Meteorology
Obtaining a clear sky for the eclipse day is one of the most important and serious concerns for the eclipse observers. Eclipse262728, kindly acknowledges Dr. Jay Anderson who provides weather statistics and predictions for solar eclipses of near future. Anderson helps eclipse chasers with climate patterns and long term cloud cover maps along the path of totality.
Each of the following maps, shows the probability of clear skies for a region in a specific date, based on recent annual cloud cover maps. As it’s illustrated on the map, the areas under blue color are more likely to have clear skies but those under red color are more likely to be cloudy during the eclipse day.
The total solar eclipse of 2026 in Spain happens in the evening before sunset on 12 August. The following image shows the August afternoon average cloud cover map. According to this map the Spanish mainland is predicted to be very sunny except for the north coast. Clear skies in a vast area of Spanish territory is a very good news both for Spain as the host country and eclipse observers as travellers.
The total solar eclipse of 2027 in Spain happens in the morning on the second of August. It happens before midday about 10 o’clock local time in the southern coast as well as Ceuta and Melilla in the African continent. The morning cloud cover map shows a small area of cloudiness against the Strait of Gibraltar where there is a high frequency of fog and low cloud in summer. It can be seen in the image below that clear sky is predicted during the eclipse in both south of Spain and northern African countries such as Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia.
The annular solar eclipse of 2028 occurs just before sunset in Spain on 26 January. The cloud cover maps show that January is much cloudier than for the two eclipses in August. Jay Anderson explains that there is a clear distinction between the north and south of Spain, as the north has an almost Atlantic climate, while the south is influenced by the Mediterranean climate. Interestingly, in the central and southern regions, the mountains tend to be sunnier than the lowlands, so that less cloudiness lies over the Sierra Nevada in Granada and Almeria and the Sierra Morena in Sevilla and Andalusia. The area around Valencia and on Ibiza is also promising, though the Sun is very low for the 2028 eclipse.
