Total Solar Eclipse of 2020 December 14
 in Argentina, Chile or aboard a Cruise Ship

The average cloudiness statistics show that Argentina is clearer than Chile, which isn’t surprising as the prevailing winds come from the west and dump most of the moisture on the Chilean Andes. It’s cut and dry when looking at the ground vegetation and/or satellite imagery.

Now if we have a look at the past cloud cover on eclipse day from the years 2012 to 2019, we can see the eclipse path has been quite cloudy! Usually the cloud cover in Argentina is lower and thinner although in 2014 there were huge thunderstorms which explain what we see.

Finally the cloud cover during a week around eclipse day from December 11^th to 18^th, 2019. The sweet spot appears to be in the middle of Argentina.

In short, the best weather prospects are either in the middle of Argentina or else near the Pacific and Atlantic seashores, and this is what I could personally witness over the years while on the ground. The area from Villarrica to Pucón is often cloudier than the rest of the eclipse path, and it does match perfectly the long term statistics.
In December 2018 I scouted once more the whole eclipse path from the Pacific Ocean in Chile to the Atlantic Ocean in Argentina. Overall the sky was mostly clear in Argentina, although extremely windy close to the Andes, and mostly cloudy in Chile where a system was blocked by the Andes during three rainy days.
From the satellite imagery at this latitude it’s clear that the Chilean side is greener and on the ground it’s what you’ll notice, lots of vegetation and trees, whereas the Argentinean side is barren and drier with little vegetation and trees.
Weather-wise and mobility-wise I recommend Argentina for this eclipse.

Viewing the eclipse from the summit of the Lanin volcano is enticing. Moreover during the early morning hours before completing the ascent, climbers looking towards the northern horizon can be rewarded by the peak of the Geminids meteor shower.

Those attending the IAU Symposium 367 in San Carlos de Bariloche will have the option to observe the eclipse from a location close to Piedra del Águila (to be announced at a later time).

Covid-19 Update: at the beginning of October things didn’t look good for foreigners looking to travel to Chile and Argentina; early November we will likely know for sure and this is why plan B needs to be ready.

Here is what can happen when we’re desperate and need to be inventive (thanks to Bill Kramer ;-))!

In Chile they have implemented a Covid-19 selective opening by using a system of five stages. From November 23^rd foreigners should be able to again enter Chile solely airborne to Santiago de Chile all the while following a strict sanitary protocol. Having a negative 72-hour old PCR test and installing a tracing app will be mandatory. Travel within the country will be subject to the stages system and having a sanitary passport.
Argentina is also supposed to be opening around December 1^st with similar constraints.

You can check the status of a city by typing its name or else use the Twitter feed.

As of November 16^th this is the situation inside the eclipse path in Chile.

Last here are the recent and future solar eclipses over Chile and Argentina.