For more information about the total solar eclipse on April 8, including where to watch, start time and events happening around San Antonio, check out our guide.
If you were hoping for sunny, spotless skies above San Antonio for Monday’s total solar eclipse — keep hoping.
Weather forecasters are warning San Antonio residents and visitors to temper their expectations about viewing the eclipse on Monday, with mostly cloudy skies and possible thunderstorms expected in the area come showtime, which begins around noon with totality set to start around 1:30 p.m.
That’s because a weak warm front will be moving into the area over the weekend that is going to temporarily bring some dry air, said Jason Runyen, a National Weather Service meteorologist stationed at the Austin/San Antonio area office in New Braunfels. However, when a warm front comes north toward the city, it brings a really quick surge of moisture and higher chances for precipitation, Runyen said.
The outlook doesn’t look much better in the Hill Country, Runyen said, where storms are also likely. Most of Texas, for that matter, is expected to have thick cloud coverage under current forecasts, he added.
“If you’re trying to photograph the eclipse, there’s not really anywhere that is that good of an area across Texas,” Runyen said. “The farther north you go get up into North Texas, you might be able to kind of make out the eclipse through some thinner, high clouds.”
Eclipses themselves can also have some minor effects on weather, Runyen noted. Cloudless areas of the country may experience temperature drops as much as 5 to 10 degrees Fahrenheit during totality, according to the National Weather Service.
Like many weather fans and astronomy lovers, Runyen said he is somewhat crestfallen by the weather outlook for San Antonio.
He noted that weather is always subject to change, but the closer to eclipse day we get, the less positive it’s looking.
“It’s a once-in-a-lifetime event here, so it’s kind of disappointing,” Runyen said.
