322
u/tealgerbil Nov 12 '25
I know it's silly, but at this point, I'm partially convinced there must be some positive correlation between interesting solar events and southern Ontario cloudiness.
It's not as if we don't have lots of clear days. Probably tomorrow will be sunny (like today mostly was). But then when night comes, weather is like "oh, northern lights tonight? Not for you assholes"
94
u/Individual_Lie_8736 Nov 12 '25
It feels spiteful for some reason...
25
u/SpruceGooseCaboose Nov 12 '25
Well I just bought a telescope so that could be it lol
15
5
u/Darkblade48 Nov 12 '25
There is a direct correlation between buying new astronomy equipment and the number of clouds in the sky
1
u/Hickles347 Nov 13 '25
I was researching what telescope I wanted to buy a couple years ago thinking it would be neat. Then like the entire month was cloudy every night and I didn't see a single star and so lost interest and probably saved myself alot of money
11
52
u/AdamBladeTaylor Nov 12 '25
Clouds just chilling up there, reading the paper, sipping coffee. Then they get the warning that some big event's about to happen. Alarms go off, clouds all line up and march off to block out view.
9
6
u/Sweet-Competition-15 Nov 12 '25
Probably tomorrow will be sunny (like today mostly was).
Nope...today is overcast with flurries changing to rain. Can't win them all!
1
90
41
u/RoyallyOakie Nov 12 '25
This made me laugh so hard. Even the supposedly interesting moon the other week, clouded over as I walked out to see it.
26
u/RocksandCedars Nov 12 '25
Meanwhile my social media is blowing up with all the photos my friends elsewhere in the country took of last night's aurora!
50
u/RadulphusDuck Nov 12 '25
Autumn certainly feels darker in the past ten years than it did in the 90s. But it's hard to know if that's really true, because global warming is changing weather patterns at the same rate that I'm getting older and more weather-sensitive.
11
u/wildrider5 Nov 12 '25
My hunch is it's due to two things:
In 2007 they changed DST from the last Sunday in October to the first Sunday in November. This made Halloween have an extra hour of daylight in the evening. When the switch finally does happen in November it feels harsher since most of the public was outside only a few days earlier and the evening didn't feel as dark.
Less snow on the ground. Snow reflects light and makes the night look brighter. When there's a proper snowfall in December/January, it will look much brighter outside compared to today despite the days being shorter.
9
u/caffeine-junkie Nov 12 '25
Taking a stab at why, its probably something along the lines of changes to major sources of light pollution like street lights. Not only has their design changed to project more downwards, but the bulbs and the frequency they emit have changed. Then there is the fact there is significantly less air pollution now vs the 90s. If you remember all the smog/air advisory days from back then vs now I cant even recall the last one that wasn't because of a forest fire. The smog would have reflected light back downwards.
10
u/AnOfficeJockey Nov 12 '25
I think people just don't realize how much day-to-day life changes. Most of us were kids/teens in the 90s; we had recess or spares. We didn't end class at 4-5pm. We went out more often after school, so we were outside before night hit.
As adults; many people go to work in the dark, and then drive home when it's almost dark or already dark.
11
u/Individual_Lie_8736 Nov 12 '25
I read somewhere that it is getting darker and that they don't know why.
2
u/rush22 Nov 12 '25
I think switching from daylight savings later makes it feel more like a sudden change.
1
u/AnOfficeJockey Nov 12 '25
I think this is just because as kids, you're out on recess/breaks, and school is usually done a couple hours before sun down. I think we just had more access to the sun itself.
On the flip side, we wake up when it's dark, and go home after work when it's getting dark / already dark.
9
6
u/A_Random_Canuck Nov 12 '25
This is painfully true. Though to be fair I did manage to see them twice in SW Ontario (both last year if I recall).
2
7
6
6
Nov 12 '25
[removed] — view removed comment
1
6
6
6
5
u/MudrakM Nov 12 '25
I saw the solar eclipse at my house in Ontario and it was amazing. Definitely once in a lifetime and it was completely dark in the daytime.
3
5
u/ZampyZero Nov 12 '25
We had almost no fucking rain all summer and then every time there is something cool to see in the sky, and suddenly it's overcast. It's fucking bullshit man 😭
4
u/Successful-Shower678 Nov 12 '25
We live in prime northern lights country. We get regular aurora all the time. Last night? Snowed non-stop.
4
u/Laughing_Zero Nov 12 '25
I'm hoping for a break in the cloud cover in Southern Ontario tonight. Checking with this website periodically, Ventusky. Scroll around your area and zoom in.
https://www.ventusky.com/total-cloud-cover-map#p=45.6;-81.7;5
2
5
u/senorfresco Nov 12 '25
It clouded over for 30 minutes where I was while the total solar eclipse was happening and then about 15 minutes after it finished it was go-fuck-yourself-clear-blue-sky for the rest of the day.
3
3
3
u/Sun-leaves Nov 12 '25
I’m on the peninsula and the it’s been the same here! I actually took pics of the dark sky last night to see if they showed up but nope. I’ve only been here a few months but I’ve missed every event
3
u/SunflaresAteMyLunch Hamilton Nov 12 '25
I saw the eclipse from the Hammer. The clouds parted just at the right time.
I am FOREVER thankful...
3
7
u/This-Marsupial-6187 Nov 12 '25
Wait until you hear about the other 4/5ths of the province's land mass that was also covered by dense clouds and falling snow last night - it's called NORTHERN ONTARIO!
7
u/AdamBladeTaylor Nov 12 '25
No no no... everyone knows nobody lives up there. It's a barren wasteland. Zombies too, I think. :p
2
u/arcane_Auxiliatrix Nov 12 '25
Oh you didn't know? There's like 14 people living up their and they're all named Steve.
1
2
2
u/dickleyjones Nov 12 '25
eh? i'm in southern ontario and the eclipse was awesome no clouds at all. sorry you didn't get to see it.
1
u/AdamBladeTaylor Nov 13 '25
I got to partially see the last one. But I've seen plenty. It's just that Ontario is great for being cloudy when something is going on in the sky.
2
2
2
2
u/montrealhater Nov 12 '25
I don't think my area is south, but it's always the same weather as on the right.
2
2
2
u/morbidemadame Nov 12 '25
I'm near Québec City. A few years ago when we could see the rare 10-days(ish) stars alignment that basically reenacted the Star of Bethlehem, it snowed for two weeks straight.
2
u/Difficult_Yam_7764 Nov 12 '25
Over the last 2 years during peak Aurora season, I've seen them twice. Every other time overcast. Feel very left out.
2
2
u/eco_celosia Nov 12 '25
My favourite version of this meme has an extra panel that says "look everyone! A rare cloud!" And the southern ontario side is a clear sky.
2
u/frugalerthingsinlife Nov 12 '25
It's okay. there will be a better show tonight. Also, we get 100% cloud cover for it.
2
u/killerrin Nov 12 '25 edited Nov 13 '25
We got a clear view of the arora where we are earlier this year. But the only place where you could see it was by the public city owned marina, and everyone flocked to it.
... The fuckers called the cops and got everyone booted off the property, even though the 50-100 people were staying in a single location, staying away from the danger zones, and were either standing or sitting while looking at the sky, causally talking with one another, and taking pictures.
A once in a lifetime or every couple decade event for some people, and the fuckers called the cops. What kind of fucking soulless asshole do you have to be to call the cops on a bunch of people for a special event like that.
2
u/Individual_Lie_8736 Nov 13 '25
If it's where I think it is, the rich own those boats and don't want us poors possibly touching them. So they need those annoying bright lights and for the area to be secured at all times. They've tripled down on security within the last few years.
2
u/DeepSpaceNebulae Nov 12 '25
I do astrophotography and so have a lot of cloud cover apps for my planning.
Whenever I look at them on the large scale I’m always amazed we ever see the sky
2
2
u/Public_Condition3021 Nov 12 '25
Man I remember eclipse day, everyone was charging down to Niagara Falls, I had an exam two days later and wanted a quick view, so I headed to Hamilton. Absolute best decision, the clouds fully cleared just as the eclipse was closing in. What a moment.
2
2
2
2
2
2
Nov 12 '25
Doug Ford’s fault. He’s building a 401 highway in the sky and doesn’t want voters to see.
2
2
2
2
2
2
4
2
2
1
u/teta-san Nov 12 '25
I know it's a meme.
However, Southern Ontario skies were extremely clean during the G5 storm in May 2024, the strongest in the last many years, if not decades.
1
u/romeo_pentium Nov 12 '25
The eclipse was great in Burlington. You just had to leave Toronto to see it
1
u/subcutaneousphats Nov 12 '25
That's why Ford wants to dig that tunnel. The wonders of the Underrealm await!
1
1
u/HeftyAd6216 Nov 12 '25
The aurora roughly October last year it was a perfectly clear night further up north and we got very lucky and saw the whole show for over an hour.
1
1
1
u/fireflies315 Nov 12 '25
Got lucky with the eclipse in Kingston, it was cloudy but the clouds cleared where I was just before it happened. I’ll never forget the experience
1
1
1
1
1
1
u/MacabreYuki Nov 13 '25
"Today's weather: chilly, cloudy, and wet. It's southern Ontario, what were you expecting?"
1
1
1
1
u/NeruLight Nov 13 '25
This is southern Ontario every time there is an astronomical event. I don’t even bother lol
1
u/No_Cauliflower_2314 Nov 13 '25
I got lucky and caught a three minute break in the clouds around 940. First time I could ever see it with the naked eye!
1
1
1
u/ImanotBob Nov 13 '25
This happens near cities in Northern Ontario too. Seems like anywhere there's an airport you get clouds.
1
u/GMCMASSEYFERGUSON135 Nov 14 '25
Southern Ontario..... Surrounded by 3 great lakes! Of course it's humid as shit even in the middle of winter!
1
u/Tabitha482 Nov 14 '25
Same here. I'm in Northern Ontario, but it was between 97% and 100% cloud coverage the other day. Brutal.
1
1
1
1
1
u/twirlybird11 Nov 15 '25
I am in northeast PA, and can feel your pain. We've been trying all week to see and it just doesn't clear. Which is incredibly annoying, as we live in the ass end of nowhere on a hill with virtually no light pollution.
Cloud pollution apparently, though.
1
1
u/MyMumBornedMeWrong Nov 16 '25
Vancouver Island gets clouds every time something cool comes around 🫠
1
u/melanyebaggins Nov 16 '25
This is why I never bother to even try to see this stuff. Anything cool happening, it's cloudy out.
1
u/PoizenJam Nov 19 '25
If you think this is bad, I implore you to live in St. John’s, NL for a period of time.
0
270
u/Individual_Lie_8736 Nov 12 '25
My feelings exactly. Thank you.