We’re approaching the 12 month countdown to the 2026 total solar eclipse, which most viewers will see in either Iceland or Spain. It’s always interesting to ask “what if we had the same weather on eclipse day as we’re seeing this year”.
Photo WX can help.
In the 1.5 update, released today, when you select a solar eclipse from the drop down (see right of the screenshot, outlined in pink), the map now shows the direction (azimuth) of the sun and moon for the selected time of day (8:29pm in this example for Burgos, link), but for the date of the eclipse:
This means that you can assess the available weather forecast for August 6th 2025 as it would impact the August 12th 2026 eclipse.
In this, example the Arome HD Model from Méteo France is forecasting quite a lot of high cloud (yellow on the map). The sun will be positioned low in the sky to the west northwest, indicated by the orange line (labelled above).
As you might suspect, if the clouds played out like this, then it might be problematic for eclipse viewers, given how extensive they are.
What about tomorrow’s forecast?
Things look a little better if we look at the August 7th forecast:
This screenshot shows the Cloud observability enabled (sixth button from top right on the map). As labelled, any high cloud under the yellow segment of the line will potentially obscure the line of sight to the sun at this time. This is calculated based on the altitude of the sun and the range of heights above the ground that are included in the high cloud forecast layer.
Overall, though, the forecast cloud density and extent is less foreboding than that of the Aug 6 forecast.
Why play “what if”?
A few reasons to indulge this strange weather prognosticating:
- You will get to see some of the forecast patterns that may be repeated a year from now
- You’ll get better at reading the forecasts - particularly the multi-level cloud layer, which is critical for eclipse weather planning
- You’ll develop a sharper sense of what cloud patterns are problematic for your planned location
- You’ll be able to start to think about “Plan B” relocation options in case the weather is challenging.
Hope you enjoy exploring the forecasts!