Report from the southern Oregon Dunes

[Ol'fogasaurus]

The wind is blowing out of the North Northeast, strong and gusty; my guess it is in the high teens MPH wise. The sky is deep blue with now clouds to be seen.

Lee

[Ol'fogasaurus]

up date: the wind kind of died then, in just a short time, the fog came in and the wind came back up in roughly the same NNW direction. Very unusual! Even the ground has big water plops on it from the moisture in the air; now the fog has thinned out a bit.

Lee

[Ol'fogasaurus]

The sun is out, the sky has some moisture in it looking like a fog that is in it's last stages of burning off. The wind is just starting to come up. I hope the moisture stays out of the mix for the eclipse on the 21st as there would be a whole lot of people disappointed if Ma Nature decides to have fun.

[Ol'fogasaurus]

Total eclipse will be best at Depot Bay, just north of us; full totality is at 10:17. Currently there is heavy fog but it just started to lift/burn off. The fog was so heavy that the ground and pavement are soaking wet so the sand on the dunes should be "heavy" for a while.

Yesterday was about the same sans the fog but afternoon the wind came up and blew late into the evening.

Lee

[Ol'fogasaurus]

A very weird eclipse in ways.

Just before the eclipse started the fog lifted so the eclipse could be seen. As it reached totality, the sky was darkened like a dusk and the automatic lights, like the street lights came on. As the totality was over the sky quickly lightened up, the lights went out and then... the fog started to settle back in; the sky is now an onshore overcast; e.g., you can't really see the sun. That was weird!.

[Ol'fogasaurus]

Weird weather this part if the coast is having: back to being cool, low clouds/fog that is getting everything wet.

[Ol'fogasaurus]

High on-shore overcast and cool. Just starting to burn off as I write (update: this sun just started to burn through). So far this am the wind is almost negligible.

The fog was very heavy over night so in this area, at least, the sand should be heavy.

Had to go into town today: law inforcement is active on HWY 101 and in town. Quiet otherwise. A couple of bicyclists decided to not walk their bikes over the bridge like they are supposed to so there was a back up almost the full length of the bridge... and more.

Lee

[Ol'fogasaurus]

Yesterday was mostly overcast until late in the afternoon; the wind didn't come up until late in the day and then in the high teens.

This am it is clear and sunny w/no wind right now.

[Ol'fogasaurus]

Back home again after a 10 hour drive (usually 7 1/2 to 8 hours depending). A lot of road repair work being done on I-5 south of Seattle as well as in other places in WA and OR. Also a very bad two car wreck just south of Centralia.

The dunes area was sunny and the wind was quiet when we left but the smoke from the forest fires by Eugene was starting to get the air at the coast to a reddish brown haze. Much worse as we came from the south into the Eugene area.

Lee

[dustymojave]

Your description of the passage of the eclipse reads very much like my experience in a full eclipse here, except for the fog. Not a whole lot of fog in the desert.

[dustymojave]

Oh...And this eclipse was about 72% where we were in the Sierras.

[Ol'fogasaurus]

Your description of the passage of the eclipse reads very much like my experience in a full eclipse here, except for the fog. Not a whole lot of fog in the desert.

I'm not sure a lot of guys aren't driving "in the fog" now days. The unusual part about the fog lifting for the totality then settling back in was highly discussed. Since I have had so many major eye operations (12 including 5 cornea transplants) I did not chance using the glasses to watch the eclipse but did the work around the place that I had to do to catch up.

Locally (here in Seattle) the temperature dropped about 5° or 6° at the "Totality". "Totality" only lasts for something like 40 seconds.

[dustymojave]

You coulda used a paper plate with a hole in it and look at the shadow....

[Ol'fogasaurus]

I have Karitoconus (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keratoconus) in both eyes. It is genetic and my brother also has the opposite version of it in one eye. A three person beating as a kid probably is the reason that brought it on at the age of 8.

One of the problems brought on by Karitoconus is light sensitivity so the reflection of the sun off white paper is to say very, very uncomfortable. I've had a dozen eye surgeries including 5 cornea transplants. I am slowly going blind!

[dustymojave]

No reflection off white paper. You hold the plate up and look at the ground where the light coming through the hole lands in the middle of the shadow of the plate. It could well be the sunlight shining through onto asphalt. Or onto your lawn. Or onto a blanket, or whatever. If you poke 3 holes in the plate, you get 3 images on the ground. I saw a picture of someone using a kitchen colander making eclipse images in wild patterns.