2024 Eclipse - Best Locations

Submitted by procyons2stars t3_10kt9d7 in space

We are planning on traveling to see the 2024 eclipse. Originally thought about Indianapolis because of the children's museum and dinosphere but a friend said it might be cloudy that time of year.

Is Indianapolis typically cloudy in April? What are some of the best places (weather-wise) to give us the best chance at experiencing it?

Edit: thanks so much everyone! Looks like the Dinosphere may have to wait for another year. We'll be heading towards Texas I think!

My sister lives in Spain so we'll be going there in 2026!

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twilightmoons t1_j5uluz5 wrote

Texas. Basically, Dallas/Fort Worth and to the south.

I am an Eclipse Ambassador (education project) and have been working on planning for this since 2018. I have a number of sites all over Texas, planning for inclement weather. My primary site is near the centerline, with 4:15 of totality. It is family land, and will be available to our local astronomy club members (and a few professional astronomers coming to town). I will also be doing a live YT broadcast from there, with 4K/6K cameras streaming live and recording for later.

Secondary and tertiary sites are located south and west of me - Lampassas, Fredricksburg, Kerrville, Vanderpool. I have contacts with clubs in those areas, and I want to have reciprocal agreements - if it is cloudy here and clear there, we have places to go, and vice versa.

I have contacts with an eclipse-chasing group coming from Europe. They are wary of going to Mexico due to the drug violence, and without knowing anyone there they do not want to show up and find out they were scammed and have nowhere to go. So, Texas it is for them.

This is the site you want for planning:

http://xjubier.free.fr/en/site_pages/solar_eclipses/TSE_20240408_pg01.html

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swingsurfer t1_j5uxu76 wrote

Wow, what a great site! Thanks for posting. I hope we will be able to see it here. This past year's eclipse it was far too cloudy.

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procyons2stars OP t1_j5wo12d wrote

Awwsome! Thank you! I work at a museum with the astro team in our planetarium and observatory. I got lucky last time bc we are in Columbia, SC and were right in totality. We had thousands of ppl on-site and a front row seat with Charlie Duke!

But now I actually gotta plan! Thanks for this info!

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GenericCleverNme t1_j5vteaj wrote

Great info! I've been planning to book a hotel in Waco as early as I can (1 year out). You are much more prepared lol.

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twilightmoons t1_j5vzcn5 wrote

Be aware - there may be hotels who don't know why people are booking that weekend/Monday in April so soon, why their hotel is full.

They will learn VERY quickly.

Last time, we had three club members who lost their "locked-in, guaranteed" reservations three to six months ahead of August, because the hotels realized that the rooms they booked at $50/night could be sold at $300+ a night instead. Luckily, we had LOTS of backups sites planned. They were able to meet at the family farm of one club member south of the path, then drive up early in the morning to a site along the centerline for a great view.

Just plan for something like that, just in case.

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bad-crab t1_j5spgtb wrote

DinoWHAT?!

googles

I didn’t know they could make dinosaurs cooler than they already are.

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procyons2stars OP t1_j5srnbs wrote

I know! Little will be 4 and she's dino/space obsessed. I'd love an excuse to head up there but I do have connections in San Antonio so that's an option. I love San Antonio. But it doesn't have a dinosphere 😂

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damurd t1_j5u6fgd wrote

I think Austin should be a pretty good bet. Very sunny here

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RSV4KruKut t1_j5stb4r wrote

Indianapolis to Pittsburgh is a very cloudy region of the US. Seeing the sun for consecutive days is rare.

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1500mgsalt t1_j5tggc8 wrote

I’m planning to give Carbondale, IL a shot and hope for the best.

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Radixx t1_j5u6st3 wrote

We went there for the last one in 2017 and found a great spot in the Giant City state park just south of the city. Big field with unobstructed views and free! The park employees had maps and were very helpful. 10/10! We live in Dallas so staying local for the 2024 one.

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Right-Oil-7116 t1_j5tgl6p wrote

Indiana is humid. Growing up there, I remember completely cloud-free days being special rather than the norm. I was in Indiana during the 2017 eclipse, there were clouds but I was still able to see it (either through the clouds or in between clouds passing iirc).

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xandr3n t1_j5th0h8 wrote

Spring in the Midwest is definitely not a guaranteed blue sky day. April 8th could be 65F and sunny or 30F and snowing. Heck, it could be 30F and perfectly crisp blue skies. I would say you have a 50% shot of a clear day and a 30% chance of a warm day. But if it isn’t going to be clear or warm, you would know multiple days in advance.

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CockroachNo2540 t1_j5vndau wrote

A friend has a ranch outside Kerrville, TX. We have tentative plans for there. It's the edge of the Hill Country and West Texas and is quite arid. Should be a good spot, but you never know.

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thejaxx t1_j5y9o4d wrote

We are planning to drive down from Washington to Texas. I’m sad that Texas changed their 15 month res to six months. It’s going to be a mad house. I was trying to find out about getting a group of people together cause if you get 10 or more spots at the parks, you can get reservations 10 months out.

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