Will I see the 2027 solar eclipse in Yanbu?
So close
Yanbu is just outside the path: 99% of the Sun is covered at 13:18, but the sky never goes dark. Totality starts 50 km to the south-west.
When to look
Local time in Yanbu (UTC+3).
- 11:54:12StartsThe Moon touches the Sun
- 13:18:35Most covered99% of the Sun
- 14:37:21EndsThe Sun is whole again
Will the Sun be clear at 13:18?
A clear view is very likely. Around 13:18 from 21 July to 14 August, the sky over Yanbu is on average 88% free of cloud: roughly the chance that the Sun is clear when the eclipse peaks. Yanbu airport, 6 km away, reported 88% in 526 weather reports (2006–2025).
2 August around 13:18, every year since 2006
- 062006: clear
- 072007: clear
- 082008: clear
- 092009: clear
- 102010: clear
- 112011: clear
- 122012: clear
- 132013: clear
- 142014: clear
- 152015: some cloud
- 162016: clear
- 172017: clear
- 182018: clear
- 192019: clear
- 202020: some cloud
- 212021: no report
- 222022: some cloud
- 232023: clear
- 242024: clear
- 252025: no report
Clear or nearly clear in 15 of 18 years on the day itself (Yanbu airport weather reports). One day is luck; the 88% above averages every day from 21 July to 14 August. How: NASA POWER hourly cloud data (2001–2025), corrected to match the weather reports of the 66 airports we checked (NOAA ISD, 2006–2025); NASA alone was up to 20 points too sunny along the Strait of Gibraltar. A real forecast exists about a week before: we'll add it here.
Where to go for totality
The best bets within 400 km of Yanbu: totality length and how often the sky was clear.
Jeddah
5m 59sMarsa Alam
5m 30sMecca
5m 08sPort Ghalib
4m 32sStaying in Jeddah
Rooms in the path go first: book now with free cancellation, then check the forecast a week before. Jeddah has 5 min 59 s of totality and a 88% clear record.
Keep your eyes safe
Look at the Sun only through eclipse glasses or a solar viewer made to ISO 12312-2. Sunglasses are not enough, even at 99%.
Once the last bead of sunlight disappears, take the glasses off and look. Put them back on the moment the Sun's edge reappears.
Never point binoculars, a telescope or a camera lens at the partial Sun without a solar filter on the front.
Yanbu eclipse: questions
It starts at 11:54 and ends at 14:37 local time (UTC+3). The most is covered at 13:18.
No. Yanbu sees a partial eclipse with 99% of the Sun covered. The nearest totality is about 50 km to the south-west; Jeddah (310 km) gets 5 min 59 s.
Nobody can know that until about a week before. From history: around 13:18 in late July and early August, the sky over Yanbu is on average 88% free of cloud, so roughly a 88% chance that the Sun is clear when the eclipse peaks. That comes from Yanbu airport's own weather reports (2006–2025), 6 km away.
The Sun will be 78° above the horizon in the south-west, so pick a spot with an open view that way: a beach, a rooftop terrace or a hill. At that height buildings rarely get in the way.
Yes, for everything except totality itself. Use glasses or viewers made to ISO 12312-2. In a partial eclipse you need them the whole time, even at 99%.