Weather Prospects for the Eclipse
Overview
This eclipse begins at moderate latitudes over Iran, heading steadily
southeastward toward the equator for most of its length. At its beginning,
weather patterns are influenced by high and low pressure systems moving in the
upper westerly flow, just as in North America and Europe. Through India and
Southeast Asia, the upper westerlies lose their importance, and the track moves
into a region where northerly monsoon and trade winds dominate. Continuing past
Borneo the path encounters the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ), the
Earth's "weather equator," where northerly and southerly monsoons converge and
thunderstorms hold court. Finally, leaving Indonesia and the last island sites,
the eclipse track heads out into the Pacific, moving into the variable
southerlies along the equator.
Each of these wind and weather regimes has its own peculiarities. However, it
is safe to generalize that the eclipse path begins with good prospects of
sunshine and ends with cloudier skies. This eclipse is a short one, offering
barely two minutes of totality at best, and only one minute in areas with the
sunniest weather prospects. Eclipse observers will have to make a difficult
choice between eclipse duration and weather when they pick their viewing
sites.
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