'It is going to be dicey': Wisconsin eclipse forecast has lots of clouds, uncertainty

If you live in the southeastern parts of the state — including Milwaukee, Racine, Kenosha, Lake Geneva and Janesville — you have the best chance out of anywhere in Wisconsin at seeing Monday's partial solar eclipse.

Much of the state is expected to have cloud cover that could obscure the eclipse, though when those clouds will move out and open up a view of the rare phenomenon is still up in the air. The timing could become more certain by late Monday morning.

"It is going to be dicey as far as cloud cover goes," explained John Gagan from the National Weather Service in Milwaukee. "Milwaukee will kind of be in an area where they could see some clearing, but I don't know if we're going to see 100% clear skies."

Going north and west from Milwaukee, it's more likely that clouds will prevent seeing the eclipse. For example, Madison is right on the line. It's "entirely possible" that the skies could clear up in time, especially because the eclipse peaks around 2 p.m. there.

Interactive: What time is the April 8 solar eclipse in Wisconsin? Find out here with your ZIP code

"We're going to have clouds in the morning that are trying to move out," Gagan said. "When they exit, that's going to be the key."

The same is true for the Fox Valley. Appleton and Green Bay will start the day with "quite a bit of cloud cover," but skies will partially clear by the late morning or early afternoon, explained Scott Berschback from the National Weather Service in Green Bay.

"Just how much they clear, there's some uncertainty there, unfortunately," he said. "A couple models have it cleared out all the way up through Green Bay. Some of the models keep the cloud cover pretty thick all the way through the early afternoon and all the way down to Oshkosh."

Areas north of Highway 29 are also expected to be covered with clouds that will make seeing the eclipse difficult.

Where to see eclipse: Closest city from Milwaukee to dive to see clear skies during the full solar eclipse

If the clouds are lower in the sky, they might entirely obstruct your view of the eclipse. Because Wisconsin is not within the path of totality, the effects are already similar to an overcast day.

"The sky will still dim, but you won't see the sun. You'll see kind of a halo of the sun behind the clouds. It'll still be visible, it just kind of takes away some of the effect," Berschback said. "The eclipse will still happen ... whether you see the full effect of it, that's the question."

But if the clouds are cirrus clouds — which are very high clouds around 20,000 to 30,000 feet in the air — they may be thin enough to catch a look.

Gagan said it's important to still protect your eyes, even if you're looking at the eclipse through gaps in clouds. Even if special eclipse glasses are sold out or unavailable, there are do-it-yourself projects to indirectly see the eclipse using supplies like cardboard or cardstock.

"Don't stare at the sun," he said. "The sun is still the sun, and it's still just as strong, and it's still just as damaging. Please, please, please wear that protection."

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Wisconsin eclipse forecast: Milwaukee has best chance at fewer clouds