Meteorologist: Clouds may partially obscure solar eclipse in northeast Kansas

Will there be clear skies for everyone to view the solar eclipse on Monday in northeast Kansas? Chad Omitt, meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Topeka, said that isn’t likely.

“Sky cover is the big question,” Omitt said Friday during a conference call with Kansas emergency management personnel and the media. “How much of the sky will be covered by clouds, whether the eclipse will be covered at all.”

The beginning of the eclipse is expected at 11:39 a.m. in Topeka and will end at 2:34 p.m. The peak time to view the event in northeast Kansas is between 1 p.m. and 1:10 p.m., Omitt said.

High- and mid-level clouds will migrate into northeast Kansas on Monday from the southwest and will likely impact the view of the eclipse in some way, Omitt said, adding that the general view of the eclipse will be “OK,” not “poor” but also not “good” or “excellent.”

“There may be times when the sun is obscured by some mid-level clouds,” he said, adding that severe weather isn’t expected in northeast Kansas but scattered storms could pop up after 2 p.m. in the viewing area.

Omitt said the high temperature early Monday afternoon in northeast Kansas will be around 90 degrees, with the heat index during the eclipse’s peak viewing time near 100 degrees. It will also be humid.

^

Contact reporter Angela Deines at (785) 295-1143 or on Twitter @AngelaDeines.