Even if it’s cloudy on Monday, April 8, people will have a chance to “hear” the solar eclipse on AM radio.
Though the Upper Midwest is outside of the path of totality, a partial eclipse will last for more than two hours. According to NASA, it will begin shortly before 1 p.m. Central time, peak just after 2 p.m., and end after 3 p.m.
One lesser-known fact about eclipses is that the lack of sunshine leads to distant AM radio reception due to skywave propagation (which also happens every night, but few seem to know about that phenomenon these days).
While many AM stations have to reduce power or switch to more directional antenna patterns at night, there is no such requirement during an eclipse — creating the possibility for interesting reception.
Your reporter was in Grand Marais, Minn., during the 2017 eclipse, which had a path of totality through Nebraska and Wyoming. From Grand Marais, I heard several stations from Nebraska and Colorado with weak signals during the eclipse. It sounded similar to “critical hours” reception (the normal fading in and out of skywave signals that occurs in the hours before sunset and after sunrise).
With skywave reception, any station in or near the path of totality could receive some skywave enhancement during the eclipse. Listen for distant signals on any AM frequency that doesn’t have normal daytime reception in your area (if you’re not familiar with what’s “normal” for your location, check Radio-Locator to see what stations you should normally receive).
There are several large 50,000-Watt stations in or near the path of the eclipse that can already be heard on a nightly basis in the Upper Midwest, and are likely to be heard during the eclipse as well. They include:
- 650 WSM (Nashville) Classic Country
- 670 WSCR (Chicago) Sports
- 700 WLW (Cincinnati) News/Talk
- 720 WGN (Chicago) News/Talk
- 740 CFZM (Toronto) Classic Hits
- 760 WJR (Detroit) News/Talk
- 780 WBBM (Chicago) All News
- 810 WGY (Schenectady, NY) News/Talk
- 820 WBAP (Dallas) News/Talk
- 840 WHAS (Louisville) News/Talk
- 860 CJBC (Toronto) French-language News/Talk
- 890 WLS (Chicago) News/Talk
- 1000 WMVP (Chicago) Sports
- 1080 KRLD (Dallas) News/Talk
- 1100 WTAM (Cleveland) News/Talk
- 1120 KMOX (St. Louis) News/Talk
- 1160 WYLL (Chicago) Christian
- 1180 WHAM (Rochester, NY) News/Talk
- 1190 WOWO (Fort Wayne, IN) News/Talk
- 1200 WOAI (San Antonio, TX) News/Talk
- 1530 WCKY (Cincinnati) Sports
For DX’ers (people who listen for distant radio signals), the bigger catch will be stations that can’t normally be heard here because they are off the air or at greatly reduced power at night. Here is a look at some larger signals that seem to have potential to be new loggings for Upper Midwest DX’ers:
- 680 KKYX (San Antonio, TX) Classic Country
- 850 WKNR (Cleveland) Sports
- 880 KLRG (Sheridan-Little Rock) Classic Rock
- 1030 WGSF (Memphis, TN) Spanish-language
- 1070 WDIA (Memphis, TN) R&B Oldies
- 1110 KVTT (Mineral Wells-Dallas) “Radio Mirchi” South Asian format
- 1160 WCRT (Donelson-Nashville) Christian
- 1190 KFXR (Dallas) News/Talk
- 1270 KFLC (Benbrook-Dallas) Spanish Sports
- 1300 WNQM (Nashville) Christian
- 1360 KMNY (Hurst-Dallas) Spanish Christian
- 1440 KEXB (University Park-Dallas) Catholic
- 1510 WLAC (Nashville) News/Talk
- 1600 WMQM (Lakeland-Memphis, TN) Christian
However, a station doesn’t have to be in the direct path of totality to receive skywave enhancement, as evidenced by my reception of Colorado stations in Minnesota during the 2017 eclipse that didn’t directly pass over either state. Wikipedia has a full list of AM stations which operate at 50kW during the day.
According to NASA, these are the approximate times the path of totality of this year’s eclipse will reach cities and states around these times (all listed in Central time):
- 1:30 p.m. CDT, San Antonio, TX
- 1:45 p.m. CDT, Dallas
- 1:50 p.m. CDT, Arkansas
- 2:00 p.m. CDT, southeastern Missouri and southern Illinois
- 2:05 p.m. CDT, Indianapolis
- 2:15 p.m. CDT, Cleveland
- 2:20 p.m. CDT, Buffalo, NY
- 2:30 p.m. CDT, Maine
Keep in mind that skywave enhancement will begin well before the time of totality as the sky gets darker. The totality times listed above are essentially the peak times for possible reception.
Several broadcast TV networks will pre-empt regular daytime programming for live coverage beginning at 1 p.m. Central time, including ABC, CBS, NBC, Telemundo, and Gray TV’s Local News Live. In Canada, CBC’s main network will begin coverage at 1 p.m. Eastern.
Despite being a visual phenomenon, some radio stations are also providing a soundtrack to the eclipse. Live coverage from “Here & Now” will air on some NPR stations.
Cumulus Classic Hits outlet WVBO/103.9 (Winneconne-Oshkosh-Appleton) will feature a playlist of songs about the sun, moon, and space.