The 2017 eclipse made me rethink trusting crowd predictions

I drove 14 hours to a spot in Oregon everyone swore would have clear skies for the total eclipse. Got there at 4 AM and it was completely overcast. A ranger told me the predictions were based on averages that ignored local microclimates. Now I don't plan events around online consensus without checking actual weather history first. Has anyone else had a big event ruined by trusting the internet too much?

2 comments

2 Comments

wendy_mason8614d ago

Drove 6 hours to see the Geminids meteor shower based on a reddit post saying it'd be perfect. Got there at midnight and it was cloudy as hell. Learned my lesson real quick. Now I check satellite cloud cover maps before I drive anywhere.

joseph_hunt14d ago

Climate data from NOAA weather stations would've helped both of you @wendy_mason86