On Monday of this week (April 8, 2024), a total solar eclipse shadow moved through Texas and my house was in the path of totality. I had only seen one other total eclipse - in August 2017, I drove 550 miles (885 km) north to St Joseph, Missouri, with three friends. Unfortunately, thick clouds obscured the sun except for a few seconds during totality. Unfortunately, a cloud layer was forecast for the central and north central Texas area during the 2024 eclipse. That forecast was still active on the morning of the eclipse.
The total eclipse started at 1:40 PM. On Monday morning, it was sunny at dawn. But the cloud layer then arrived, and for the remainder of the morning the sun was obscured by the clouds. At 12:23 PM the partial eclipse began, and I was at a restaurant with friends who were visiting from eastern Tennessee. We walked outside, put on our eclipse glasses, and found that the clouds had largely disappeared and we had a great view of the initial partial eclipse. We drove to my house (only a 10 minute drive) and set up folding chairs in my driveway. The clouds nearly disappeared, with only a few wispy thin occasional clouds blowing over, and we had a near perfect view of both the partial and the total eclipse! The duration of the partial eclipse was 2 hours 39 minutes, and the totality duration was 3 minutes 22 seconds (202 seconds).
A total solar eclipse is quite different from a partial eclipse. During totality it gets very dark, similar to the night sky. We saw the very bright solar corona and the bright planet Venus in that area of the sky. The streetlights on my corner came on and birds acted oddly. The temperature dropped significantly during totality. My friends were very happy they had driven two days to see my new house and the eclipse!
See my photos here:
N5BB 2024 total solar eclipse in Dallas TX area
Bill