Hoosier

Risk areas were expanded a little westward on new outlook.

Visible satellite shows a zone of clearing behind the current activity.

Won't be shocked if it needs to be expanded a bit farther west...

Definitely watching next week's severe potential with interest as it looks like it will offer a chance of severe wx farther east than the big outbreak in the Plains in late April. On another note, I've been having a lot of issues with the forum "jumping" rapidly on my phone, especially on the main page/forum index but also in the forums at times. Makes it difficult to use. Anyone else having any problem?

My take on it is that Ohio (at least the western part) has always kind of been part of "tornado alley." The term has been around for many decades and was coined during a research project about severe weather in the Plains. One region being in tornado alley (the Plains) doesn't mean that other regions aren't too, but it just so happened that the original research focused on the Plains. The tornado season is a little more well-defined in the Plains than it is in areas farther east, and tornadoes in the Plains do have a greater tendency to be highly visible, which also helped the tornado alley name to stick imo. But in terms of tornado frequency, the area extending from Illinois through Indiana and into part of Ohio can hang with almost anybody in Plains states. I think this has become even more true over time, perhaps in part due to better detection of QLCS tornadoes as those tend to make up a larger share of the tornadoes in the Ohio Valley area compared to the Plains. Here's a map of EF-1 or greater tornado days in the 30 years from 1986-2015. This is useful to look at since it filters out the weak EF-0 stuff that is much more likely to be detected nowadays.

Having some post-eclipse letdown. Almost like the feeling after a big snowstorm when the thrill is over and you want more, but this is different. I don't know what it is, but it makes me reflective and thinking about life on a grand scale. Anyone else been feeling like this?

This is quite a shot. Total eclipse over Progressive Field in Cleveland. How cool to take in the eclipse and then a baseball game.

One more thing I would add is that at totality, this eclipse seemed a little darker than the 2017 eclipse (admittedly, memory on the precise level of darkness in 2017 has faded). That would make sense though since the path of totality was wider. In both cases, I was a mile or two north of the center line, the cloud situation (or lack of) was similar, and I was in an area with just a small amount of building lighting, so it made for a good apples to apples comparison. The 2045 eclipse has a path of over 150 miles wide, while the 2024 eclipse was like 115-120. Based on that, and all else being equal, the 2045 eclipse should be darker.

This is one of the most striking and dramatic comparisons of near totality and actual totality that I've seen. The gif is pretty fast so I split it into individual images (these images not mine). People who have seen a total eclipse know how quickly the light fades when totality hits. For anybody who hasn't seen one and wonders whether a 92%, 95%, 98% or 99% eclipse is enough, all you have to do is look at this. Maybe we can bust this out ahead of the next eclipse in 20 years when this kind of question will inevitably come up. https://twitter.com/amyulo/status/1777457142166896873

What a day it was yesterday. Definitely had some nerves about much of the model output showing OVC, but was watching visible satellite like a hawk all morning and into early afternoon. Looking at satellite trends a few hours before the eclipse, I was starting to feel good that clouds wouldn't be an issue. Traffic from Indianapolis into the Ellettsville-Bloomington area was very good, and I arrived in that area with plenty of time to spare before the beginning of the eclipse. Spent a while driving back and forth in Bloomington and Ellettsville, looking for a spot that I wanted. We all have our personal preferences, but I didn't want to be in too large of a crowd and didn't want too many lights (which would come on during totality) or things obstructing the view of the horizon, so these factors made it tough to find a great spot in Bloomington. After deciding against Bloomington, it came down to finding a good place in Ellettsville. Even here, there were many spots where the view of the horizon wasn't the most ideal. I mentioned this in a previous post, but there's an ice cream place in Ellettsville where the center line went directly through the parking lot. I drove by, and there were a good amount of people there. Thing is, they were charging $50 for parking! Any bragging rights of being directly on the center line wasn't worth $50. Some other businesses were charging for parking (though less) while others did not charge. Would've paid a small amount for parking had a particular spot been an ideal viewing location, but I wasn't finding what I wanted. I got to a church parking lot just north of center line shortly after the partial phase of the eclipse began (ironically I was in a church parking lot for the 2017 eclipse), where there were about 20 other people scattered around. Marked my location on the map below. Excitement was building of course as the minutes ticked down. Some dimming of light was noticeable starting about 30-40 minutes before totality. Around that time or perhaps shortly after, started to feel the temperature dropping. Although the winds were on a general downward trend leading up to totality, there seemed to be some little pulses of wind that accentuated the cooling. The temperature dropped 8 degrees at the Bloomington Airport, with the lowest reading coming a little after totality ended (lag effect.) I can't remember exactly when it occurred, but maybe about 20-30 minutes before totality, I started hearing a loud buzzing sound. At first I thought there was something flying by me, but then realized that it was coming from a ways away. Turned out to be bees, ostensibly freaking out because the daylight was diminishing. This continued almost until totality. A minute or two prior to totality, the darkening sky to the west really became noticeable. Daylight continued to diminish as I was flipping back and forth between looking at the sun, looking at the surroundings, and glancing at the time on my phone. Seconds before totality, the lights on a nearby building kicked on as the darkening accelerated. Then, the magic moment of totality. After taking in the experience of totality for a half minute or so, I got my binoculars, pointed them up to the sky and saw the majesty of the total eclipse... the blackness of the moon, th brilliance of the white corona and the prominence that was happening at about 6 o'clock. Passed my binoculars off to a couple others so they could get that view, and then I went back and forth between looking all around the sky with my own two eyes and taking in the darkness and reactions of the others who were there. Toward the end of totality, I heard some fireworks in the distance. Then, almost as soon as it began, totality was over as the clock was about to strike 3:09 pm. I hung around for a while after to watch the process in reverse, just feeling so fortunate to have had this experience for the second time in less than 7 years. Yet with a touch of sadness, knowing that it will be so long until the next one (at least in the US). Overall, it was a tremendous experience. I would say it hit me just a little less deeply on an emotional/spiritual level than the first time, but there was still some of that. I felt my heart beating fast during totality. Even if someone has seen 25 of these, I don't think you can help but not react in some way. Another thing I noticed is that in the minutes right before, through, and just after totality, there wasn't a single vehicle that drove by on state road 46. It was like everybody knew that you couldn't be driving in your car for those moments... you just couldn't. I'm all in for the eclipses in the 2040s and will try to do whatever it takes to be there.

Yeah, I was hooked after the first one. Definitely want to get to all of the total eclipses in the CONUS, and maybe take in one or two of them overseas. I've already been looking at a little bit of info for the 2044 eclipse in the MT/ND area lol. I'm trying to imagine that one... going to look freaky since it's near sunset and the sun will be so low on the horizon.

Just got home. Took longer than usual of course, but the drive home went much better than 2017. Never even attempted to take I-65, and it's a good thing because per traffic maps, that looks like it is still backed up for about 60 miles.

Cameras don't do it justice unless you're good at photography, and even then, nothing can replace seeing it with your own eyes.

I ended up in a church parking lot on the outskirts of Ellettsville, IN. 4 minutes and 3 seconds of totality and clouds were a complete non-issue. It's unfortunate that the time goes by fast. May add more later, but one thing I observed this time that did not occur in 2017 was swarming bees. They were going nuts in the lead-up to totality.

I'm on the IU campus in Bloomington and there's a good amount of people out and about. Looks like they have their football stadium open for viewing. Still scouting out a final spot.