REPORTS: Total solar eclipse, August 21, 2017

[Todd Lemery]

Green Bay Wi

 

[Tim Paitz]

Chesterfield, Missouri

 

[Dan Robinson]

Blog post with account and more images:
http://stormhighway.com/eclipse2017.php

Fearing mid and high level clouds that were coming too close for comfort to my original target of Evansville/Baldwin, IL, I decided to head down to just north of Paducah to maximize clear sky chances. My parents drove down from Pittsburgh and were with me for the "chase".

Surprisingly, we encountered very little traffic. We bypassed a backup on I-57 easily using secondary roads. Only a couple dozen people were roadside as we found our spot near Goreville, a half mile from the eclipse centerline.

My cloud anxiety lasted from watching the models a week ago right up until the last seconds before totality. A congested cumulus field rapidly developed just before first contact, and I feared we would get skunked by a rogue cloud. Ten minutes before totality, a small cumulus cloud was heading right for the sun, and I almost did a panicked last-second move of desperation. But, as totality approached, the cloud just vanished, along with all of the surrounding cumulus! All that was left were a few distant Cbs as totality started.

An absolutely amazing experience on all accounts.

With Google maps showing significant post-eclipse traffic jams on all of the main highways, we used county roads to get back home. The return trip took about 3.5 hours (normally 2 hours via interstate).

Some images: corona (top left), eclipse-created hole in the cumulus congestus field with towers near the edge (right) and crescent shadows (bottom left).



Here are timelapses from the dashcam and Gopro showing the cumulus field vanishing as totality approaches and arrives.

Realtime and timelapse of totality phase:

 

[J St. Clair]

I took the advice of the HRRRx and headed to central NE. It was a gamble, as other models had been indicating a cloudy mess over most of the state. It payed off, we stopped just north of Miller, NE at the center of totality nothing with blue skies.

 

[Jacob Hernandez]

I was torn between Nebraska and Missouri. I gambled on Nebraska because... I actually don't have a good reason.

Early in the morning, the models are showing heavy overcast clouds in Nebraska and a clear Missouri. I was stressing out and I felt terrible since I brought my mom and girlfriend with me for an incredible experience.

Thankfully the clouds never were an issue in Grand Island! What an amazing show. I'm so relieved and happy!

 

[Kevin R Burgess]

A "Great" call ,on my part.... Stay still while morning convection was on-going.... Did NOT panic... Dry slot developed after convection departed....Evaluated satellite runs,and determond, staying in the KC,metro was the best option...(Actually heading east was a better option)
Saw full eclipse in Richmond,MO.....
Could have,& should have headed east,to Columbia,MO.but yet, experience tells me different,when trying to forecast when models SUCK !
So, I stayed put,until ........
I have video of the Eclipse,but due to solar winds, it is 'Out Of Focus' .

Kevin Burgess
K.C.,Mo.


LOL

 

[Elaine Spencer]

All I can say is... wow! We ended up at the Steeleville IL Public Library and ended up staying there for the eclipse with the library staff and several other people who just happened by looking for a place to see the eclipse... one couple came all the way from Wisconsin, another from just a couple counties north. The clouds stayed well to our north, and we got a spectacular view of totality. Next door to the library was the local high school where the students were all outside watching it and cheering when totality descended. Several of us tried to take cell phone pics but of course they don't do it justice at all. I got a very shaky video of the whole thing on my cell phone, mainly to record our "OMG this is AWESOME!" reactions.

Then we started working our way home, trying to avoid interstates and main state highways that would be clogged with return traffic. Between Carlyle and Greenville IL we encountered some thunderstorms with cloud to ground lightning and, at one point, what appeared (at least to me) to be rotation and possible funnel clouds! For a while there I thought I was going to see my first tornado AND first total eclipse on the same day We had to stop just south of I-70 to let the rain and wind pass before continuing.

Got back to SPI around 6, going secondary routes all the way. We passed over I-55 just east of SPI and could see the northbound traffic was still backed up pretty bad. Many thanks to Dan for his advice re target area and back roads.

 

[Alex Elmore]

Where I live in the St. Louis area, I was just in the path of totality. However, if I drove just 30 minutes to the south to where my in-laws live in Festus, MO, I would be approximately 7 miles from the center line and gain roughly 30 seconds of totality. That's what my wife and I decided to do, so we headed down there on I-55 last night to spend the night and not have to worry about potential traffic in the morning. We didn't experience any traffic out of the norm on our way south. Woke up this morning and was happy and pleasantly surprised to see the dying MCS well to the north and drifting east with clear skies dominating the St. Louis area.

The eclipse itself was spectacular. Very few upper-level clouds to worry about and only a few small cumulus that occasionally blocked the sun from view for about the first 45 minutes of the event. After that, all the clouds stayed clear and we had perfect viewing. The only other cloud-interference was a cumulus that blocked probably the last 5 minutes of the partial eclipse. Traffic was heavy on I-55 north around the Festus area for only about 2-3 hours after the eclipse ended, due to a couple main highways meeting in the area. After letting the traffic die off, we headed home shortly after 6pm and experience normal traffic flow. Below is my favorite image from today. I'm not sure how well it will show up, but I believe that pinpoint of light toward the bottom-left corner is Mercury.

 

[John Farley]

Well since the reports thus far focus on the MO/IL area I will give a little Nebraska perspective. There was a lot of concern about Nebraska because of potential cloud cover and there were some scattered to broken stratocumulus in some places north and west of where we were at totality time, but it worked out fine for us and from what I am hearing many others in NE. Our target was Arthur, but too much of a stratus deck still there at 9:30 a.m. MDT, so we repositioned east and then southeast, ending up at a watch party about 10 miles SE of Tryon. This was well past the SE edge of the stratus deck, only a few thin cirroform clouds to deal with. It was a big open field where people could really spread out and get comfortable, and the porta-potties helped with that, too. Around 2 minutes 15 seconds of totality.


I am sure there are many better pictures of the eclipse on the net, but this kind of gives you the idea. It was spectacular! Very noticeable cooling which as others have mentioned continued and may have peaked a while after totality. There were a lot of cows in a field across the street and they did NOT head home, but swarms of gnats did appear like they usually do at twilight. No traffic problems at all except getting back through Arthur after the eclipse. Maybe a 10 or 15 minute delay there, although at a restaurant this evening we did hear of a big jam SE of Alliance where it took folks 3 hours to go 23 miles. Incidentally, it did clear out in time for totality in Arthur, but it worked out fine where we went, so it's all good!

 

[Jeff Duda]

Was very worried about high level cloud cover over my initial target of Fairmont, NE this morning, so I got going earlier than initially expected, adjusting my target to the northwest as far as I figured I could make it given the time I had (hmm, sounds exactly like most storm chase days!). Ended up settling for a spot buried in the dirt road grid west of Grand Island (closest town was Cairo, NE). Made it there probably 15-30 minutes before C1. I could've probably gotten even further northwest had I needed to. The cloud situation looked concerning even as I was heading west on I-80 towards GRI, but the cirrus appeared to either move on or completely erode away and I ended up with an almost completely uninterrupted show. Maybe 1 faint wisp of cirrus went over the sun between C1 and C2, but that was it! Looking back, it may have cleared for a Fairmont target, but I don't regret where I ended up. It was just as desolate and quiet as I figure a target near Fairmont would have been.

Just as I predicted, there were people camped out along the rural roads away from the big towns/cities, but they were very widely scattered. I could only see one other group of people from my camp, and they were a good kilometer away. No sound from any of them. I only had one other car pass my campsite the entire time also, and that was a good hour before C2.

Traffic was generally not an issue. The heaviest traffic anomaly (difference between actual and typical traffic) was probably between Salina and Concordia on US 81. Definitely a noticeable surge of people headed north (probably 3-6 times as many cars going north as going south). For some reason there was a major traffic jam on 81 in Concordia. Traffic was at a standstill for more than a mile coming into town. Thankfully I saw it early enough and there was an available side road that I was able to take to skip through town away from 81. Still slowed me down by 5-10 minutes, though. There was also a noticeable increase of people at a truck stop near Belleville. I had to wait in a short line to gas up. I did not see any gas price surges.

Honestly, once I got into Nebraska the traffic eased up noticeably (probably because I was already in the path of totality within a few miles of crossing the border). Definitely noticed large gatherings at local fairgrounds and truck stops with open fields surrounding them. I-80 westbound was a bit busier than I would expect for a Monday morning, but everyone was able to go full speed. I didn't bother trying Grand Island. Once I got past GRI on 80 traffic was back down to what you'd normally expect. I saw hardly one or two other vehicles getting to my final spot. Traffic coming back was pretty good, too. Only a very slight uptick in vehicle numbers, and the slowest traffic was caused by a state trooper going exactly the speed limit for about 10 miles.

 

[JeremyS]

WHAT A DAY! Funny thing, I actually wasn't too far from you @JeffDuda. Made it to Cairo and then went west of town a few miles on Hwy 2 and then south a couple of miles off the highway. Had a group of my closest friends, some that came from SoDak that relied on me to find the perfect spot, and I did. As Jeff mentioned almost cloudless skies. I took tons of video and pics. Traffic was surprisingly fine all the way west on I-80 and I drove 75-80 almost the whole way. The way home was a whole other story. Started out fine, but as we got closer to Omaha, traffic was much thicker. Ran into a few accidents where my wife and I went out of the way on gravel roads to try and get around traffic as we had to get back to Omaha to pick up the little one. I am posting one of my pics for now!

 

[Jeff Duda]

WHAT A DAY! Funny thing, I actually wasn't too far from you @JeffDuda. Made it to Cairo and then went west of town a few miles on Hwy 2 and then south a couple of miles off the highway. Had a group of my closest friends, some that came from SoDak that relied on me to find the perfect spot, and I did. As Jeff mentioned almost cloudless skies. I took tons of video and pics. Traffic was surprisingly fine all the way west on I-80 and I drove 75-80 almost the whole way. The way home was a whole other story. Started out fine, but as we got closer to Omaha, traffic was much thicker. Ran into a few accidents where my wife and I went out of the way on gravel roads to try and get around traffic as we had to get back to Omaha to pick up the little one.

First of all, Jeremy, that shot of the diamond ring phase is incredible! I cheated and kept my glasses off as C3 passed and witnessed the second happening of it before glancing away. It remains the single most memorable part of the eclipse itself for me.

Second of all, we were probably VERY close. Hell, for all I know we may have crossed paths. I was maybe 200-300 m north of the intersection of Airport Rd and Road 44 almost exactly 4.0 miles due southwest of the highway 2/11 intersection in the center of Cairo. But I took Airport road west from NE-11 on the way in and then Road 44 north to NE-2 on the way out. Were you one of the groups I saw? I was in a dented up blue Mazda:

 

[Harrison Cater]

Our original plan was to head to Chillicothe and scout out an area south of there. However isolated morning storms increased in intensity and coverage and forced us to gamble on a small clear area near Kansas City and ended up stopping on a hill near Kingston. The gamble on this clear area had actually payed off and it was just big enough to land us a nice view of totality, in an area otherwise pretty socked in with clouds. Since I lacked the proper equipment to take good pictures, I didn't take very many, and decided to just enjoy it. The hilltop was quite prominent, so there were several other people stopped up there as well. I intended to go back the way I came but Waze told me that taking I35 on the way back up was an amazing idea, and given the lack of any significant traffic on the way down, I believed it, and that ended just as well as one would expect. So went back to the pretty horrendous Missouri country roads and avoided most of the traffic on the way back to I80. Taking 80 was fine until I ran into an expansive MCS, which I coulda passed in 20 min but it took well over an hour to get out of the rain because people decided that going slower than the storm motion was an absolutely fantastic idea, but that probably would've happened anyways.

One of the few shots I took of totality.(I tried to get most of the people out of the pano, but wasn't about to ask that lady in front of us to move just so I could get a picture)


A kind of interesting looking shelf cloud feature associated with the outflow from the MCS

 

[JamesCaruso]

Eclipse chase report:

After some tough travel logistics as detailed here, my original plan was on target to make the drive north from Boulder CO into WY, exact position to be determined by cloud cover (but hoping to skew east for later drive to Mount Rushmore). We hit the road at about 4:45am, about 15-30 min later than I had hoped but not bad for getting a family of five out the door... Wanted to stay off I-25 for a portion of the drive just out of preference, which probably cost me another 20-30 min. I thought I would have plenty of time but then when we got to I-25 the traffic was pretty heavy. Followed alternate routes per Google Maps for awhile until finally hopping on I-25 still somewhere south of Cheyenne, alternating between moving and nearly bumper to bumper (especially when passing a vehicle stopped on the shoulder and a Denver media vehicle parked alongside the road). It was probably about 7am when we were passing through Cheyenne, had to decide whether to go due north toward Glendo or northeast toward Torrington. Although the general forecast was for less cloud coverage as you moved west, with the Cheyenne AFD mentioning better conditions west of a line that included Torrington, everything was looking pretty good, we had NW winds behind a surface front, and the edge of totality was somewhat closer in that direction, so I decided on the Torrington route to get off I-25 and stay more east.

Route 85 traffic was horrible and I was starting to wonder whether I would make it, although I had over three hours to go 100 miles. Finally got into the path of totality near Veteran WY, continued on to Torrington, used the rest rooms at Arby's, and went enough outside of town to pull off on a quiet side road across from one farm house literally the minute the partial eclipse was about to start. By the time we got our glasses on, the first tiny chunk of the sun could be seen to have been covered.

As the sun became nearly completely covered, I didn't quite see the "diamond ring" effect I had read about, there was of course a small area of remaining light like the "diamond" but I did not see a ring going completely around. When that last ember of orange disappeared and everything in our eclipse glasses had faded to black, we removed them and there before us was the most stunning sight of a black disc, like a black hole, with streamers of white light pouring out all around, and a couple of orange flares visible from the bottom right quadrant. I tell you, it was such a shocking, awe-inspiring sight, like a window into the universe had opened, like we were seeing God Himself revealed, and I don't mind admitting that it was so overwhelming, almost like a spiritual experience, that my eyes welled up with tears - which unfortunately blurred my vision for a bit ;-)

It did not turn completely dark as I expected, it was like the time right before dark where you can still see an orange glow low in the sky. I didn't want to focus too much on that and miss the eclipse itself, but wished I had taken one more moment to notice whether there was a 360 degree sunset glow as I had read about, but it was all just so overwhelming, just too much to take in at once. Our area was supposed to have 2 minutes of totality, it seemed shorter but of course it would, with something so amazing. I wish we had time to have gotten further north and closer to the centerline but the difference was only 30 seconds so I guess I can't get too worked up about that.

When the first orange flash of sun reappeared, that seemed like a more stunning "diamond" than when the sun was disappearing, probably because the orange reappearing from the darkness was such a shocking contrast; but I don't remember whether I saw a full "diamond ring". We put our glasses back on but did not stay for the entire anti-climactic return of the sun.

Overall an incredible experience and worth all the trouble, time and money to get there in my opinion. I can see why people become eclipse chasers. And the experience felt so similar to Plains storm chasing in a lot of ways, especially being out in that part of the country, not to mention the stress of whether I was going to make it on time, and the euphoric feeling of "success" after.

I didn't take any pics, just wanted to enjoy it, and had read that cameras don't do a good job of capturing the streamers of light pouring out from around the moon during totality.

We then drove to Mount Rushmore, just for the evening (flying home this morning from Rapid City), which ordinarily would seem like a crazy amount of driving just for a brief visit, but it was actually about equidistant compared to a return to Denver, maybe even a little closer, and I'm sure we had far less traffic than we would have had if we returned south (although still incredible volume for this part of the country).



Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[NancyM]

I'm in the St. Louis area and was in the path of totality. The library where I work was having a viewing party (no food) so I drove over to watch with my friends/coworkers. Some of whom didn't believe me a couple of days ago when I said yes, we are in the path of totality. And then wandered off when I tried to explain the map. Harumph.

What to say about the whole experience. Awe-inspiring doesn't completely cover it. Beyond awesome. I just can't come up with a description of how it felt.

I managed to miss the diamond ring both times. I was distracted by what was going on around me and wasn't sure glasses on or off for it. We had 1 minute and 48 sec. of totality, I think.


Looking at the sun at totality with corona and no glasses was amazing. The rapid switch to twilight & lowered temperature was other worldly. I hadn't expected the sunset glow. I only saw it in part of the western sky, but the horizon was obscured in other directions.

It didn't go completely dark as others have noted. It was the light level of twilight, but the the color was different, sort of a purplish gray like nothing I've ever seen before. Anyone know why? I saw a couple of stars but there was so much going on that I didn't pay much attention.

I noticed cicadas tuning up. They do that in daylight anyway, but it occurred just during the totality. My daughter was at home & said dogs were howling. The temperature dropped, but not as dramatically as I had expected.

What an experience!!