PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Hype is building for Saturday’s Ring of Fire eclipse that will be passing over Oregon, but will you actually be able to see it? The answer is that it depends.
For people in the central Willamette Valley, the view should be pretty spectacular. According to OMSI, the view should look pretty close to a full ring of fire, but what about those outside that area?
In Portland, the view will still be impressive, but it won’t actually look like a ring with only 86% coverage of the sun. The same goes for Bend in central Oregon which will only get 89% coverage.
However, there is another huge factor for how the eclipse will look: the weather. Unlike the last eclipse in 2017, OMSI said that this year’s weather doesn’t really lend itself to good eclipse viewing.
Regions in the Willamette Valley could have foggy or cloudy mornings blocking or obscuring the view of the eclipse and places like Crater Lake, which is directly in the path for a perfect view, may already have snow by that point OMSI said, so it also might not be a great location.
But where should you go if you want the best chance at seeing the spectacle?
OMSI said the best place would be the Southern Oregon Coast which would have the ideal climate and be first in line to see the eclipse in action.
