xkcd.WTF!?

Explanation ➲

Following on from 2914: Eclipse Coolness, Randall makes another comic about the solar eclipse occurring on April 8, 2024. Cueball is checking the weather forecast. At the time that this comic was posted, much of the eclipse path was projected to be overcast, and Cueball expresses disappointment as someone wishing to watch the Moon slowly block out the Sun (and not the clouds obscuring both). The off-panel voice points out the mild irony that he wanted to see something block out the Sun, so the clouds technically fit his wish, leading Cueball to exclaim that he has a specific taste for things blocking the Sun.

The title-text references the 'alignment' of Sun, Moon and cloud (Nephele [νεφέλη] is Greek for cloud), describing it as rare, although this is not really as desirable as it might make it sound. Sun/Moon conjunctions are already quite rare, so that the balance against Sun/Moon/no-cloud probabilities isn't really so notable. In theory, it should equal being the difference between cloud and no-cloud on any average day for your chosen location. In practice, scholars such as Edward A. Murphy and Finagle would argue that conjunctions of the Sun, Moon, and clouds are considerably more likely than a Sun/Moon conjunction occurring on a sunny day.

Note, as of the posting of this comic the weather reports had consistently shown the Eclipse path in Northern Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine, the points nearest to Randall's actual home in Cambridge, MA, to have the best potential viewing in the country with near 0% projected cloud cover. While this should in theory negate Randall's anxiety, the historical forecast called for a 75% chance of cloud cover and may have prompted Randall to make other plans like visiting friends or family in sunnier portions of the eclipse path like Texas. Randall may therefore be still faced with the choice of altering his eclipse viewing plans, even if the situation technically favors New England. Nephological means "related to clouds".