Solar eclipse 2024: Will Dutchess, Ulster have clear skies on April 8?

Nickie Hayes, Poughkeepsie Journal
·1 min read

This time of year in New York, cloud cover and April showers are the norm, so what does that mean for the April 8 solar eclipse?

Meteorologist Brett Rathbun of the National Weather Service in Albany said climatologically, during the first part of April, it is usually on the cloudier side in the mid-Hudson Valley.

According to the National Weather Service's daily climate normals in the Poughkeepsie area, from 1991 to 2020, 0.12 inches of rain is the typical daily precipitation on April 8 and the average temperature is 46 degrees.

Rathbun said the main question for the day is going to be about cloud cover, and how that may block visibility of the partial eclipse in our area. "Usually, there's about a 60% to 70% chance of cloud cover on April 8," he said.

Across the Northeast it's a normal trend to consider, Rathbun said, "but that doesn't necessarily mean that there aren't years where it is sunny."

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

Likelihood of clear skies in mid-Hudson Valley

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 mid-Hudson Valley:

  • Poughkeepsie: 59.3%

  • New Paltz: 59.3%

  • Kingston: 48.8%

  • Middletown: 59.3%

  • Newburgh: 59.3%

This article originally appeared on Times Herald-Record: Too-early weather outlook for April 8 eclipse in Dutchess County