Seeing the total solar eclipse in Oregon this past week was one of the coolest things I’ve experienced in a long time. I had seen several total lunar eclipses in the past. They were nothing I could appreciate as much as the total solar eclipse.
I felt quite lucky that I have an aunt who lives in Oregon. The centerline of the path of totality went right through the small town she lives in. It was nice not dealing with hotel reservations and any of that nonsense to see the eclipse. We were able to watch the eclipse from the top of this hill on the property where she keeps her horses. It treated us to a 360-degree view of the surrounding valley and distant mountains.
Temperature Drop During Totality
I will vividly remember how all of the eclipse experts talking about the temperature drop. They said temperatures could drop by as much as 10 degrees during totality. With my training meteorology, I was pretty skeptical that blotting out the sun for a couple minutes could cause the temperature to drop that much. Temperatures never drop that much when the sun goes behind a cloud or when the sun sets in the evening.
I was completely floored that when totality set in, there was a significant drop in temperature. I didn’t have a thermometer to measure the exact drop, but it definitely could have been 10 degrees. It warmed right back up when the total eclipse ended.
When is the Next Solar Eclipse?
If you didn’t get a chance to see this one, the next total solar eclipse in North America is in 2024. I will probably head to Canada to watch that one, but we’ll see once it gets closer. A total solar eclipse is something everyone should see in their lifetime. If you didn’t get a chance to see this one, definitely make the effort to get to the next one.