Weather’s the hot topic as eclipse spectators stake out their spots in US, Mexico and Canada – Orange County Register

MESQUITE, Texas — Eclipse viewers settled into three countries Sunday, fervently hoping for clear skies despite forecasts calling for clouds along much of the route to the sun’s disappearance.

North America won’t experience another coast-to-coast total solar eclipse for another 21 years, sparking concern and the weekend rat race.

Monday’s extravaganza stretches from Mexico’s Pacific beaches to Canada’s rugged Atlantic coasts, passing through 15 U.S. states.

“I have arrived on the path of totality! » Ian Kluft announced Sunday afternoon after arriving in Mesquite from Portland, Oregon, a 2,000-mile journey.

A total eclipse occurs when the Moon aligns perfectly between the Earth and the Sun, blocking the sunlight. That means a little more than four minutes of daytime darkness east of Dallas in Mesquite, where residents like Jorge Martinez have the day off. The land surveyor plans to “witness history” from home with his wife and their 3-year-old daughter, Nati.

“I hope she remembers that.” She’s excited too,” he said after breakfast at Dos Panchas Mexican restaurant.

Inside the crowded restaurant, manager Adrian Martinez planned to stay open Monday.

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“I wish the weather was nice like today,” he said. “But the cloudiness? I hope it still looks pretty good.

Near Ennis, Texas, to the south, the Range Vintage Trailer Resort was also packed, having sold out more than a year ago.

“I booked it instantly, and then I told my wife, ‘We’re going to Texas,'” Chris Lomas, of Gotham, England, said from the trailer complex on Sunday. Even if the clouds obscure the hidden sun, “it will still be dark.” It’s just about sharing the experience with other people,” he added.

In Cleveland, the eclipse persuaded Final Four women’s fans Matt and Sheila Powell to stay an extra day after Sunday’s game. But they were wondering whether to return home to Iowa’s Missouri Valley early Monday in search of clearer skies along the eclipse’s path. “We try to be flexible,” Powell said.

Related: Not on the path to totality? You can still watch Monday’s event online

Even the eclipse professionals were up in the air.

Eclipse mapper Michael Zeiler had a perfect record heading into Monday, observing 11 out of 11 total solar eclipses after managing to move three of those moments at the last minute for better timing.

“We are the complete opposite of tornado chasers, who always look for clear skies,” Zeiler said in an email this weekend. This time, however, he remained in Fredericksburg, Texas, with his family, ten people in total, and retained “a considerable glimmer of hope.”

Farther north, in Buffalo, New York, Jeff Sherman arrived from Somerville, Massachusetts, to observe his second total solar eclipse. After seeing the U.S. coast-to-coast eclipse in 2017, “I now have to see any eclipse that’s nearby,” he said.

Kluft also enjoyed clear skies for the 2017 eclipse in Oregon and arrived in Mesquite wearing the event’s T-shirt. As for Monday’s cloudy forecast across Texas, “at least I’ll be surrounded by like-minded people.”

Risky weather was also forecast almost all the way to Lake Erie, despite Sunday’s beautiful weather. The only places promised clear skies along Monday’s narrow, 185-mile-wide corridor of totality were New England and Canada.

Like everywhere else, the weather was the hot topic Sunday at Buffalo Naval and Military Park. By mid-morning, volunteer Tom Villa had already welcomed tourists from several states, as well as Canada and Brazil.

“They hope it will be like this tomorrow, of course, but you know, time is time,” he said.