Rain chances, severe weather may impact major eclipse in Texas

Eclipse chasers from across the nation are starting to arrive in Texas, home to several locations within the path of totality of the April 8 total solar eclipse. As the celestial event approaches, one very important question many have is how well will Texas weather cooperate the day of the once-in-a-lifetime experience?

After a week of sunshine and clear skies, San Antonians woke up to a cloudy morning Saturday, April 6. Cloud coverage can be expected to increase throughout the day going into Sunday, April 7, according to NWS. Monday, April 8 and the day of the major eclipse, is predicted to take a turn for the worst, as rain and storm chances increase. 

Over the weekend, South Central Texas and the Texas Hill Country face a high confidence in forecast with a weak cold front breaking through Saturday night into early Sunday morning with stray showers possible. Temperatures are expected to reach the low-90s and dip into the 50s as a low across the area. Sunday’s high will also reach the low-90s with lows in the mid-50s, according to NWS.

Warm and breezy conditions will continue Saturday with some high clouds rolling through in the afternoon. The weekend will remain mild with partly to mostly cloudy skies. As cloudy conditions increase over the weekend, chances of showers and storms will begin to break through going into next week.

A weak cold front is expected to shift the weather pattern late Saturday night with possible rain showers in the evening going into early Sunday across the Hill Country and I-35 corridor. The front will make it east of the I-35 corridor early Sunday, bringing drier air temporarily. Low clouds will scatter out and lower humidity in the area, with high temperatures in the low-80s to near 90.

Sunday night going into Monday morning, the front is expected to lift, and the chances of low cloud cover returning is uncertain at this time, according to NWS. While cloud coverage can be expected on Monday, April 8, there is also a severe weather threat for Central Texas and the Texas Hill Country.

A medium confidence is forecasted for Monday with uncertainty in details on where exactly cloud cover and rain chances will end up. Fluctuations in cloud cover forecasts can be expected over the next couple of days, according to NWS. There is a 20% west to 70% east chance for showers and isolated thunderstorms mainly in the afternoon, following the eclipse. 

Forecasters are predicting eclipse visibility will be low if the low cloud cover moves through the area faster and doesn’t scatter out by the afternoon. NWS will continue to monitor trends in the models over the upcoming days. 

Severe weather, including thunderstorms, large hail, and heavy winds, may impact areas across South Central Texas and the Texas Hill Country. However, storms aren’t expected to make landfall until after the total solar eclipse. There is also a potential for egress issues Tuesday going into the night with risk for severe storms, according to NWS.

The San Antonio-Austin area has jumped to a Level 2 out of 5 risk for severe storms going into next week. The weather pattern could bring heavier rains, some level of hail risk, and stronger winds. Forecasters are predicting large hail to be the biggest threat, at this point.