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going to my brother in law's parents house for this poo poo, i lived in oregon in 2017 so saw that one and it ruled. can't wait. hoping it inspires some scientific curiosity in my nephews (right now all they care about is minecraft and five nights at freddie's). we're all heading out sunday afternoon and spending the night to hopeully avoid some of the traffic nightmare, i left where i was in oregin 6 hours after the eclipse ended and it still took 6 hours to make a 2 and a half hour drive.
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Apr 2, 2024 13:13
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MeatloafCat posted:I'm pleasantly surprised things are looking good for the 8th in Maine. Too bad there's a winter storm watch with up to 18 inches forecast for Thursday. I hope they didn't put the snow plows away. Same here in VT. It might keep snowing into Friday, and hey, guess what day most of the tourists are probably traveling up here on?! Multiple reasons to avoid the roads all weekend long. The state is expected to get between 60-200,000 people. How can that range be so big?! 200,000 is almost a THIRD of our state's population, and most of them will close to where I live in Chittenden County, some in the more central Washington County, and some will travel to the southern parts of Franklin or (especially) Grand Isle counties, because you can't forget the allure or an eclipse on a lakefront or island (even if it it "just" a lake island) Definitely going to try and WFH Thursday and Friday. Not going anywhere if I can help it Saturday and Sunday, and maybe go to a nearby park on the lakeshore on Monday. I'm surrounded by areas tourists will be in, but I think my actual neighborhood, being ALL residential, no hotels (and hopefully not THAT many AirBnB rentals), only like two restaurants that aren't basically just take out, no bars, etc... wont' get as much traffic/people.
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Apr 2, 2024 15:04
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DrBouvenstein posted:I'm surrounded by areas tourists will be in, but I think my actual neighborhood, being ALL residential, no hotels (and hopefully not THAT many AirBnB rentals), only like two restaurants that aren't basically just take out, no bars, etc... wont' get as much traffic/people. lol lmfao People will need to park and expect people to be blocking your driveway. Seriously y'all have no idea how many people are going to try to cram themselves even into towns of a few hundred people to watch the eclipse.
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Apr 2, 2024 15:19
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It's been shown to be very hard to predict numbers for eclipses, they happen so rarely that no one really has good data on them. So most agencies plan for the worst and at least for the two since 2017 attendance has been less than forecast. Oregon roads did fill up post-eclipse but that's because there was only a couple two lane roads available for use, but the state got well under the million they expected. Wyoming saw less than 200k people show up. Obviously the closer to a major population center the worse it's going to get, southern Illinois had ~300k show up in 2017. South Carolina saw many less than predicted, but they also had clouds move in so it probably pushed people away. So I guess the lesson is plan for the worst but don't be surprised if things are just fine.
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Apr 2, 2024 15:34
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Yeah you'll think it's just fine and then suddenly the sun gets eaten by the Great Sky Snake and then what are you gonna do?
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Apr 2, 2024 15:40
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https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2024/science/solar-eclipse-cloud-cover-forecast-map.html This is making me reconsider where to watch the eclipse, which sucks because I paid for a train ride that's non-refundable
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Apr 2, 2024 16:06
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ymgve posted:https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2024/science/solar-eclipse-cloud-cover-forecast-map.html my fear is it being cloudy. that said, this far out you cannot place too much trust in the forecast, by thursday it should be more reliable
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Apr 2, 2024 16:30
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xzzy posted:It's been shown to be very hard to predict numbers for eclipses, they happen so rarely that no one really has good data on them. So most agencies plan for the worst and at least for the two since 2017 attendance has been less than forecast. Oregon roads did fill up post-eclipse but that's because there was only a couple two lane roads available for use, but the state got well under the million they expected. Wyoming saw less than 200k people show up. Obviously the closer to a major population center the worse it's going to get, southern Illinois had ~300k show up in 2017. South Carolina saw many less than predicted, but they also had clouds move in so it probably pushed people away. And if Texas is rained out like models are predicting, who knows how that throws other spots into chaos as some number of people try to change plans over the weekend and drive several states away.
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Apr 2, 2024 16:47
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It’s still real early but it seems like the very latest model runs are being a bit more progressive in pushing the storm system east at eclipse time. Looks a little bit better for Texas (especially north Texas) and a bit worse for Indiana/Ohio. SE Missouri is starting to look like an option in that region as the models suggest it would be in the post-frontal clearing. Of course all of this can vary wildly if the timing of the system slows down again or continues to shift earlier.
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Apr 2, 2024 16:57
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Beer Gay So What posted:Can't believe I am going to willingly travel to Ohio for this.  I am a 90min drive from 3.5 minutes of totality and am trying to figure out just how early I should show up at this nature area I've picked out that has the essentials: -parking -bathrooms Like, dawn?? Or can I get away with 2-3 hours before the start? Might all the moot, current forecast says 60-80% cloud cover. 
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Apr 2, 2024 18:45
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Beer Gay So What posted:Can't believe I am going to willingly travel to Ohio for this. Could be a lot worse, you could be one of the poor bastards that *shudders* lives there Maybe that's why we're right in the crosshairs of tornadocalypse this afternoon... planet earth is sending us a message
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Apr 2, 2024 18:58
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Well that explains why the news has been frantically increasing the number of people expected in Rochester NY from 100k to 200k to 500k to now just "a lot." At least it's not Niagara Falls where they expect a literal million people.
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Apr 2, 2024 19:02
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Star Man posted:People will need to park and expect people to be blocking your driveway. Eh, extremely unlikely. I am so far out from the city center in a neighborhood of 90% single family homes, and it's basically a giant cul-de-sac. It's not on the way to anywhere, and there's no place in the area worth seeing the eclipse from. I GUESS if, like, all my neighbors have rented out rooms and/or all have a lot of friends/family visiting, maybe there will be less street-parking than usual.
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Apr 2, 2024 19:17
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I mean, I'm actively looking for roads that don't go anywhere. And if I am, others are too. Probably going to end up stopping along farm country roads and hoping I don't get run off by angry locals. Might not be the best plan.
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Apr 2, 2024 19:37
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In 2017 we went to Madisonville, TN, which has a population of about 5,000. They were right in the middle of the band and had a park with enough overflow parking in a nearby field to make it work, but there were probably 20,000 people there, and no one I talked to had ever heard of Madisonville, TN before they made this plan.
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Apr 2, 2024 19:44
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Reminder for anyone traveling to Vermont or similar locations in the eastern end of the path, totality for you will be in mid afternoon which means the sun won't be super high in the sky. You can check the map in the OP for exact geometry at your intended location but in Vermont it will be about 40 degrees above the horizon, so don't pick a spot that is too heavily wooded, lets you block your view with trees. Maybe this is obvious to people already there, but with the forecast the way it is now there might be some last minute eclipse chasers scouting for spots. Also I added the Pivotal Weather dashboard link to the OP for your F5'ing pleasure this week. bawfuls fucked around with this message at 19:49 on Apr 2, 2024 |
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Apr 2, 2024 19:46
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Remoteness definitely helps, but it's hard to do that east of the Mississippi. For 2017 there was probably 10 people on the little cliff I picked in Oregon. We also saw no traffic either because I rigged it so we'd spend all day in the same spot and when we did hit the road, were driving against the main flow. So find the smallest shittiest dirt road your vehicle can handle on any USFS territory you got available and hope it's not too muddy.
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Apr 2, 2024 19:47
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I watched the 2017 eclipse in my backyard at home in Riverton, Wyoming. My aunt and uncle from Montana visited and decided to leave shortly after totality ended. Traffic on 789 north and south was absolutely packed for most of the day and slowly crawled its way east toward Casper to I-25 or south toward Rawlins to get to I-80. My expectations are, rain or shine, that because the eastern half of the country is so dense, it's going to be 2017 times ten. My plans are to be on the road by 5 am to Erie, PA, from Pittsburgh and stake out a place at a park or field with my telescope, lawn chair, and a cooler. I'll hang out until evening before heading back. I can't afford to spend the night, but I took the day after off to recover from a long day. I'm still trying to find someone to come with so I'm not by myself, but I've never been able to get through to anyone that just looking up is worthwhile.
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Apr 2, 2024 20:36
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Gonna be staying at a friend's vacation house in Vermont for this, I'm thinking of driving up from just north of Boston on Sunday, roads should hopefully be fine then. I do have an acting class Monday evening back in Boston but uh, I think I'll have to miss that given the traffic projections. Hopefully I can hit the road Tuesday morning and it's fine, my worry is that half of Boston will be doing the same
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Apr 4, 2024 00:01
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it's still too early for me to know for sure, but things currently don't look great for my original intended viewing spot in watertown. i might need to just drive north and sleep in my car overnight cuz ain't no way i'm trying to get up there monday morning.
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Apr 4, 2024 00:37
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I'll be staying at an Airbnb in Vermont on a mountain with trees. Wherever the sun is in the sky on the day of the eclipse, it should be around that same spot on the day prior, right? I need to find out if we'll be able to see totality from the porch as anticipated, or if we're going to have to make last minute plans to go around/scale the mountain.
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Apr 4, 2024 00:39
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YoursTruly posted:I'll be staying at an Airbnb in Vermont on a mountain with trees. Wherever the sun is in the sky on the day of the eclipse, it should be around that same spot on the day prior, right? I need to find out if we'll be able to see totality from the porch as anticipated, or if we're going to have to make last minute plans to go around/scale the mountain. Pretty much, yeah. It will be within two degrees of the same place.
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Apr 4, 2024 02:25
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I'm planning to wake up early and take my family into Ohio where the lowest chance of cloud cover is. I have no idea where we will ultimately post up to view it but planning on bringing a lot of foot and stuff so we can hunker down if we find something good. Goal is to get around Findlay as that's pretty near the center of totality.
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Apr 4, 2024 03:47
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I'm headed for Mazatlán. Direct flight prices have been awful for over a year so I'm flying to Puerto Vallarta for dirt cheap then taking an intercity bus. I've been planning to do this for over a decade and I'm freaking out about it being so close now. Hard to wrap my head around.
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Apr 4, 2024 05:31
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SulfurMonoxideCute posted:I'm headed for Mazatlán. Direct flight prices have been awful for over a year so I'm flying to Puerto Vallarta for dirt cheap then taking an intercity bus. I'm also going to Mazatlan and scoffed at the $3k plane tickets and thought about going to Texas instead. My friend in San Diego had an excellent idea tho. Fly to San Diego then go to the CBX terminal from the US side which crosses the border straight into the Tijuana airport. Flights from there were about $600 round trip after fees. Anyway, how are you feeling about the forecast?
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Apr 4, 2024 05:54
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What up Mazatlan crew! I live in San Diego and am flying out of TJ via CBX, it is very convenient we've done it a half dozen times before for other Mexico trips. Flights were very reasonable a year ago, not so much in recent months. I have friends who live in New Jersey that are flying into SD and then out of TJ because it was significantly cheaper than getting a directly connection. bawfuls fucked around with this message at 06:29 on Apr 4, 2024 |
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Apr 4, 2024 06:26
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Spectral Debt posted:Anyway, how are you feeling about the forecast? I think it's going to be okay. It still seems to have one of the lowest chances of cloud cover for anywhere along the path, and rumor has it from other circles I'm in say that the clouds this time of year tend to be the wispy cirrus type which apparently often dissipate as the temperature change happens. I didn't bother making alternate plans simply because it's supposed to be one of the best locations to begin with. Worst case scenario I travel again and then in 20 years wait for the shadow to pass over my house.
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Apr 4, 2024 06:57
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I just realized that the company I work at (not FOR, but AT cause I'm an IT contractor) has two physical offices, and both are in the path of totality...one here in northern Vermont, and one in Dallas. Kind of amazing odds they're both in the path of totality. The haven't announced anything "official" that they're doing for the event, but they have been handing out eclipse glasses at both locations and I think it's understood very little work will get done for the entirety of the eclipse, and NOTHING will get done for the time of totality. But, again, not OFFICIALLY closing the business or anything (which they would NEVER do, it's an old-school style "if business CAN be done that day, business WILL be done that day" type of place/industry.) I feel bad for the people who will HAVE to stay inside to work, like the few people they'll still need to man the call center phone lines and such. With such a small window, I don't even think they'll be able to do any kind of "split shift" where half the people take the first two minutes of totality and the other half takes the back two minutes. It would take that long to get out in/out of the building. Anyway, with the potential for clouds in western NY, I'm wondering if that will drive more people here to VT? You'd THINK they'd just only go as far as the Adirondacks where it's predicted to start getting sunny, but I could see people from, say, the capital region of NY or further south deciding they'd rather be in VT than that part of NY. Having lived a couple years in the Adirondacks... I don't blame 'em.
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Apr 4, 2024 14:10
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Double posting to say GOOD loving LUCK to the people trying to travel to VT today or tomorrow: 
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Apr 4, 2024 15:51
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We were planning on driving up to the Adirondacks Friday morning, presumably getting there late afternoon. But have no idea wtf to make of this snow now, with some forecasts pushing it out through Saturday. Does anyone have any insight into roads how quickly roads are usually plowed in that area? Anyway, glad I found this thread, thanks for posting.
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Apr 4, 2024 16:10
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TraderStav posted:I'm planning to wake up early and take my family into Ohio where the lowest chance of cloud cover is. I have no idea where we will ultimately post up to view it but planning on bringing a lot of foot and stuff so we can hunker down if we find something good. Goal is to get around Findlay as that's pretty near the center of totality. Following on my earlier message, does anyone have any feedback or suggestions on the 'winging it' style of finding a location to view it? Maybe I'm overthinking it, but am concerned about getting to a location with minimal cloud cover in the forecast and finding a reasonable place to post up for half a day waiting for the eclipse time. For anyone who has adopted this strategy in the past, rather than booking a spot and hoping it works out, how have you approached it? Target large parking lots in suburban areas? Hit the rural areas and hope to find a stretch of open space that seems like you can trespass on for a while safely? Appreciate any input, this is the last leg on the stool for this whole thing for me and probably the most important!
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Apr 4, 2024 16:31
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Look for any public lands in the area.. parks, government land, whatever. Some people will even hang out at graveyards, which is kinda creepy but technically valid I suppose. But it's almost a certainty that local management will know it's a target and have something organized. Either a ticketing system or they'll have closed it off (many state partks in Texas did both). Even a highway rest stop or wayside will work if you're really scrounging. A walmart parking lot will be fine. If you're out in cornfield territory just slide into a field access turnout, you probably won't get bothered. In short spend time on google maps zooming on satellite mode to come up with options and be ready to adapt. Unless they got flashing lights on the roof or a shotgun, once you set up you can ignore anyone yelling at you.  edit - the public lands overlay on caltopo is a good way to scan around for places you can probably squat in without guilt. But I don't see anything popping up around Findlay so you might have to stick to google maps xzzy fucked around with this message at 16:46 on Apr 4, 2024 |
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Apr 4, 2024 16:43
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xzzy posted:Look for any public lands in the area.. parks, government land, whatever. Some people will even hang out at graveyards, which is kinda creepy but technically valid I suppose. But it's almost a certainty that local management will know it's a target and have something organized. Either a ticketing system or they'll have closed it off (many state partks in Texas did both). Thanks! That's in line where I was thinking but with some more granular and specific examples that will be helpful. Leaving early enough to get bounced out of a few locations (closed, unavailable, etc.) will get that safety margin to reduce the stress of it all. Hence my reason to pack a bunch of food, water, and entertainment for the family so we can brave it if we strike gold early. Based on current forecasts, I may head closer to Indianapolis than Ohio as the % cover forecast is half. Game day decisions for sure.
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Apr 4, 2024 16:46
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TraderStav posted:Thanks! That's in line where I was thinking but with some more granular and specific examples that will be helpful. Leaving early enough to get bounced out of a few locations (closed, unavailable, etc.) will get that safety margin to reduce the stress of it all. Hence my reason to pack a bunch of food, water, and entertainment for the family so we can brave it if we strike gold early. I don't know the area at all, but spots I would look at are Ouabache State Park, Delphos Gilmour Reservoir, Robert K Antibus Trail, Winona Lake, Van Buren State Park, Arealand Recreational Area, and National Lime and Stone Park. Basically just scroll around on google map satellite and anything that is green and looks like it has a parking area is a candidate.
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Apr 4, 2024 16:54
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TraderStav posted:Based on current forecasts, I may head closer to Indianapolis than Ohio as the % cover forecast is half. Game day decisions for sure. I am in a similar boat and am mad that my "just drive to Toledo" plan will probably have to be scuttled. Don't really want to spend a bunch of time stuck in my car but that is looking more and more likely. Gonna just wait until the weekend and see what forecasts are looking like, and make a decision then.
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Apr 4, 2024 16:59
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Red Fructidor posted:We were planning on driving up to the Adirondacks Friday morning, presumably getting there late afternoon. But have no idea wtf to make of this snow now, with some forecasts pushing it out through Saturday. Does anyone have any insight into roads how quickly roads are usually plowed in that area? adirondack roads are not gonna be plowed well at all and there will be a lot of snow on them. don't put yourself in danger.
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Apr 4, 2024 17:02
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There is still significant disagreement between several cloud models in many areas. Click through the four models here and compare (third one only has precipitation, not cloud cover): https://www.pivotalweather.com/eclipse2024/ For example, Dallas cloud cover %: 32/92/56 Cleveland: 38/40/45 actually decent agreement there Mazatlan: 26/87/51 (wtf)
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Apr 4, 2024 17:06
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DrBouvenstein posted:Double posting to say GOOD loving LUCK to the people trying to travel to VT today or tomorrow: I'm traveling to Vermont on Sunday.  I hope it's better by then. 
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Apr 4, 2024 17:41
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DEEP STATE PLOT posted:adirondack roads are not gonna be plowed well at all and there will be a lot of snow on them. don't put yourself in danger. Appreciate the advice, I do think I will heed it. Good luck to everyone!
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Apr 4, 2024 18:50
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How much do public spaces fill in the hours before the eclipse? Do people tend to show up in the early hours of the morning? There’s a small city park near us that we were going to walk to, but we may just stay in our backyard if it’s going to be hard to find standing room.
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