Weather patterns don’t care about eclipses.
While Texas is expecting an unprecedented surge in tourism for the April 8 total eclipse, a good number of those people may end up being disappointed with their choice. The current forecast for the area of the path of totality across the entire state is calling for cloud cover of between 50% and 100%.
Areas stretching from Cleveland to Syracuse, N.Y., are also expected to have potentially dense clouds.
It’s worth noting these are early forecasts and things could change. Typically, these sorts of predictions are much more accurate in the days directly leading up to the forecast date. But for people headed to the Lone Star State, it’s likely worrying. And there are millions of people on their way to Texas. Some cities in the central part of the state have preemptively declared a local state of disaster ahead of the tourist influx. Kaufman County, which is adjacent to Dallas County, expects as many as 200,000 people to flood in for the eclipse, doubling the population, which could greatly impact public services agencies.
South and Central Texas have the current highest risk of cloud cover. The Niagara Falls area also has a higher risk of cloud cover.
There are some regions along the path of totality, however, that forecasters say can expect clear skies. Caribou, Maine, should be especially good for eclipse chasers, and Indianapolis will have light coverage as well.
The cloud cover should be less of a factor for people who shelled out substantially to catch a ride on one of the specialty flights that will follow the path of totality. Delta Air Lines has two planned path-of-totality flights, one emanating from Dallas, the other from Austin. And Southwest Airlines has a pair of flights from the same cities that are anticipated to be in the direct path of the eclipse.
United Airlines, meanwhile, says inbound bookings to San Antonio are up 127%, and outbound flights are up 288%.