Partial Solar Eclipse

A partial solar eclipse will be visible in West Tennessee Thursday afternoon, October 23rd from 4:50 until the sun sets a little after 6 o'clock. The only condition preventing us from getting a clear view will be potential cloud cover. VIPIRCast shows us mostly to partly cloudy at 5. However, the clouds will likely be high and thin and shouldn't completely obscure our view.

The maximum eclipse will take place at 5:52 in Jackson Thursday afternoon at which point 32.5% of the sun will be hidden behind the moon. A solar eclipse occurs when the moon passes directly in between the earth and the sun during the moon's orbit around the earth. Tomorrow, the eclipse will not be complete because the geometrical orientation of these bodies will not allow the sun to be fully covered by the moon. Even in the optimal position on the globe for viewing, which will be in Canada's Nunavut Territory near Prince of Wales Island, only 75% of the sun will be covered.

WARNING! Viewing a solar eclipse without proper equipment can cause permanent damage to your eyes! Never attempt to look directly at the sun. Sunglasses are NOT safe way to view this eclipse or any solar eclipse for that matter!

There are a few ways you can look at the solar eclipse without causing damage to your eyes. Unless you're using a special filter on a telescope, I wouldn't recommend even trying to use those or binoculars. The easiest way and possibly the safest way to view the solar eclipse is shown here in this very educational video from Space.com.

Hopefully the skies will cooperate tomorrow for us, and if you can't get a safe way to view the eclipse in time, don't worry! We'll be posting images on Facebook, Twitter, and will take a live look at it on WBBJ 7 Eyewitness News at 5 and 5:30!

Updated Forecast for Columbus Day

As expected, most of West Tennessee has been upgraded to a moderate risk for severe weather today with a chance for damaging winds, tornadoes, and large hail today and tonight. Damaging winds will be the likeliest threat with severe thunderstorms forming along the squall line.

Storms will be crossing into the Mississippi River Valley close to just after noon today. Be weather aware when you're heading home on the commute or picking up the kids from school! I wouldn't advise travel during the time frames you see listed in the image below for those areas. Make sure to watch WBBJ 7 Eyewitness News MidDay (ABC at 11:30) and Noon (CBS at 12:00) with Forecaster Gary Pickens as we track the storms.

(Thanks to the National Weather Service in Memphis for this graphic)

Severe Weather Potential for Columbus Day - Monday, October 13, 2014

When meteorologists are making a forecast, you may hear us occasionally refer to the level of confidence with which we have creating those predictions. These past few days, we've noticed that the forecast confidence for tomorrow (Monday) has increased. The reason why we're more sure of this event, is because the computer models that help us make our forecast have been fairly consistent hinting at a threat for severe weather tomorrow for several days now. Here's what you need to know...

A large portion of the Mid-South is under a slight risk for severe weather on Monday, October 13th.

This can also be interpreted to mean that there is a 15% chance for severe weather to occur within 25 miles of a point for the area under a slight risk. However, you'll notice that the area encompassing most of West Tennessee has an even greater chance (30%). This leads me to believe that they may raise our risk to moderate overnight.

The local National Weather Service office in Memphis, TN has also issued their own hazardous weather outlook, and as you can see from the graphic above, this ties into all of West Tennessee, and northern Mississippi, and eastern Arkansas for that matter, to be at a risk for severe thunderstorms on Monday.

The latest models show that the main threat will be from damaging winds, but a few tornadoes will be possible ahead of a squall line that is forecast to move through West Tennessee from 4pm to midnight tomorrow night. Unfortunately, this also means that many folks in the Mid-South may have to deal with nocturnal tornadoes on Monday night. The timing is somewhat variable, but those threats (damaging winds, tornadoes, and large hail - in that order) will remain consistent in the forecast.

4pm CDT Monday 10/13/2014

7pm CDT Monday 10/13/2014

11pm CDT Monday 10/13/2014

As always, I urge you to make your preparations NOW! Make sure your weather radios are in alert mode and have a fresh set of batteries. In addition, make sure you are prepared for power outages, and with an emergency kit containing flashlights. Meteorologist Erik Taylor will be on WBBJ 7 Eyewitness News at 10 tonight with the latest forecast and Forecaster Gary Pickens will be on Good Morning West Tennessee to track the latest developments along with tracking the storm's movements at 11:30 on ABC and at noon on CBS. We'll continue to update our website as well as our social media outlets on Facebook and Twitter.

Be safe!