Will I see the 2027 solar eclipse in Al Bahah?
Yes, totality
The Moon covers the Sun completely for 5 min 11 s, from 13:29:32 to 13:34:43 local time. The Sun will be 73° up in the west.
Minute by minute
Local time in Al Bahah (UTC+3). The light fades for over an hour before totality; the last minutes go fast.
- 12:07:50StartsThe Moon touches the Sun
- 13:29:32TotalityDarkness, corona, stars
- 13:32:08Mid-totality
- 13:34:43Totality endsGlasses back on
- 14:49:18EndsThe Sun is whole again
Will the Sun be clear at 13:32?
Better than even. Around 13:32 from 21 July to 14 August, the sky over Al Bahah is on average 58% free of cloud: roughly the chance that the Sun is clear when the eclipse peaks. Al Bahah airport, 36 km away, reported 58% in 721 weather reports (2006–2025).
2 August around 13:32, every year since 2006
- 062006: some cloud
- 072007: cloudy
- 082008: cloudy
- 092009: some cloud
- 102010: some cloud
- 112011: some cloud
- 122012: some cloud
- 132013: some cloud
- 142014: clear
- 152015: some cloud
- 162016: cloudy
- 172017: some cloud
- 182018: clear
- 192019: clear
- 202020: no report
- 212021: clear
- 222022: clear
- 232023: some cloud
- 242024: some cloud
- 252025: some cloud
Clear or nearly clear in 5 of 19 years on the day itself (Al Bahah airport weather reports). One day is luck; the 58% 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.
Staying in Al Bahah
Rooms in the path go first: book now with free cancellation, then check the forecast a week before. If clouds threaten, a car lets you move along the path.
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.
Al Bahah eclipse: questions
It starts at 12:07 and ends at 14:49 local time (UTC+3). Totality runs from 13:29:32 to 13:34:43.
5 min 11 s. Al Bahah is inside the path; nearby towns closer to the centre line get a little longer.
Nobody can know that until about a week before. From history: around 13:32 in late July and early August, the sky over Al Bahah is on average 58% free of cloud, so roughly a 58% chance that the Sun is clear when the eclipse peaks. That comes from Al Bahah airport's own weather reports (2006–2025), 36 km away.
The Sun will be 73° above the horizon in the 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. During the 5 min 11 s of totality you can look without them.