How the Solar Eclipse Changed the Weather

Chris Dolce
Published: August 21,2017
The total solar eclipse has been accompanied by several interesting meteorological aspects, including temperature drops, a loss of solar radiation and even the moon's shadow cast on the Earth.
Here's a rundown of what we've seen during this historic event.
(MORE: Solar Eclipse Delivers Once-in-a-Lifetime Spectacle)
This GOES-16 visible satellite image shows the moon's shadow over parts of the Rockies at 11:42 a.m. MDT. The darkness from the shadow is most pronounced over Wyoming, where the path of totality was located at that time.

Credit: NASA/NOAA GOES-16 - Experimental

Before the core of the moon's shadow moved over the U.S., it could be seen in tandem with Hurricane Kenneth, which was a Category 4 located well to the south in the eastern Pacific Ocean.

Credit: NASA

The next two animations show how the moon's shadow moved from west-to-east across the United States.
Temperatures dropped several degrees in a number of locations near the path of the eclipse.
(MORE: Total Solar Eclipse Stuns Crowds Across Oregon)
The National Weather Service (NWS) noted a drop in temperature of 8 degrees in Pocatello, Idaho.
In Seattle, the temperature fell about 5 degrees, the NWS reported.
Farther east, Champaign, Illinois, registered a drop of about 7 degrees, and Columbia, South Carolina, saw its mercury fall from 93 degrees to 89 degrees.
In the Northeast, temperatures dropped 4 to 5 degrees during the eclipse in Apalachin, New York, where 70 percent of the sun was covered by the moon.
A noticeable reduction in solar radiation was also observed, even well away from the path of totality.
In Norman, Oklahoma, the amount of incoming solar radiation at 12:57 p.m. CDT was about the same as earlier that morning around 8:20 a.m. CDT.
Finally, the NWS in Wilmington, Ohio, noted a 3- to 5-mph drop in wind speeds across its region.
(MORE: A Look Back at the 2017 Eclipse)

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