In addition to the breathtaking annular solar eclipse on October 14, 2023, and the stunning photographs of it, there were some other interesting weather impacts from this celestial event. 

The most notable weather impact was on temperatures, which fell considerably along the path of the eclipse. This change is attributed to the sudden reduction in solar radiation as the moon obscured the sun, and can be seen in the figure below from Tomer Berg.

The figure shows the 30-minute temperature change. Prior to the eclipse, the orange colors represent the natural warming during the day. When the eclipse begins, the 30-minute change shows blue colors, indicative of the temperatures dropping in the path of the eclipse. As the eclipse moved away from the region, the temperatures rebounded and continued to rise during the afternoon, as expected. These temperature changes were not limited to areas under the total eclipse but were also recorded in regions experiencing a partial eclipse as well. 

While most weather models do not account for the solar eclipse, one of the high-resolution deterministic models, the High-Resolution Rapid Refresh, did show the potential cooling as a result of the eclipse. Credit to Tomer for this figure as well.

In addition to the solar eclipse showing itself in the temperature changes on Saturday morning, satellite imagery captured this fascinating event as well. You can see the shadow of the moon traverse the southwestern US during the eclipse in the different satellite projections below.

These are really cool, and not only show the scale of the eclipse but make it easier to understand how the temperature drop can be so significant. 

Thanks for reading!

Luke Stone
Forecaster, OpenSnow