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West Virginia and the solar eclipse

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Monday’s solar eclipse will pass over West Virginia between 1:06 p.m. and 3:59 p.m., National Weather Service Meteorologist Maura Casey said.

Casey posted the ‘Total Eclipse West Virginia Guide’ Wednesday.

“There will be greater coverage to the southwest and less coverage to the northeast,” she said.

The National Weather Service released this eclipse guide Wednesday.

Specifically, the guide shows the McDowell County community of Vallscreek, near the West Virginia-Virginia line, getting the greatest extent of the eclipse at 93.13 percent at 2:37 p.m. while Marlowe in Berkeley County will have the least extent at 80.16 percent at 2:40 p.m.

The guide shows an area from Huntington-Charleston south in the 90 to 93 percent range; from Parkersburg to Charleston anywhere from 86 to 90 percent; Fairmont, Clarksburg, Elkins over to the Ohio River at 84 to 86 percent and an area covering Moorefield, Morgantown and Wheeling at 82 to 84 percent.

What’s most difficult for the weather service to predict is where the clouds will be that will affect the opportunity to view the eclipse, Casey said.

The guide lists the probability for cloud cover in four West Virginia cities on Aug. 21 of any one year. Charleston has the greatest probability for scattered clouds while Wheeling, Martinsburg and Elkins are more likely to have clear skies, according to past weather information.

Casey said the cloud cover is a key.

“The greatest percent of the eclipse only happens for a couple minutes in any one given location,” she said. “So during that couple minutes you could very well have a cloud in front of you, unfortunately.”

Casey’s guide also lists the way residents can protect themselves from the sun’s harmful rays during the eclipse.

“Regular sunglasses won’t work,” she said. “If you’re unable to get official eclipse glasses one alternative is to use welding goggles. You have to Shade-12 or greater welding goggles to be able to protect your eyes sufficiently.”

As always with these types of events the weather is the wildcard, Casey said.

“Well, it’s summer in West Virginia–you’re going to have some annoying pop up showers and storms during the day, but other than that, we’re not looking at a slam dunk forecast one way or the other. So stay tuned on the forecast,” Casey said. “Luckily, solar eclipses are much easier to predict than the weather.”





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