Eclipse watchers have been anticipating August 21st’s weather conditions for months, especially along the Oregon Coast. Finally, as the day approaches, more definitive forecasts are becoming available.
In less than a week tens of thousands of Oregon residents and over a million visitors will be turning their eyes to the skies to witness the once-in-a-generation solar eclipse. Evan Bentley with the National Weather Service says that things are looking up for weather forecasts in the Willamette Valley on the big day.
“[it's] looking like more than likely it’s going to be clear here for the Willamette Valley,” says Bentley. “However along the coast it’s still a tough forecast. We’ve got about 50 to 60 percent chance of it being cloud cover there along the coast and that’s not really all that surprising concerning there are very few days per year when it’s actually clear there in the morning.”
Bentley says there will be sharp cutoff points on the coast in terms of cloud cover, meaning just a couple of miles could make the difference between overcast and sunny skies. Smoke from forest fires across the state shouldn’t pose major issues for sun visibility except in areas close to blazes.