Short-range cloud escaping

One month to go!!! It’s so hard to believe!

As mentioned in my previous post, if you are in the totality path, and the forecast in the original area that you have chosen calls for overcast or mostly cloudy skies, you could possibly travel a few hours east or west along the shadow path to get into clear skies.

This one covers the possibility of escaping from the clouds in the final hour or so before totality.

I’ll refer back to my post titled “Choosing a specific viewing location”. That post assumed that you have clear skies in your area- or, any clouds in the sky are nowhere near the sun.

But let’s say that clouds are forecast to be in the area you’ve chosen, but you’ve decided to stay- perhaps because clear skies are too far away- perhaps you have other commitments later that day (although I will suggest making the eclipse a top priority that day!)- or perhaps it’s just impractical to escape from the clouds.

If that’s the case, I will suggest finding a location that is away from the biggest crowds. Sure, there are places that will have many people. But I’m going to believe that there will also be places that will have small to moderate sized crowds. You just have to be willing to look for them.

Please note that I am NOT advocating setting up on the side of the road for any extended period of time. Many of the state highway patrol departments may not allow for that to happen.

I’ll still suggest trying to find a public location- perhaps a local park; perhaps a scenic overlook; perhaps an open parking lot.

The idea is this: if there are heavy clouds that start to move in, then you can drive a few miles down the road to possibly escape from them. This doesn’t mean that you should leave your location if the clouds threaten. Choosing a location that is away from the crowds just gives you the OPPORTUNITY to escape from the clouds if you need to.

Ideally, the location is near an intersection of 2 paved roads- one going north/south and the other going east/west (or as close as possible)

So, what if that ends up being the case? What if totality is approaching and there are some clouds moving toward the sun, and you see clear skies in the distance? 

First of all, I’m going to have a post later on about the types of clouds that are in the sky- some of them may actually dissipate in the final few moments before totality, so if those types of clouds are around, there may not be the need to move anyway.

In fact, I would suggest not moving unless there is an obvious need to move. But if there are heavy clouds moving towards the sun’s position, it may just simply take a drive of a few miles to escape from them. I would only move if there was a large clearing, and it was reachable.

So let’s say that you’ve decided to make a run for it. I will stress: SAFETY is PRIORITY- this means your own, and others. It's good to remain calm and make careful decisions. Do NOT get into your car and significantly exceed the speed limit. In fact, don’t go faster than what the normal flow of traffic is allowing- which means that even the speed limit may be too fast. If you come to an intersection, make sure you stop if there is a stop sign or red light- and slow down and look both ways even if you have a green light or no stop sign. Keep a careful eye out for what other drivers are doing- they may not be following the rules of the road.

Where and when should you pull over? If you can make it to a public location (parking lot, scenic overlook) in clear skies before totality, then that would be best. You certainly should NOT stop in the middle of the road (watch out for people that may do this!) and you should NOT pull into the grass on the side of the main road (there is a chance that your car could start a grass fire).

When storm chasing, I’ll frequently pull off the main road for just a few moments onto a dirt or gravel road (assuming it’s dry so my tires won’t get stuck), and I pull to the side of that dirt road. Again, I am not suggesting pulling over into the grass - keep your car on the dirt or gravel, just perhaps off-center so that other cars have room to easily pass.

You’d likely only be there for a few moments, so I’m hoping that should be ok. If you are asked to move, you can state that you are planning to leave shortly after totality, and the person asking you may allow you to stay- but if they do ask you to leave, then you may have to.

Of course, this is all assuming that you do NOT drive yourself outside of that totality path! It’s a VERY good idea to have detailed maps of the totality path to make sure you stay in that path.

Long range cloud escape plans; short range cloud escape plans- what about the traffic? I’ll cover that in a future post.

I really hope that no one has to encounter these situations, but I hope that, if you do, then these posts will hope that you are able to escape from the clouds while keeping yourself- and others- safe.