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Potential Syracuse Cloud Cover, Traffic Scares Loom As Total Eclipse Nears Potential Cloud Cover, Traffic Scares Loom As Total Eclipse Nears

By Nicolas Horning

[HORNING] Syracuse is in line for totality. On April 8th, a rare total eclipse will stretch from Mexico and Texas all the way to Western New York. NWS Warning Coordination Meteorologist Mark Pellegrino has a message for those who may be overlooking this historic event.

[PELLERITO] I can’t stress enough just how exceedingly rare this event is for any one location on Earth. The average time it takes to have a total solar eclipse repeat is more than 350 years. This is a less than once in a lifetime event.

[HORNING] So much so that New Yorkers and people not in the line of totality are traveling towards Western New York. Pellerito says that the traffic jams will become a mess.

[PELLERITO] Think about what happens when. You’re watching the fireworks, and then the fireworks are done and everybody leaves at the same time. But instead of one city, you’re talking about an entire region with millions of people. All of a sudden everybody leaving at the same time. As soon as totality is done, many.

[HORNING] Of these people likely won’t be heading to Syracuse hotels. Sheraton general manager Jason Mock expects a lot of people to head to Buffalo and Rochester. Those are the places where the totality time is expected to last longer. Pellerito says that Syracuse can expect totality to last one minute to a minute and a half. The sky will become dark in that short time frame, but cloud cover could play a big factor in the overall experience.

[PELLERITO] I really think it just depends on the weather. Um, you know, it’s April 8th, so it might be a little bit overcast here in the in the northeast Corridor.

[HORNING] The question of whether it’ll be sunny or cloudy during the afternoon of April 8th remains to be seen. Nico Horning NCC news.

SYRACUSE, N.Y. (NCC NEWS) – The 2024 Total Solar Eclipse is right around the corner. This rare event will stretch from Mexico and Texas to Western New York on April 8.

“I can’t stress enough just how exceedingly rare this event is for any one location on Earth,” said Mark Pellerito, a National Weather Service Binghamton warning coordination meteorologist. “The average time it takes to have a total solar eclipse repeat is more than 350 years. This is a less than once in a lifetime event.”

With all of the anticipation surrounding this phenomenon, questions are rising surrounding traffic.

“Think about what happens when you’re watching the fireworks and everybody leaves at the same time,” said Pellerito. “But instead of one city, you’re talking about an entire region with millions of people. All of a sudden everybody leaving at the same time, as soon as totality is done.”

Despite the flock of people going to Central New York, they’re skipping Syracuse hotels. Jason Mock, Sheraton Syracuse University general manager, expects a lot of people to “head to Buffalo and Rochester instead” where the totality time is expected to last longer.

 

eclipse
The 2024 total solar eclipse path of totality.
© 2024 Nico Horning

Pellerito said that Syracuse can expect totality to last one minute to a minute and a half. Although the sky will become dark in that short time frame, will it be blue or gray?

“I really think it just depends on the weather,” said Kat Trouge, an administrator for the NASA Night Sky Network. “It’s April 8, so it might be a little bit overcast here in the northeast corridor.”

April 8, 2023 was a perfect bluebird day.

Another interesting note is while Syracuse will have totality, those in Utica are technically out of the path of totality with only 99.7% blockage.

The question of whether it’ll be sunny or cloudy during the afternoon of April 8 remains to be seen.

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