Eclipse Weather Forecast: Clouds Could Spoil View Along Much of the Path

(AP) – If you’re in Vermont, Maine and Canada, you’re in luck. But for the rest of the path of Monday’s total solar eclipse, it could be dicey weather-wise.

Clouds are forecast for much of the eclipse route through the U.S. with some possible patches of clear skies in some spots, according to the latest forecast from the National Weather Service.

Northern New England into Canada is still the best bet to witness the eclipse, when the moon blocks out the sun for a few minutes and day turns into night.

Texas is likely to have the heaviest cloud cover. More concerning, the weather service is forecasting severe weather — tornadoes and hail — about the time of the eclipse for parts of Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Louisiana.

The forecast for the eclipse path has been fairly consistent for the past 10 days, said David Roth, a meteorologist with the weather service. “Things aren’t moving that fast,” he said Sunday.

The path of total darkness stretches from Mexico and Texas through Maine and parts of Canada.

Eclipse weather expert Jay Anderson also thinks the eclipse could be visible from Dallas to Columbus through thin, high clouds. “Not the best conditions but tolerable,” Anderson, a retired Canadian meteorologist, said via email.

“South of Dallas, there is a lot of low cloud that will disappoint a lot of eclipse enthusiasts,” he said.