It’s too soon to know what the weather will be like on April 8th. But as WNIN’s John Gibson reports, a cloudless sky for the solar eclipse is not likely:
WFIE Meteorologist Arden Gregory looked through 30 years of weather records to determine the chance of a sunny day on April 8th.
She told a meeting of the Regional Solar Eclipse Task Force last month that the odds are about 50-50, but even less for a day with all sun and no clouds:
"You know, April showers bring may flowers. That's a saying for a reason. The odds of us having clear blue skies, not a cloud in sight, pretty slim."
Gregory presented a calendar showing sunny and cloudy April days recorded over the years. She says the most likely sky on eclipse day is a combination of sun and clouds:
"Even on the days that I highlighted as having a sunshine that doesn't mean we didn't have any clouds that day. That just means it was less than 50%. On the days that I put a cloud doesn't mean we didn't see the sun that day. That just means it was more than 50%. I had to put a cutoff somewhere, right?
In the event of an overcast sky, the day will still turn dark for about three minutes just after 2:00 p.m. on April 8th in Evansville.
Numerous viewing areas have been designated, including the Evansville Riverfront, Angel Mounds, the former Par 3 golf course at Wesselman Woods, the Vanderburgh 4-H Center, and the USI campus – which is hosting its Eclipse-paloosa.
More eclipse information is available at exploreevansville.com/eclipse