One week out: The weather forecast for Eclipse Day in Salem, Lincoln City and Madras

UPDATE: Six days out: The weather report for Salem, Lincoln City and Madras

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It's hard to believe an event billed as the biggest in Oregon history is just one week away.

Visitors from around the globe are expected to begin arriving in Salem and other cities within the path of the Great American Eclipse this coming week.

That means it's time to officially begin weather watching, to get a sense of whether we'll have clear skies for the big day.

Now that we're close, most weather sites have started issuing forecasts for Aug. 21.

As we get closer, forecasts are starting to mean more — and meteorologists have stressed that in Oregon, we may not have a great idea of whether we'll have clear skies until the final days.

But it's still worth looking at what forecasters are saying at this point. The most reliable source, the National Weather Service, has also issued their forecast for eclipse day.

The picture is starting to come together and it's mixed.

Let's start on the coast and move east.

More eclipse weather:

Will Salem be sunny or cloudy on eclipse day? Here's what recent history tells us

Lincoln City and the Oregon Coast

The Oregon Coast was always the most iffy place for sunshine, with meteorologists giving the coast just a 44 percent chance of clear skies.

But the forecast looks ... semi-promising at this point. Most weather sites see lots of clouds in the near term giving way to sunny or partly sunny skies on Eclipse Day.

A red flag is that Aug. 21 is surrounded by rainy and cloudy days.

The National Weather Service forecasts partly sunny skies.

Early morning fog is also a question that really won't be answered until the big day. So, stay tuned.

Salem and the Willamette Valley

Forecasts for the Salem area offer a pretty good indication of why long-term forecasts aren't super helpful.

On four weather sites offering forecasts, you get four slightly different answers for the weather on Aug. 21.

Weather Channel says sunny, AccuWeather is calling for sun and some clouds, Weather Underground is thinking clear skies and Weather Bug is pessimistic with partly cloudy.

The good news is nobody is calling for major clouds or rain in that time period. So that's something.

The National Weather Service forecast has been released and is calling for mostly sunny skies..

Madras

This Central Oregon town has become famous in eclipse circles specifically because it's so likely to have sunny skies on Aug. 21 — 90 percent in fact, according to the National Weather Service.

But what's this?

Check the long-term forecasts, and the answer isn't so straightforward. The Weather Channel is calling for partly cloudy skies and AccuWeather says "partly sunny." The National Weather Service forecast calles for sunny skies.

The two other sites believe in sunny or mostly sunny skies, but still. It's hard to imagine the chaos if we get closer to Eclipse Day and overcast skies are forecast.