Cloud Cover Forecasts, Eclipse Path, 8/21/17
Since the cloud cover forecast is really the only data we need at this point, it's the only data I'm listing between now. (Here are the forecasts from Friday (8/18) and before, if you're interested.)
• (If a time range appears in parentheses after a location, that's for me: it's the drive time from where I'll be in Pigeon Forge, TN, to that location, assuming no traffic. Aaaaand what are the odds there'll be no traffic? Yeah. If you're considering driving from Greensboro? WOW, I totally salute you, but add about 4 hours to my Pigeon Forge drive times. Four extra hours assuming no traffic. We talked about that.)
• This site has an interesting forecast map—if you want a national overview—as does this image I grabbed from a video on Weather.com.
MONDAY MORNING, AUG., 21, 5 AM EDT, PIGEON FORGE, TN.
(Links for GA & SC locations can still be accessed down toward the bottom of this page.)
The below list is sorted by favorable 2PM/3PM EDT (1-2 PM CDT) cloud cover percentages, the two numbers in the far left column; The lower the percentage chance of cloud cover, the better the chances of seeing a good show if you're at that location.
THIS IS THE FINAL UPDATE I'M POSTING: HAPPY HUNTING UMBRAPHILES!!
14/13, Decatur, TN (2 +/- 10min)
14/13, Dayton, TN (2-2:30)
15/18, Athens, TN (CDT, 1-2pm) (1:45-2)
16/14, Spring City, TN (EDT)
15/16, Loudon, TN (1:30)
17/14, Niota, TN (EDT) (1:36)
18/14, Madisonville, TN (EDT) [I love how this is the very first time Madisonville appears in a week's worth of forecast documentation, yet lo & behold it is where—out of zillions of other possibilities—the dart ended up hitting the map for us! 03SEP17]
18/15, Vonore, TN [From our hotel in Pigeon Forge, Vonore (pronounced VAH-nor) was my initial goal when we set out at 6 am; well within the totality path and only an hour and a half drive southwest. But of course, once we hit Vonore at such an early hour (7:30 am) why NOT keep going for the centerline? MADISONVILLE HAS 7 MORE SECONDS OF TOTALITY, BABY!! 03SEP17]
19/17, Cookeville, TN (CDT, 1-2pm)
20/17, Sweetwater, TN
20/19, Etowah, TN (EDT) (1:49) (pronouced ETTA-wah)
21/19, Tellico Plains, TN
19/34, Sparta, TN (CDT, 1-2pm) (2:21)
22/39, Portland, TN (CDT, 1-2pm) (3:40-4:00)
22/26, Hartsville, TN (CDT, 1-2pm) (3:15-3:30)
19/14, Gordonsville, TN (CDT, 1-2pm) (2:45-3:00)
23/32, Gallatin, TN (CDT, 1-2pm) (3:25-3:45)
20/28, Rock Island, TN (CDT, 1-2pm) (2:42)
30/42, White House, TN (CDT, 1-2pm) (3:45-4:00)
34/31, Spencer, TN (CDT, 1-2pm) (2:40)
21/23, Pikeville, TN (CDT, 1-2pm)
24/33, Crab Orchard, TN (CDT, 1-2pm)
Older forecasts below
SUNDAY AFTERNOON, AUG., 20, 6PM EDT, PIGEON FORGE, TN.
(Links for GA & SC locations can still be accessed farther down in SAT morning's forecasts.)
The below list is sorted by favorable 2PM/3PM EDT (1-2 PM CDT) cloud cover percentages The lower the percentage chance of cloud cover, the better the chances of seeing a good show if you're at that location.
* I JUST NOW realized many of these locations are Central Daylight time! So their forcasts would have been off by an hour yesterday. :-)
3/6, Portland, TN (CDT, 1-2pm) (3:40-4:00) (NOTE: White House and Gallatin are each 10 min away from Portland...this data looks suspect. AND it's a long drive so, yeah.)
18/16, Decatur, TN (2 +/- 10min)
11/20, Athens, TN (CDT, 1-2pm) (1:45-2)
18/23, Loudon, TN (1:30, take rte 441, not I-40)
21/22, Dayton, TN (2-2:30)
24/24, Sweetwater, TN (1:29 interstates, 1:38 thru Maryville)
36/19, White House, TN (CDT, 1-2pm) (3:45-4:00)
37/13, Hartsville, TN (CDT, 1-2pm) (3:15-3:30)
32/17, Gordonsville, TN (CDT, 1-2pm) (2:45-3:00)
36/15, Gallatin, TN (CDT, 1-2pm) (3:25-3:45)
26/30, Rock Island, TN (CDT, 1-2pm) (2:42)
31/34, Sparta, TN (CDT, 1-2pm) (2:21)
30/46, Spencer, TN (CDT, 1-2pm) (2:40)
32/44, Pikeville, TN (CDT, 1-2pm)
36/51, Crab Orchard, TN (CDT, 1-2pm)
40/37, Cookeville, TN (CDT, 1-2pm)
45/50, Vonore, TN
50/62, Tellico Plains, TN
SUNDAY MORNING, AUG., 20. As I said yesterday (below) we're not looking anywhere south of Tennessee's southern border. Soon we depart for Pigeon Forge our new base of operations tomorrow. EVEN THERE we'll be heading west tomorrow. I'll TRY to update this page from TN tonight, but it'll be wifi dependent...NO GUARANTEES.
SATURDAY NIGHT, AUG., 19, 8:30-8:45 PM . I've effectively abandoned any location south of Tennessee's southern border. (Links for GA & SC locations can still be accessed farther down in this morning's forecasts.) As you can see below, in a list sorted by favorable 2PM/3PM cloud cover percentages (the two numbers before each location), the closer you can get to Nashville, the better—WAY better—your chances. Blue means good, and a blue 3 PM percentage means it's lower cloud cover percentage than the 2 PM percentage. As you can see, red is a location moving in the wrong direction. (I'm talkin' to YOU Sparta & Spencer!)
19/18, White House, TN (3:45-4:00) -
22/17, Hartsville, TN (3:15-3:30)
23/20, Portland, TN (3:40-4:00)
24/22, Gallatin, TN (3:25-3:45)
27/28, Gordonsville, TN (2:45-3:00)
33/25, Decatur, TN (2 +/- 10min)
32/30, Dayton, TN (2-2:30)
33/33, Rock Island, TN
41/33, Loudon, TN
41/34, Vonore, TN
41/34, Sweetwater, TN
35/42, Sparta, TN
39/43, Spencer, TN
42/45, Tellico Plains, TN
42/46, Crab Orchard, TN
45/47, Cookeville, TN
48/54, Athens, TN
58/55, Pikeville, TN
SATURDAY MORNING (8/19) FORECASTS (OLD):
- Almost every location east of Greenville, SC is forecasted to be 70% -80% covered or worse. (Today's winner is Sparta, TN. "SHPAHH-TAHH!!" ::::kicks messenger into the well::::)
- Lebanon, Murfreesboro, TN: MAN what a bite in the butt! Teens and single digit cloud cover all day, except early afternoon!
- BASIC STATICTICS REMINDER: None of these percentages is ZERO. Which means, theoretically one of those 10% gaps could open up above Charleston and they could get a terrific show. Statistically it's unlikely, yes, but still, keep it in mind: a low cloud cover chance is NOT a guarantee you'll get a good show by any means, nor is a high percentage a guarantee you won't. [Take Greenville, SC. I stopped looking at it early when it's numbers were up in the high 50s & 60s. But more than one person told me they had clear skies at 2:40 on the 21st! But on the 19th I woudl have bugged out of Greenville just as quickly as I ditched Columbia! -smr- 8/26/17]
LIST STARTS WEST OF NASHVILLE, LEAPFROGGING THE KY/TN STATE LINE (Shadow will be travelling west to east, which is "down" this list of locations, more or less in order.)
Link for a rudimentary (but interactive!) map that "connects the dots" between these locations if you need a visual aid. This interactive map has the eclipse path superimposed.
AS OF SAT., 8/19, 1 PM
32/21 - Hopkinsville, KY - "32% cloud cover forecast for 2PM, 21% at 3 PM," (7h 40m) -
41/31 - Clarksville, TN
52/36 - Russellville, KY
51/35 - Springfield, TN
49/40 - Ashland City, TN
50/44 - Franklin, KY
49/49 - NASHVILLE, TN
56/48 - Franklin, TN
51/50 - Lebanon, TN
47/49 - Murfreesboro, TN
29/34 - Smithville, TN
19/25 - Sparta, TN
43/44 - Crossville, TN
41/26 - Dayton, TN
47/45 - Tellico Plains, TN
- - - - - - - - - - TN / GA STATE LINE - - - - - - - - - - - -
32/56 - Dillard, GA
52/62 - Tallulah Falls, GA
- - - - - - - - - - GA / SC STATE LINE - - - - - - - - - - - -
50/54 - Walhalla, SC
52/53 - Pickens, SC
55/57 - Clemson, SC
58/58 - Anderson, SC
57/60 - Greenville, SC [A couple folks who were in Greenville for totality said the skies there were clear. So there it is. A 60% cloud cover forecast can indeed be wrong in the right direction!]
80/81 - Greenwood, SC
79/77 - Clinton, SC
73/73 - Prosperity, SC
74/78 - Columbia, SC
78/78 - Saluda, SC
77/66 - Santee, SC
90/89 - Charleston, SC
EAST COAST/Atlantic Ocean
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Here's Greensboro, NC, if you're sticking around, or if you want even more specific Greensboro info, below are the forecasts for the four corners of Guilford County (this is cribbed directly from my wintertime "will-they-close-schools-hey-it-only-takes-one-part-of-the-county-man!" web page!)