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Solar Eclipse Forecast: What weather can we expect April 8?
Even if someone is in the right place at the right time, cloudy skies could make seeing a full solar eclipse fruitless. What can we expect in Michigan?
(FOX 2) - Solar eclipses are rare events on their own. It's even rarer to find oneself in a position to experience the phenomenon in its fullest.
But on the afternoon of April 8, communities in and adjacent Erie Township, located on the Michigan-Ohio border and along the Lake Erie shoreline, will be the lone region to find itself under the full solar eclipse.
Along with the township is Luna Pier, a Great Lakes coastal municipality in Monroe County, which has been identified as the only city in Michigan that will experience the full eclipse.
Normally the host of 5K runs, farmer's markets, and summer festivals, Luna Pier could be up against a swarm of eclipse chasers who want to catch a glimpse of the totality that will fully darken the skies.
The police department is warning anyone who plans to visit the city to see the eclipse will need to be patient with the influx of traffic.
In a post on social media, they asked visitors be prepared for limited parking and access due to construction. "If you are planning to come to Luna Pier..be patient with your drive here and when leaving as we are expecting a lot of people," they wrote on Facebook.
RELATED: Will the weather disrupt Michigan's total solar eclipse?
The website eclipse2024, which has a list of the cities and towns and the eclipse viewing available, said that a full eclipse will only be viewable in Michigan within a few square miles. It mentions I-75 between the Ohio border and Erie Road and the Lost Peninsula, which is accessible only from Ohio but is technically in Michigan, will see a full eclipse.
How long will the solar eclipse be in Michigan?
According to eclipse2024, Michigan will only experience totality for less than two minutes. It will first touch Michigan at 3:12:40 p.m. and end at 3:14:13 p.m.
That doesn't leave a lot of time for a full solar eclipse. Luckily, the phenomenon will partially be on display for much longer. The sun will form a crescent shape that will get smaller and smaller until the moon fully blocks out light.
The partial eclipse will begin just before 2 p.m. in Michigan.
According to NASA, the partial eclipse phase can last between 70–80 minutes.
Solar Eclipse 2024: Michigan locations, weather forecast and more to know ahead of event
There's only one city in Michigan that will witness a full solar eclipse. But could a cloudy day muck things up? Here's everything to know about the phenomenon.
Where else will a total solar eclipse occur?
According to Eclipse2024.org, the unincorporated village of Eidson Road, near the U.S.-Mexico border will be the first to see the phenomenon. Here's the timing of each state's total solar eclipse:
- Oklahoma around 1:44 p.m. (CDT)
- Arkansas at 1:45 p.m. (CDT)
- Missouri at 1:53 p.m. (CDT)
- Illinois at 1:58 p.m. (CDT)
- Kentucky at 1:59 p.m. (CDT)
- Indiana at 3:01 p.m. (EST)
- Ohio at 3:08 p.m. (EST)
- Pennsylvania at 3:15 p.m. (EST)
- New York at 3:16 p.m. (EST)
- Vermont at 3:25 p.m. (EST)
- New Hampshire at 3:28 p.m. (EST)
- Maine at 3:28 p.m. (EST)