Most of North America, including all of the contiguous U.S., will see at least a partial eclipse of the sun, while the path of totality will only occur in a narrow track across the continent, from southwest to northeast. The path will begin in Mexico, before crossing over Texas at 1:30 PM CT. It will then continue across Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine, with small parts of Michigan and Tennessee also in its path. The eclipse will finish out in Canada — first in Ontario, then through New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Cape Breton, and, finally, exit out of Newfoundland at 5:16 PM NDT.
If you’re directly in the center of the path of totality, such as in cities like Indianapolis and Buffalo — you’ll experience between three and five minutes of total darkness as the moon completely obscures the sun. Cities on the inner edge of the path of totality will experience the same, but for around a minute. The closer you are to the path of totality, the more of the sun you’ll see obscured, so cities just on the outside of the eclipse’s track will see something like 95 percent of the sun covered. Cities much further away, like Seattle, will still have about 20 percent of the sun obscured at the height of the eclipse.
Weather plays a role in what you’ll see as well. If clouds block the sun, you won’t see the eclipse, though you’ll still see the sky gradually get much darker as totality approaches. Many people are actively traveling to destinations inside the path of totality for a better view of this year’s eclipse, including those with reliably clearer skies, like Texas.
