Solar eclipse 2024: Will Corning have clear skies on April 8?

Riccardo Monico, Corning Leader
·1 min read

Predicting cloud cover more than a few days in advance is no clear science, but if the Southern Tier region’s climate history is any indication, there may be clouds to deal with during the April 8 eclipse.

Mark Pellerito, warning coordination meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Binghamton, said general weather patterns will be discernable one week before the eclipse, but sky cover conditions will not be clear until days before the eclipse.

Even then, he said, take any predictions "with a grain of salt."

Looking at statistics from about 43 years of meteorology in the area, the Binghamton area sees, on average, 70% afternoon cloud cover during the two-week period around April 8. Pellerito said there have also been various times without cloud cover during that time.

The area has seen an average high temperature of 48 degrees on April 8, and between 1952 and 2023, 0.01 inches of precipitation was seen 44% of the time. The average high temperature is a little warmer further west in the Southern Tier, at 52.6 degrees in Elmira and 56.3 degrees in Dansville.

More: What time does the April 8 solar eclipse peak in the Corning area? When, where to watch

Likelihood of clear skies across Southern Tier

NOAA and the North Carolina Institute for Climate Studies reviewed past cloud data based on historical averages to predict cloud conditions during the eclipse.

According to their estimates, here’s the likelihood of clear skies across the Southern Tier:

  • Binghamton: 51.5%

  • Ithaca: 51.9%

  • Elmira: 51.9%

  • Corning: 51.9%

  • Hornell: 34.2%

This article originally appeared on Salisbury Daily Times: Too-early weather outlook for April 8 eclipse in Corning