Solar eclipse 2017

[Jim]

From Marshall to St. Joseph in Missouri today (via US 65 and US 36), every town is like a little eclipse central.  Saw the start of Marshall's eclipse festival on their town square.  And the Chick-fil-A where we just had lunch in St. Joseph has a sign on the door saying they're closing for a half hour on Monday so their crew can get out and watch.  Every VMS is warning of heavy traffic on Monday.

We'll make a call late tomorrow on whether Beatrice still looks good or if we'll have a better chance at a clear sky somewhere else within a manageable drive from our base outside Omaha.

[Beltway]

Believe me, one you get away from the US 97 and Columbia River corridors, there's a whole lot of nothing in  eastern Oregon. I'm sure there's some weekend getaway traffic into eastern Oregon from people who like the forests and parks out there, but not so long before the weekend.
Eastern Oregon might be a special case, with a huge influx of eclipse watchers for its being the first place to view the eclipse in the U.S. with reliable cloud-free weather, combined with small permanent populations and limited road networks. So my comments were mainly for kkt. For other parts of the country, YMMV.

Oh ok, I originally thought you were referring to the Oregon coast, now I see where Prineville is.  I have not been to eastern Oregon, but I noticed years ago that in most of it there are very few roads and very few towns.  If I lived in the West I might have wanted to go there, but there are other places with historically low percentages of cloud cover at that time, such as Wyoming and Nebraska.

[hbelkins]

Someone posted to the Freewayjim Facebook group a fourth-person account of massive fuel shortages in Oregon already. This has since been debunked by AASHTO, which reports that only a couple of stations were out of fuel and they were expecting deliveries today.

[cl94]

Someone posted to the Freewayjim Facebook group a fourth-person account of massive fuel shortages in Oregon already. This has since been debunked by AASHTO, which reports that only a couple of stations were out of fuel and they were expecting deliveries today.

Corco mentioned that a few stations in rural Idaho ran out of fuel yesterday. I could definitely see that area having shortages, as there is limited infrastructure in that area and a lot of visitors.

As far as me seeing the thing myself, current plan is to watch from the Walmart parking lot in White House, TN and leave the hotel in Louisville around 5 AM that morning in case of traffic.

[thenetwork]

Colorado CDOT has stated that all oversize/wide loads are banned from traveling anywhere in the state north of US-50 on Monday,  as well as all construction projects in same area(s) will all be shut down around the same times.

[Beltway]

Someone posted to the Freewayjim Facebook group a fourth-person account of massive fuel shortages in Oregon already. This has since been debunked by AASHTO, which reports that only a couple of stations were out of fuel and they were expecting deliveries today.

Others posted to the Freewayjim Facebook group photos of traffic jams on I-84, supposedly taken today, that someone else said were taken weeks ago. 

[bing101]

Western Kentucky is prime viewing ground for the solar eclipse that will occur in August of next year.

http://xjubier.free.fr/en/site_pages/solar_eclipses/TSE_2017_GoogleMapFull.html

I've seen a few people talking about traveling to view this.

Hopkinsville is about a five-hour drive from me. Depending on the time of day, I could make this a day trip.

Perhaps an early lunch somewhere, and then going to some remote spot near Cerulean (I can get tips on possible viewing areas) to view it? Or gather at the view spot and then head somewhere for late lunch/early dinner?

Here's a complete map of which states will get the complete eclipse.

https://eclipse2017.nasa.gov/eclipse-maps

[ilpt4u]

Carbondale is big event ready this weekend. Come on up to the Intersection of IL 13 and US 51

The longest duration of Total Eclipse is just south of Carbondale, in Makanda, IL, so I hear

[Alps]

I-95 south of DC was jammed before 7 AM this morning. I know there's summer traffic, but this is another level. It's been all NJ plates from Maryland on down.

[codyg1985]

I-81 in VA was exceptionally crowded from what Mike Tantillo posted on Facebook. I am sure many factors were involved.

[jpi]

I am in Dayton, OH for a toy show in the morning, traffic was about average going south bound this morning on 65 and 71 in KY, I plan on running 75 south to Cumberland Parkway then 31E south for my trip home after the show tomorrow evening, I have a feeling southbound 65 and 71 will be running heavy so I am avoiding them.

[roadman65]

Do not go to Charleston, SC as all flights booked, all hotel rooms have no vacancies, and no rental cars available.  This is a one in a lifetime event for many so lots of folks traveling thousands of miles to catch this.

[oscar]

Someone posted to the Freewayjim Facebook group a fourth-person account of massive fuel shortages in Oregon already. This has since been debunked by AASHTO, which reports that only a couple of stations were out of fuel and they were expecting deliveries today.

Others posted to the Freewayjim Facebook group photos of traffic jams on I-84, supposedly taken today, that someone else said were taken weeks ago. 

I did a brief return trip this afternoon to far southern Oregon, in Merrill along OR 39 (probably a minor route for eclipse-watchers, shortcutting between the US 395 and US 97 corridors). No problem filling up there.

All you can really do is to fill up before you approach the totality path, and refuel every chance you get before you arrive at your chosen spot.  My plan for eclipse-avoidance involves arriving in Bend OR the evening of the 21st (the hotel reservation just south of the totality path was pricey but I was able to get a room), setting me up for some route-clinching between there and southwestern Wyoming. I'll cross into Oregon as eclipse watchers are leaving. I expect to be able to fill up in Weed CA and/or points south along the Interstate like Redding, so I won't be completely SOL if gas stations between Weed and Bend run dry.

[empirestate]

From Marshall to St. Joseph in Missouri today (via US 65 and US 36), every town is like a little eclipse central.  Saw the start of Marshall's eclipse festival on their town square.  And the Chick-fil-A where we just had lunch in St. Joseph has a sign on the door saying they're closing for a half hour on Monday so their crew can get out and watch.  Every VMS is warning of heavy traffic on Monday.

We'll make a call late tomorrow on whether Beatrice still looks good or if we'll have a better chance at a clear sky somewhere else within a manageable drive from our base outside Omaha.

I've already pulled the plug on Marshall, as well as Beatrice, since the weather forecasts have steadily worsened there, and the cloud line seems to be pushing steadily eastward with each update.

So, we've reached our planned Saturday stop in Terre Haute, and we're going to hole up here for Sunday night as well, then run down towards Hopkinsville Monday morning. Might venture as far west as Carbondale, if skies look reasonably clear. Giant City State Park is offering free, first-come-first-served viewing spots. There also seem to be a number of privately owned sites around Hopkinsville offering day-of, cash payment.

[Rothman]

Headed out today.  Had planned to end up south of Crossville, TN.  The updated cloud cover forecast may change that.  Feel sorry for those headed to SC.  The forecast is a whole lot of blech that way, cloud-wise.

[empirestate]

Pretty well settled on Cerulean, KY–which just so happens to be the astronomical epicenter, as it were. But weather and my location were the real deciding factors.

[cl94]

I'm in Portland, TN. City has free parking for people at the city park, along with food for sale and restrooms. Helps that it's clear and I'm near the center of totality.

[Alps]

Taking our chances in Gilbert, SC.

[ilpt4u]

Got a big cloud in front of the eclipse where I am in Carbobdale...

[JJBers]

60% eclipse....and a big ass cloud...more or less disappointing for three years of hype...gonna have to gamble now for 2024.

[froggie]

Two of our student groups wound up in Kentucky today....from what I gather from Facebook, both were successful.

We did pretty good here in Vermont, despite not having a "total eclipse".  Very noticeable meteorological effects during the peak of the eclipse, and finagled some decent partial photos that I've posted to my Facebook page.

[froggie]

https://twitter.com/dicktoblerone/status/899714921000312833

[formulanone]

Well, here's what 50-60% of a solar eclipse looks like:



...the sky isn't that dark at 1:15pm during partial eclipse conditions, I just had to use a lot of filters, which turned a blue sky into nearly black.

[ZLoth]

It was two minutes of AWESOME! My buddy and I lucked out as Smith's Ferry was cloudless. There was plates from Oregon, Washington, California, Colorado, Montana, Minnesota, and West Virginia that we saw, and we ran into a couple from England who missed the eclipse in France because of cloud cover, and vowed to make this one. Nothing can quite describe the final minute of darkness followed by two minutes of the ring of fire.

You can bet I will be there for the 2024 eclipse.

[ilpt4u]

Got a big cloud in front of the eclipse where I am in Carbobdale...

Follow up, the Totality did appear in a gap in the clouds for a good 60-90 seconds where I was in Carbondale. My phone's camera didn't do in justice. Straight up awesome.

Got Twilight level dark, and the crickets started chirping as if it were truly twilight. And then stopped when it was back to Sunny