Rare celestial event on Monday will see the moon block out the sun for a few minutes and day turn to night, with fans hoping the clouds don’t spoil the view
A rare total solar eclipse eclipse will be visible in parts of the US, Canada and Mexico on 8 April. Photograph: Manuel Guadarrama/Getty Images
Solar eclipses
Excitement builds ahead of total solar eclipse in US, Mexico and Canada
Rare celestial event on Monday will see the moon block out the sun for a few minutes and day turn to night, with fans hoping the clouds don’t spoil the view
Guardian staff with agencies
Mon 8 Apr 2024 03.49 BST
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Across the US, Mexico and Canada, people have rushed to stake out spots to witness a rare total solar eclipse, while forecasts for cloudy skies worry some hopeful spectators.
The phenomenon happens when the moon lines up perfectly between the Earth and the sun, blocking out the sunlight. The eclipse will be visible in the three countries on 8 April.
North America won’t see another coast-to-coast total solar eclipse for 21 years, with millions of people across the country expected to travel to witness the celestial event.
The track of the moon’s shadow is called the path of totality, which for Monday’s eclipse will be about 115 miles (185km) wide and sweep across 15 states in the US in a north-east direction, from Texas to Maine, for roughly an hour, beginning at 1.30pm CT and ending at about 3.35pm ET.
Among the hopeful spectators is Jorge Martinez, who lives outside Dallas in Mesquite. He plans to “witness history” from home with his wife and their 3-year-old daughter, Nati. “Hopefully, she’ll remember. She’s excited, too,” he told AP.
Near Ennis, Texas, to the south, the Range Vintage trailer resort was also packed, selling out of spots more than a year ago
“I booked it instantly, then I told my wife, ‘We’re going to Texas,’” Chris Lomas said from the resort on Sunday. Even if clouds obscure the event, “it will still go dark. It’s just about sharing the experience with other people,” he said.
Eclipse mapmaker Michael Zeiler has seen 11 solar eclipses, and has in the past changed locations at the last minute for better weather.
“We are the complete opposite of tornado chasers, always seeking clear skies,” Zeiler said in an email to AP over the weekend. This time, he will stay in Fredericksburg, Texas, with his family of 10 holding on to “a considerable ray of hope” for good weather.
An estimated 31.6 million people, almost three times as many as in 2017, live in the path of totality – which is longer, and also wider than almost every other total eclipse before it, because the moon is closer to Earth and casts a broader shadow.
The weather was the hot topic at the Buffalo naval and military park on Sunday. By mid-morning on Sunday, volunteer Tom Villa had already greeted tourists from several states, as well as Canada and Brazil.
“They hope it’s like this tomorrow, of course, but you know, the weather is the weather,” he said.
Clouds are forecast for much of the eclipse route through the US with possible patches of clear skies in some spots, according to the latest forecast from the National Weather Service. The best bet for seeing the eclipse is northern New England through to Canada.
Texas is likely to have the heaviest cloud cover and severe weather is forecast for around eclipse time in some parts.
Eclipse watchers who get clouded or rained out can still watch the spectacle online via broadcasts from Nasa and others.