Arkansas Storm Team Blog: Get ready for the April 8th total solar eclipse!
We are less than two weeks away from the total solar eclipse on April 8th! While the moment of totality will be a sight to behold, there will also be some other cool phenomena that occur as the eclipse takes place.
When the eclipse first begins you’ll be able to see partial phases of the eclipse. These will cast a shadow of the crescent sun onto nearby objects like the leaves on trees or buildings.
About 10 minutes before totality, it will really start to get dark. This will cause some insects as well as birds to change up their sounds, and behaviors. These insects and birds do not know the eclipse is coming, all they know is that it has gotten dark outside. 10 minutes before is a great time to listen to these for these sounds like crickets chirping.
Right before complete totality, you’ll also notice a few bright spots of sunlight shining through the valleys on the moon just before the moon completely covers the sun. This phenomenon is called Baily’s Beads.
During 100% totality, there are also a few weather changes that will occur. When the moon completely blocks the sun, the temperatures will fall a few degrees.
You will also notice that the coverage in clouds will start to decrease. This is because, without the solar radiation produced by the sun, falling temperatures will also trigger a decrease in convection, limiting the number of clouds in the sky. This will really only be notable with convective clouds, like the ones we see in the summertime.
Also because of the temperature drop, our relative humility will see an increase. This is because temperatures and relative humidity are inversely related. When one rises, the other falls.
And finally, winds may appear lighter due to the reduction in solar radiation. The areas that see the longest totality, will also see the most noticeable changes.
Download the Arkansas Storm Team app
To make sure you are staying up-to-date with the forecast, download the Arkansas Storm Team app to get updates anywhere at any time.
To watch the latest video updates from the Arkansas Storm Team, you can check them out here.
The Arkansas Storm Team is a collaboration of two stations to bring you the largest weather team in the state when covering Arkansas weather.
For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KARK.
