Physics at Baylor University and Debra Ross, Co-Chair Solar Eclipse Task Force, American Astronomical Society.
THE ANSWER
Yes, even with clouds, you will be able to experience the total solar eclipse, but seeing all of the phases won't be in the cards.
WHAT WE FOUND
"You won't be able to see the partial phases of the eclipse at all if there are clouds completely covering the sun," Ross told 6 News.
Ross says a cloudy day eclipse will be a different experience than a sunny day eclipse.
"Instead of being able to see this velvet hole in the sky that you do when it's a sunny day eclipse, what's going to happen in that last 1% of coverage, that last minute before totality, when the moon then completely covers the sun, it'll be a big 'woosh' down to dark, complete dark, midnight dark," Ross added. "It's going to be pitch black.
Farrell agreed, saying the moment of totality will look different.
"You're dealing with the shadow of the moon combined with those clouds," Farrell said. "It would be very dark for a brief period of time."
Temperatures could even drop.
"It'll go down between 5, 10, 15 degrees depending on how sunny or cloudy it is," Ross said.
Endl recommends driving somewhere else to get the full experience if it's cloudy.
"It's along I-35," Endl said. "I can go to Dallas. I can go to Austin. I can move if I need to, so I'm going to beat the clouds. I recommend everybody to do that."
Make sure to check the conditions the week of the eclipse to stay up to date.
"Even in the local regions," Endl said. "What is the path of the cloud coverage? Is the weather moving in or not? Make sure not to miss it."
So yes, even with clouds, you will be able to experience the eclipse.
"It is profound even in clouds," Ross said. "Not quite the spectacle, but definitely a profound, eerie, mysterious, beautiful bonding experience."
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