What If It Is Cloudy During The Solar Eclipse?

No one looking to experience a solar eclipse in person wants to hear the word "Clouds" or "Cloudy"!   Unfortunately, this type of event takes early planning and we can't predict the weather. Trying to find out where to watch the eclipse is always a guessing game, especially if you are looking to experience totality.

Could there still be hope if you pull up the forecast and see storms or a cloudy forecast? It's hard to say but I wouldn't change your plans. You just don't know what it will actually do. Here in the Ozarks, they can say 80% chance of rain and instead it turns out to be partly cloudy. Just recently they had 100% chance of rain in the forecast with in an hour and we didn't get a drop. Instead it was partly cloudy.

There is a chance you can still see it if there are breaks in the clouds. Even if it is mostly cloudy, you'll still experience the overall darkening of the sky and possibly see the shadow of the moon come across the clouds. I've even heard some have experienced sunset like colors in the clouds during totality even though they couldn't see it. Just depends on how high, low, and thick the clouds are. 

On October 14, 2023 in southern Missouri, we got to experience 70% of a total eclipse. It was a cloudy day but I still got out to see if I would be able to see anything.

As you can see in the photo above, it was pretty cloudy here but you can also see some breaks in those clouds. Even through the clouds, the sun was so bright, I could still see the eclipse in the early stages when the sun is still pretty bright. As I was watching this eclipse the clouds got thicker and thicker. I was afraid I wasn't going to be able to see anything but stuck around. About 5 minutes before the full 70% of the eclipse, it was so cloudy I couldn't really see the sun but the yellowish color and darkening of the sky was still quite the experience. 

I watched the clock closely, because thanks to technology, they pretty much know the exact time of the full eclipse in each area. About 1 min before the full eclipse, I saw a small opening in the clouds that was heading right towards the suns path. I got my camera ready and just at the right time, that opening exposed the sun to where I could see it!

It was a really small opening and still partly cloudy, but that brief moment was worth the wait. This image above shows that moment when the eclipse was at it's full 70% here in the Ozarks.  Right after that, the clouds got really thick and dark so I wasn't able to watch the last half of the eclipse.

So don't give up! There's still a chance you will get to see it. Here in the Ozarks, there's a chance to see a 100% full totality on April 8, 2024. I'm hoping and praying for good weather so I get to experience that full totality moment. This will be my last chance to see it, since it won't be in this area again for well over 100 years.

Good luck!