Clear Sky Clock graphic
CSC is indicating that it will be mostly overcast tonight with poor transparency and seeing. When I left the house at 1830 EST it was broken clouds with little sky visible and warm. On the way home I walked a couple of blocks and the streets got wet from a local rain shower. A few more blocks and they were dry again. When I got home shortly before 2000 EST the clouds had broken up and I could see at least as much sky as clouds. I saw Mars and the Big W.
NOAA graphic
The NexRad Doppler radar is not showing any precipitation in the local forecast area so what I saw must have been very light, too low to the ground for the radar to pick it up, or a very transitory event. The combined satellite and radar loop from Intellicast showed some significant precipitation moving this way through PA.
NOAA graphic
The enhanced IR satellite image shows a band of clouds with high tops extending from the Great Lakes to the Gulf of Mexico moving east ahead of a cold front. The short line of clouds heading down to the right through NJ ahead of the major arc is the leading edge of a warm front that is moving north.
NOAA graphic
Given that the NOAA forecast graphs indicate nearly 100% cloud cover and RH for the next 48 hours and rain possible after midnight tonight it just isn't worth taking a chance that this clearing is going to persist long enough to get any meaningful observing done.
I think CSC is probably pretty accurate in its overall forecast for tonight.
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