Great American Solar Eclipse 2024: Where To See Totality In PA

PENNSYLVANIA — It’s still a year away, but excitement is building for what moon shadow chasers view as the party of a lifetime, the Great American Solar Eclipse on April 8, 2024. Thirteen states, including Pennsylvania, are in the path of totality.

In parts of PA, we’ll see about 3 minutes, 45 seconds of totality, starting at about 3:16 p.m. The moon’s shadow will travel between 2,175 and 2,340 miles per hour, according to the Great American Eclipse website.

A total solar eclipse takes place when the moon passes between the sun and Earth, completely blocking the face of the sun. With protective eyewear, people in the path of totality will be able to stand in the shadow of the moon and see the exquisite corona of the sun.

The far northwest portion of PA including Erie, Crawford, Venango and Mercer counties will see total coverage, while others in the state will have partial totality. About 433,000 Keystone State residents live inside the eclipse path.

Folks in Pittsburgh will see a partial eclipse with more than 90 percent of the sun covered. In the southeast corner near Philly, residents will also see a partial eclipse, with 88 percent coverage, according to the website. The partial eclipse is visible much longer — almost for two and half hours.

Already planning a trip to see the totality? Erie Bluffs State Park and Presque Isle State Park will be in the path of the moon's shadow, offering lakeside eclipse views. But, be ready for traffic on major highways and back roads before and after the big show, as plenty of other people might be having the exact same idea. The Great American Eclipse website estimates up to 259,000 people could head to that part of Pennsylvania to see the total eclipse.

The eclipse party actually starts later this year with a celestial warmup, an annular solar eclipse that will be seen from Oregon to Texas on Oct. 14. When that happens, the moon appears as a dark disk on top of a larger, bright disk, creating what looks like a ring around the moon.

The other states in the 2024 solar eclipse path are Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio, New York, New Hampshire, Vermont and Maine.

Some of the cities in the path of totality, other than Pittsburgh, are Dallas and Austin in Texas; Little Rock, Arkansas; Indianapolis, Indiana; Cleveland and Dayton in Ohio; Buffalo, New York; and Burlington, Vermont. Cities just outside the path include San Antonio, Texas; St. Louis; Chicago; Cincinnati; and Detroit.

The upcoming event is sometimes called the Great North American Eclipse to distinguish it from the Great American Eclipse of 2017 in which Americans from one coast to the other stopped what they were doing and basked in the subdued sunlight with picnics, watch parties and even solar eclipse weddings. To show how frenzied the run-up was, 1970s Welsh pop star Bonnie Tyler reprised her “Total Eclipse of the Sun” at the exact moment the sun fell under the moon’s shadow on a cruise ship in the Caribbean.

In multiple ways, the 2024 event will, ahem, eclipse the one in 2017. For one thing, more people live in the path of totality — nearly 32 million, versus 12.25 million in 2017. And for another, the eclipse will last about 2 minutes longer, about 4 minutes, compared to the maximum peak in 2017 of about 2½ minutes.

To experience the maximum totality would require travel to the small town of Nazas, Mexico, where the eclipse will last 4 minutes and 28 seconds.

Wherever eclipse chasers decide to land, they shouldn’t delay making travel plans. Solar eclipse tourism proved to be a huge revenue boost in areas located in the path of totality in 2017, bringing in millions of dollars for travel, lodging, food and shopping during the days leading up to the eclipse.

Hotel rooms went fast in 2017 and likely will again. Smithsonian Magazine reports that hotels and Airbnbs in the path of totality are already filling up, and that there are again reports of price gouging for eclipse lodgings, a repeat of high prices in the 2017 eclipse.

Smithsonian Magazine science correspondent Dan Falk, a veteran eclipse chaser, recommends that people get to whatever place they want to watch a day early, rather than risk getting stuck in traffic while the eclipse is happening. Also, he advised, book an extra night if possible, because the worst traffic delays seem to occur at the end of totality.

The Great American Eclipse website recommends making a three-day weekend out of the trip because the eclipse will happen on a Monday. The website’s co-developer, Michael Zeiler, said self-sufficiency is smart.

“Bring your own food, bring your own water and keep the gas tank filled up,” he wrote. “Maybe take a sleeping bag just in case.”

Several travel groups and online booking sites offer solar eclipse tours. As with any online site, vet it before you book.

Also, it’s a good idea to order eclipse glasses, which sold out in 2017. Some people had to resort to old-fashioned methods to protect their eyes.

The American Astronomical Society vetted a list of vendors whose eclipse glasses meeting safety standards.

Solar eclipses occur about once every 18 months, and they’re visible from at least some place on Earth. But it would take a millennium for every geographic location in the continental U.S. to see the phenomenon, according to NASA.

In the United States, April 8, 2024, will be the last chance to see a total solar eclipse until Aug. 22, 2044.

A year later, on Aug. 12, 2045, people from California to Florida will be in the path of totality.

Patch's national desk contributed to this report.