TheGreat North American Eclipseis pass off Monday , but given thelatest weather forecasts , many people across the continent will look up and see nothing but cloud . Should that be the case , here ’s what you’re able to expect .
During totality , the Moon passes between Earth and the Sun , casting a shadow onto the major planet . When gaze at this spectacle through clear sky , the Sun ’s aurora , or ambience , becomes visible , the sky darken to such a grade that star are seeable , and it bring discernibly cold . In the minutes before and after integrality , unpaired shadows , anticipate shadow band , can be meet on flat surface .
It go without saying that clouds can importantly minify the beauty of this experience , but it ’s not a total write - off ; other face can still catch your attention , as Matthew Cappucci , a meteorologist and atmospherical scientist for the MyRadar app , told me .
A view of stratocumulus clouds from space.Image: NASA
“ You wo n’t notice shadow stria , so you wo n’t notice anything weird on the ground , and you obviously ca n’t see the Sun or the Moon , ” he said . “ But you have a good opportunity to view the shadow coming in because now you have something for the fantasm to be cast on . ”
Cappucci said you might be able to see the Moon ’s shadow swing across the sky and move over the swarm cover , enunciate it ’s “ very weird ” to wait at , and that he saw this for himself during a solar eclipse in Chile four year ago . It becomes importantly darker , but apart from the overall dimming , there ’s not much else to observe , he explained .
However , the strangest part is that , during the murky occultation , on the edges of the tincture , it ’s still a flake bright ; so although you wo n’t witness a full 360 - degree sunrise , you ’ll notice the apparent horizon appear brighter , Cappucci say . This is specially foreign because , while it ’s improbably dark and nebulous overhead , the apparent horizon has a brighter cloud masking . “ It look very weird — like you ’re in the center of this ring , ” he said .
The annular solar eclipse on 4 April 2025.Photo: George Dvorsky
When it come to cloud , it ’s also important to note their insulating force on surface temperatures . Clouds act like a thermal blanket , immobilize heating that would otherwise radiate into space in the eclipse ’s darkness , Cappucci explain . Some of this heating system is reflect back toward the dry land from the clouds . As a result , places with cloud cover experience a less dramatic temperature drop liken to exculpated skies with dry air , where the temperature is more potential to precipitate sharply .
Other thing to be on the sentry for during a mirky total solar occultation are a sudden modification in the way of life the air travel feels and possible break in air current speed . And because it ’s a bit darker , you may also acknowledge some changes in animal behavior , such as dame returning to their nests or nocturnal animals becoming more alive . And finally , the final matter you ’ll notice is that you ’ll have no use for those occultation chalk .
Now , if it ’s part cloudy and you get fond views of the Sun , you should still be in for a real treat . I memorise this during the doughnut-shaped solar eclipse in October of last year , during which clock time I took some cool and spooky shot of the spectacle . So do n’t be discouraged if partly cloudy conditions are in the forecast .
Whether you ’ve start clear eyeshot of the Sun or if it ’s obscured by clouds , the upcoming occultation should still serve as a remarkable event to experience .
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