Perseids Peak on August 12 With 30-50 Meteors an Hour as Total Solar Eclipse Hits

Q: With the sun just above the horizon, are eclipse chasers gambling on a view that distant clouds could easily block?

Yes. For the Balearics and eastern Spain, eclipse chasers are taking a real weather gamble because the Sun will be only a few degrees above the horizon at totality, so the view depends on a long, clear line of sight to the west-northwest, not just clear sky overhead. That geometry is the problem. In Mallorca, for example, the Sun will be about 2.7 degrees high during totality. At that angle, high clouds, haze or a low cloud bank far away can block the eclipsed Sun. Experts cited in eclipse planning for 2026 warn that clouds 170 to 200 kilometers away can matter when the Sun is this low. Standard local forecasts are therefore less useful than horizon-specific forecasts and satellite imagery. Terrain and buildings add another risk. A site can sit inside the path of totality and still lose the eclipse if a ridge, tree line, hotel block or even a slight rise cuts off the last few degrees above the horizon. That is why specialists such as Eduard Masana Fresno, Michael Zeiler and meteorologist Jay Anderson stress careful site selection, mobility and late decision-making. The odds are not hopeless, but they are uneven. Inland Spain generally has the best clear-sky statistics, around 70 to 85 percent in parts of Castile and León, La Rioja and Aragón. Coastal and island sites offer the dramatic “sunset eclipse” experience but face added maritime haze and horizon risk. For chasers, the trade-off is clear: the most spectacular view is also one of the most fragile.

3 articles · Updated · Scientific American · Jul 16

August 12-13 will bring the Perseids' peak, with skygazers expected to see 30 to 50 meteors an hour or more.
August 12 also coincides with a total solar eclipse, giving people in the path of totality roughly two minutes of darkness to potentially spot Perseids during daytime.
Greenland, Iceland, Portugal, Russia and Spain lie in that eclipse path, while viewers elsewhere should look before dawn for the best meteor visibility.
July 17 to August 24 marks the shower's full run this year; the annual display occurs as Earth passes debris from comet 109P/Swift-Tuttle, which is about 16 miles wide.