Two weeks to the eclipse … and the weather reports are not helping.

The Great North American Eclipse will take place on April 8, 2024. This will most likely be the last solar eclipse I can photograph in my lifetime, although there are two other solar eclipses in the next ten years – one that passes through Mecca, and one that visits Sydney. But for now, this will be the last one I can reasonably DRIVE to.

I have six different shooting locations available to me – three would require a westward trip along the New York State Thruway (I-90), and three would bring me up the Adirondack Northway (I-87). Any spot I choose from these six will have to be my “final spot.” If I get it wrong … there’s no chance of going anywhere else in time. The eclipse will NOT wait for me.

Now I have heard from some people about going to Niagara Falls and shooting the eclipse there. Yeah … I could. But that would theoretically be a travel and logistics nightmare. If I’m thinking of going there, 20,000 other people are thinking the same thing. So Niagara Falls is off the list. Let someone else jostle for position and fight for a spot.

I’m also skipping Burlington, Vermont for the same reason. It’ll be packed to begin with, and if I need to move elsewhere (due to either clouds or crowds), my options are limited. And even staying in Albany isn’t really an option – I’ll definitely SEE an eclipse, but I won’t see complete totality from here. No, I have to haul ass and get to one of the spots where totality (barring cloud cover) is guaranteed.

Right now, my six target cities – all of whom are in the path of totality, which will give me a full blackout of the sun – are Rochester NY, Syracuse NY, Watertown NY, North Hudson NY, Plattsburgh NY, and Sherbrooke, QUE. Sherbrooke and Rochester are nearly 5 hours away from home, so those would be my two longshots. Watertown and Syracuse are options, for sure; I could get a quick totality in Syracuse, or a longer one if I head up I-481. As for my Northway trip – North Hudson would give me a perfect spot for a quick totality, while Plattsburgh would get a longer totality moment.

But it all has to depend on cloud cover. I’ve fought clouds on my last two eclipse captures – 2017 in South Carolina and 2023 in Texas – but despite obstacles, I still got great images for my efforts. Heck, I had to drive to Baldwinsville NY in 2022 for the lunar eclipse, because Baldwinsville was the only spot that the weather reports promised clear skies within my driving distances. But unless I want to start plans for a trip to Saudi Arabia or to Australia … I need this shot to work and I need it to work perfectly.

I’ve already got my primary camera equipment at the ready – Nikon Df camera with my Matusov MTO-1100 1000m mirror lens, protected by a Thousand Oaks solar filter. The solar filter stays on until totality, then it comes off, then when totality ends, the filter goes back on until the moon finishes its journey across the sun.

So here’s some of the weather reports I’ve received so far for Monday, April 8. And … they aren’t really encouraging.

“Rain showers early with some sunshine later in the day. High 58F. Winds W at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 40%.”

“A few showers early with mostly cloudy conditions later in the day. High 52F. Winds W at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 30%.”

“Cloudy with rain and snow showers in the morning. Remaining cloudy in the afternoon. High 49F. Winds WSW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 40%.”

Okay. That’s two weeks from now. And weather conditions can change.

But these early weather forecasts aren’t very promising.

I’m just going to have to hope … against hope … that there’s some improvement somewhere.

But right now … instead of photographing an eclipse … I’m looking at maybe getting drenched instead.

That’s not the plan. So let’s hope that Mother Nature plays nice in two weeks’ time.