Solar Eclipse Maestro Icon

Weather Predictions Window

Weather predictions for up to 96 hours in the future will help you select the best location to observe the solar eclipse once you’re almost there. An internet connection will be required. To do just that, you need to access the Weather Predictions window in Solar Eclipse Maestro.
3-day local weather predictions at also available from any location.

The weather charts of the 7Timer system are used to provide regional maps of weather conditions for up to 4 days into the future. The complete set of charts is available here. The functionality provided by Solar Eclipse Maestro is a subset of the weacharts that are of most interest to eclipse chasers. The legend for the maps is available below.
The data and charts of 7Timer are generated using the Global Forecast System (GFS) model of the National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP). A description of the GFS model will tell you more and updates to the GFS model can tell you what to expect. Anyone interested in the basis of the weather predictions in Solar Eclipse Maestro should read this documentation.

Note: the numeric GFS data is generated every 6 hours by the NCEP and the starting date of the relevant GFS model data set is indicated at the bottom right of the Weather Predictions window, as the first item of the Date pop-up menu. The weather charts are then generated by Ye Quanzhi at 7Timer every 6 hours, but the computations take several hours. Typically, the complete set of maps is not available for 4 to 8 hours after the date and time of the relevant GFS model. Solar Eclipse Maestro accesses the latest complete set and the date of the GFS model is either the same, or the preceding, day in UTC as the first item of the Date pop-up menu. You should always check the title on the displayed map to confirm that it is for the expected date and time. Make sure also that you know your timezone as the time is given in UTC.

  1. Choose Display > GFS Weather Predictions…
    Weather Predictions Total Cloud Cover Window
    You can choose the region (world, Africa, Asia, Australasia, Europe, North America and South America), type of data (total cloud cover, high cloud cover, middle cloud cover, low cloud cover, mean sea level atmospheric pressure, convective potential energy, atmospheric extinction, temperature, relative humidity, wind, gust and 850mb streamline) and time to be viewed before optionnaly saving the map to a PNG file.
  2. The default view is for the most recently processed worldwide total cloud cover.
    A contextual menu can let you save the current map.
    Weather Prediction Contextual Menu
  3. For the surface temperature:
    Weather Predictions Low Cloud Amount
  4. For the wind speed and direction:
    Weather Predictions Cloud Optical Depth
  5. For the surface convective available potential energy:
    Weather Predictions Surface Convective Potential Energy
Weather Predictions Chart Legend