Last evening when the sky was getting dark, I saw a planet and Saturn in the western sky. They are now together but still sensible as two separate planets. This beautiful sight, something that man has not been able to see for almost 800 years, in medieval times, is going to continue to change planetary conditions and move on after Monday.
While this is all happening here, if we have cloud cover, we are not going to see it.
Later Saturday, the high pressure will begin to rise along with the low. It’s really a race between the sky being dark and the clouds coming, and it seems to me like the clouds are going to win. We will see the clouds first so there is a chance that if you are in a dark area you will be able to see both planets between the clouds around 5 pm on Saturday.
On Sunday, a weak system approaches the area with some scattered rain or snow. Snow will be sent to cold northern and western regions. This is a very scary system but it will be cloudy which means there is no way to see the match on Sunday night.
On the map below, the value of 100 represents the entire cloud cover. Immediately after sunset on Sunday, almost the whole of New England is completely cloudy. This is an unfortunate time for SkyWatchers.
Another small weather system will affect the area on Monday, and I think it will be cloudy that night. You can start to see where it’s going, because the best three nights of the combination are happening over the clouds, and we’ll catch up with the ability to see it here. Everything is not lost, however, as I think it will start to clear out on Tuesday evening.
While the two planets will not be as close as the winter signs until Tuesday, it would still be a good idea, provided my prediction is fulfilled. The weather for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day actually looks more unpredictable so both nights may not look good.