Achi news desk-
A total solar eclipse is set to cross parts of Canada today, offering a dazzling sight of astronomical wonder to crowds in its path.
That is, if clouds don’t get in the way.
Some popular viewing spots in the eclipse’s path of totality could be under cloud cover, while areas in Quebec and Atlantic Canada are bracing for good views.
While forecasts are subject to change and meteorologists encourage eclipse hunters to check local conditions before the big moment, here’s how cloud cover is shaping up for the day along the solar eclipse’s path of totality.
Ontario
Clear skies may be hard to come by in Ontario, but some areas are predicted to fare better than others, said Sean Akiyama, a meteorologist with Environment Canada.
In an interview Sunday, he said the best views are likely to come at the “extreme ends” of the entire solar eclipse path through Ontario, the most southwestern and eastern edges of the province.
Southwestern Ontario, including Point Pelee National Park, is forecast to see a mix of sun and clouds. But when moving to the Hamilton-Niagara and Toronto region, conditions worsen.
The forecast shows a thick blanket of cloud in the area, Akiyama said. Although a break in that cloud cover is possible, he said it would be “quite difficult” to find a clear view.
The outlook east of Toronto, along the northern shores of Lake Ontario, doesn’t look much better. Akiyama said it showed mostly cloudy skies for those areas and into Kingston.
“East of Brockville might be your best bet then,” he said.
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Quebec
Eclipse watchers in Quebec are expected to be luckier than their neighbors to the west, said Montreal-based Environment Canada meteorologist Dominic Martel.
“We have some clear sky conditions everywhere along the path of the total eclipse, and even the partial eclipse on the edge of the path,” he said in an interview on Sunday.
Martel said modeling in recent days has consistently shown a large ridge of high pressure over the state, adding to his confidence in the forecast.
“The only uncertainty,” he said, is how quickly the clouds in Ontario move to southern Quebec.
He said the forecast shows cloud cover arriving in Montreal around 6 p.m. The city is expected to experience totality just before 3:30 p.m. and be completely out of the path of the eclipse by about 4:30 p.m.
“If those clouds move a little faster, they might appear near the end of the eclipse,” he said. “But I doubt it very much.”
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Newfoundland and Labrador
A low pressure system coming over Newfoundland and Labrador could cloud the view for some eclipse watchers on the island, Martel said.
The best places are expected to be on the southern shores and close to the center of the island, he said. But Martel said the western shores around Stephenville and the eastern areas around Clarenville were expected to see cloudy conditions.
Gander, he said, “is really on the edge of the clouds.”
“Maybe they’ll be lucky.”
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New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and Cape Breton, NS
Martel said the path of the total solar eclipse is expected to cross mostly clear skies through New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, the tip of Cape Breton and into the Quebec archipelago of the Iles-de-la-Madeleine.
The same low pressure system hanging over Newfoundland created some uncertainty earlier in the week for the Maritimes forecast. But it was expected to move far enough off the coast in time for Monday, Martel said.
He said there may be some convective clouds forming in the northern parts of PEI and New Brunswick, but these are the faster moving types of clouds with lots of holes in them.
“It should be momentary in terms of the disruption it could cause, and I don’t believe it should be a deal breaker for anyone in that region,” he said.
This report was first published by The Canadian Press on April 7, 2024.
