Clouds expected at these solar eclipse hot spots
You can’t be cirrus!
Cloudy weather is expected to steal the thunder from a rare total solar eclipse in some of the hottest destinations to catch the celestial wonder.
Niagara Falls, NY, is expected to have “considerable cloudiness,” while Erie, Pa., is expected to have “cloudy skies with a slight chance of rain,” according to Fox Weather.
Niagara Falls is widely considered one of the best watch spots in the eclipse’s 15-state path and already has an estimated 1 million people planning to flock to the Buffalo area. On average, the city sees 14 million visitors per year.
The famous falls have been listed by National Geographic as one of the best places to see the eclipse — a phenomenon not seen in the area since 1979.
The city is within the path where the moon will entirely block the sun for a few minutes.
The pull to the region for stargazers was so intense that last month Canada preemptively declared a state of emergency to prepare for the influx of visitors on its side of the falls.
Everything to know about the 2024 solar eclipse
- The solar eclipse will take place Monday, April 8, blocking the sun for over 180 million people in its path.
- The eclipse will expand from Mexico’s Pacific Coast across North America, hitting 15 US states and pulling itself all the way to the coast of Newfoundland, Canada.
- New Yorkers will experience the solar eclipse just after 2 p.m. Monday.
- A huge explosion on the sun, known as a coronal mass ejection, is anticipated, according to experts. This happens when massive particles from the sun are hurled out into space, explains Ryan French of the National Solar Observatory in Boulder, Colorado.
- To avoid serious injury to the eyes, it is necessary to view the event through proper eyewear like eclipse glasses, or a handheld solar viewer, during the partial eclipse phase before and after totality.
- The next total solar eclipse will take place on Aug. 12, 2026, and totality will be visible to those in Greenland, Iceland, Spain, Russia and a small slice of Portugal.Â
The declaration will allow the Ontario city — also called Niagara Falls — to execute additional planning to help prepare for traffic jams, cellphone network overloads, a higher need for emergency services, and more.
At the time, Niagara Regional Chair Jim Bradley admitted the state of emergency was declared “out of an abundance of caution” — with some backlash from advocacy groups about the move.
The Canadian Constitution Foundation (CCF) filed a notice of application for a judicial review of the declaration this week and called on Ontario Premier Doug Ford to intervene.
“The CCF is deeply concerned about the proliferation of declarations of emergency in situations where no genuine emergencies exist,” the group said in a statement to Global News.
The state of emergency remains in place for the time being.
Meanwhile, in Erie, hotels are nearly sold out and rooms still available are being hocked for a hefty $1,000 a night as close to 200,000 people descend on the region.
Mayor Joe Schember told the Post Gazette it’s “the most people we’ve ever had at an event in Erie.”
While cash is expected to rain down on the community — with revenue estimated to reach up to $50 million — the hundreds of thousands of visitors may be faced with a different deluge with predictions pointing to woeful weather.
Despite the expectation of clouds and rain in the region, officials told the Post Gazette there will still be plenty to do.
“You’re still going to experience the total darkness, drop in temperature, the nocturnal animals starting to stir,” John Oliver, VisitErie president, told the publication.