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The moment everyone was waiting for arrived Monday.
The Buffalo Niagara region was in the path of totality when the moon passed in front of the sun. The eclipse began just after 2 p.m. and ended around 4:30. Totality lasted for about 3 minutes and 45 seconds beginning at 3:18 p.m. Clouds obstructed the view for many, but some were able to get glimpses of totality.
Here are scenes from across Western New York.
•••
Taking in the view from Delaware Park
Monday's total solar eclipse did not disappoint Tim Milligan of Pasadena, Md., which is just outside of Baltimore.
Milligan was among a party of five who traveled to Buffalo from the Baltimore/Washington, D.C., area to view the once-in-a-lifetime event.
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"My girlfriend has a friend here, and so we came into the area to visit her, and Buffalo was in the center line," Milligan said as he set up his telescope in Delaware Park just off Rumsey Road about an hour and 15 minutes before the eclipse.
How did he choose the location?
"Well, I looked on Google Maps and figured it's in a residential area. It's a big park, and it looked like a lot of the crowd was going to be down on the waterfront and other places, and I thought, hopefully, I could avoid the crowds," he said.
Eric Santiago and his sister Aaliyah Santana, who live in Buffalo's Riverside neighborhood, thought the same about the location. It was their second time viewing a total eclipse of the sun.
"In 2017, we went to Nashville and saw the eclipse. We did a road trip out of it, and it was fun," Santiago said. "We knew then that this was going to happen, and have been waiting."
The siblings both have matching sun tattoos to commemorate the 2017 viewing.
"It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience. So it's different being at home," Santiago said in anticipation of Monday's event.
Faye Sacchi, a Buffalo resident and Villa Maria College graduate, was joined by her mother, Christine Sacchi of Middletown in Orange County, and three of her sisters and a sister's boyfriend to view the eclipse from Delaware Park. Some family members recalled seeing a partial view of the 2017 eclipse on the New Jersey shore.
"I felt like, you don't get a view of the eclipse on your birthday very often, and it's a big birthday for me. I'm 60," said Christine Sacchi.
Milligan and his party, which included his girlfriend, Liz Stewart, and friends, Lori McKay, and Debbie and Bill Thatcher, worried at first that the cloud cover could result in a less than stellar experience, but when the moon's eclipse of the sun peeked through the clouds at the last minute, plunging the park into total darkness, they whooped and cheered.
"I didn't think we were going to see totality," said Milligan. "I thought the clouds were going to kill us."
McKay added: "We are not disappointed at all. It was well worth traveling to Buffalo for this. Absolutely."
– Harold McNeil
Drive south to Erie, Pa., was worth it for West Seneca motorist who wanted better view
Stan Thompson of West Seneca didn’t like the look of the weather report in Western New York late Monday morning, so he drove southwest, hoping the clouds that were thickening in his neighborhood would thin by the time he arrived somewhere in Pennsylvania.
"The sun is out," he texted four friends when he got to Erie, Pa., near Presque Isle State Park, a little after 2 p.m. to see about one-eighth of the moon covering the sun.
“Can anyone in Buffalo see anything?” he asked.
“Caught a moment … just a moment of blue sky, and saw first contact with the moon,” replied West Seneca native Norris Pace, who lives in Edinboro, Pa.
Friends from the Buffalo suburbs described hit-and-miss encounters through their eclipse glasses during the next hour or so.
All marveled as totality turned to darkness after 3:15 p.m.
“This is awesome, it’s going dark,” Thompson tweeted.
“Birds silent and roosted,” Pace replied.
“It’s so cool to hear people everywhere shouting for miles,” Thompson shot back.
“Darkness at the Edge of Town,” wrote Alan Jankowski in Orchard Park.
Thompson said he got to experience more of the total eclipse because he took the drive.
He wasn’t worried about the drive home, either.
“I don’t see any traffic problems whatsoever,” he texted. “Other than the state boys are out on (Interstate) 90 about every mile or so.”
– Scott Scanlon
Views better in the Northtowns, but it was cloudy with a dash of sun in most places
The view of the eclipse was better in the Northtowns than south of Buffalo, but for many looking up, the clouds parted at just the right moment for them to get a glimpse of totality.
Kenmore-Town of Tonawanda had a pretty good view of the total eclipse, and a turkey was seen walking down one street in Kenmore during the totality.
The corona was visible in Cheektowaga, Amherst, parts of Buffalo, East Aurora, Chestnut Ridge Park in Orchard Park and Ripley in Chautauqua County.
It was cloudy at SUNY Buffalo State University, but there were multiple instances when the clouds parted to show the moon's progress. During totality, there was still a brief moment during the 3-minute period where the cloud cover thinned enough that slim ring of the sun could be seen framing the moon.
There were a lot of moments before full totality where you could see snapshots of the coverage in Buffalo. The ring around the sun could be seen through the clouds for a few seconds. After totality, the second half of the eclipse was not visible.
– Barbara O'Brien
At the casino, the eclipse was just another crapshoot
About 40 minutes before the eclipse, John Ayers saw it was going to be cloudy. He wasn’t going to be unlucky. He walked back inside the Seneca Buffalo Creek Casino, went straight to the Blackjack table, and as the total (cloudy) eclipse happened, he was winning $400.
“I guess I won,” Ayers said. “Looks like it was a good deal.”
The downtown casino hosted a watch party for Monday’s eclipse, which brought the majority of patrons outside the mostly windowless hall around 3 p.m. What better place to test one’s luck against the overcast skies? One man called the casino his second home. Hundreds gathered with a live band, food trucks, inflatable ax throwing and cornhole.
Some people did stay inside, mainly to play table games. Gerhardt Yaskow and his mother, Jackie Tirone, missed the eclipse by accident, looking for their glasses, but they talked to a group from Texas after to find out what it was like.
“I said, ‘All right, the reality is professional photographers are going to have taken pictures, it’ll be in the paper tomorrow,’ ” Yaskow said.
Larry and Sandy Silver of East Amherst were winning on the slots ahead of heading outside for the eclipse. Larry was wearing a shirt with pictures of Sandy’s face and stars all over it. They were thrilled to see the number of people in Buffalo for the eclipse. The two come to the casino about once a week.
“It’s a fun experience,” Larry said. “If you know your limit and don’t get killed, but it’s entertainment. To me, it’s no different than going bowling. … It’s a little Vegas in Buffalo.”
The two will remember standing outside with a big group, the streetlights coming on during the darkness, and winning money.
“It was a spectacular day,” Larry said. “I mean a memory, a good memory. I loved it.”
– Katherine Fitzgerald
Bits and pieces of the total eclipse spill on those who watched Lewiston waterfront
About 100 people were gathered at Lewiston Landing park on the banks of the Niagara River more than an hour before the 3:18 p.m. total solar eclipse.
Gabrielle Serianni and her son Brayden Wright, 8, looked extra chill in the crowd, laying back in reclining lawn chairs as they looked up at cloudy skies.
"We were at my house and couldn't see anything," said Serianni, a Lewiston resident.
So they came to the park that looks across the Niagara River at Canada.
Brayden said he was looking forward to it getting totally dark in the middle of the day.
Cheers went up when a crescent of sun appeared at 3:16 for just a few seconds.
It started to get darker moments later.
By 3:22, it was getting lighter and then, for about 10 seconds, a sliver of the sun showed itself again.
"You can't see anything with the glasses on," one woman complained.
People tossed their eclipse glasses and looked at the thin crescent.
Rob Nichols of Lewiston was excited that he got a nice photo of the sun.
At a picnic table a short distance away were three women from Carlisle, Pa. Who drove 300 miles to see the eclipse.
"I was from here and moved to Central Pa. in the 1960s," said Pat Pehlman. "I told them how wonderful Lewiston was."
She and Susan Rose and Barbara Landis were disappointed the skies were so cloudy after their 5½-hour drive.
But at least the traffic was not bad at all on their trip to the Buffalo area.
And slivers of the sun also began to peek out in the sky as the crowd dispersed.
– Mike McAndrew
Bird's-eye view of avian life along Lake Erie precedes eclipse
Could it have been a case of eclipse anticipation?
Erie County Park Ranger Nicole Klimowicz, a bird-watcher, noticed many birds late Monday morning settled in Lake Erie unusually close to the shoreline of Wendt Beach in the Town of Evans.
Mergansers, cormorants and a few varieties of gulls were among hundreds of birds frolicking in the water around 11 a.m., less than 50 yards from the shoreline, much closer than Klimowicz said she typically sees them.
“If you guys like birds, there’s some awesome birds out there right now,” she told a group visiting from Buffalo and the Binghamton area.
The birds didn’t stick nearby for very long, though.
As more people showed up to the beach to watch the solar eclipse, the birds moved farther and farther away.
– Jay Tokasz
Colleagues watch eclipse reflection in Rotary Rink
While taking a break from work, two colleagues joined their friend to watch the eclipse from a bench at Fountain Plaza.
Brenda Bridges and Michele Jetty both work at Fountain Plaza and decided to step outside and watch the eclipse over Rotary Rink with their friend Jon Miller.
They were expecting a big crowd at Fountain Plaza, especially when seeing the crowded Metro Rail pass by, but were pleased to have it all to themselves as they sat on a bench watching the eclipse in the sky and reflected in the melted ice rink.
“What we’re realizing is it’s pretty cool to see the reflection in the water,” Miller said.
– Francesca Bond
Friends party to DJ near Theatre District
A group of friends threw an impromptu party on the sidewalk outside a new clothing shop, Wild Child, on Main Street near the Theatre District.
Geo Kowalo helped organize the party, which involved live DJ sets, dancing and an inflatable tube man, to celebrate the eclipse with his friends.
He planned to party all afternoon and take over the DJ table at some point.
– Francesca Bond
Clouds and darkness marvel Eden, where people wish they had seen more
Several dozen people gathered at Gorcica Field in East Eden, one of the highest spots in the town, but it wasn't high enough to see but a glimpse of the eclipse through the clouds.
"I just wish we could have had this yesterday but we'll still get the effect," Michelle Gonter, who organized the event, said, referring to sunny skies Sunday. "It's just not going to be extravagant as it would have been yesterday."
Steve and Pam Colombo of Lake View took the drive to Eden Monday, munching on popcorn at the back of their pickup truck, eclipse glasses ready.
"This is really cool, nice turnout," Pam Colombo said, but she added, "It just seems any kind of major event that happens always has the downside of it where we don't get to experience the real, you know, clarity of everything."
Johanna Funke of Eden, came to Gorcica Field with her children, Ari and Colby, and mother, Jennifer Soulet.
How dark did they think it was going to get?
"Really dark," Colby said.
And it did.
Just moments before totality, the clouds parted briefly for a view of the corona and birds stopped chirping.
Kathy Valentine of Eden was going to watch the eclipse in her backyard.
"I said, 'Let's go up to the field,' because I knew it was happening, just a fun event," she said, "although the clouds are not going to be nice to us today."
– Barbara O'Brien
Park School gathers crowd of students and families in party atmosphere
The crowd had already started gathering on the main soccer field at Park School of Buffalo when classes let out for the day at 1 p.m.
The school, one of the few that remained open on Monday, opened its campus to its students and their families for eclipse-watching, taking advantage of its 34-acre Amherst campus and wide-open field, used not only by Park but also by Daemen University.
Nearly 500 people had registered to attend, though the assembled multitude as of 1:20 p.m. appeared far short of that. The school gave out free glasses to everyone who had signed up.
Earlier, lower-school students had an assembly, while a Park alumnus who works in astronomy came in to teach some of the middle and upper school students in the math and science classes.
"We had a day still full of academics," said Lisa Conrad, head of school. "And we have this big, beautiful campus in a perfect location to view the eclipse, and we are a school that prides itself on our community, so we thought it would be a perfect day together after our academics to share in this experience together."
Outside, four deer were among the initial gatherers, but they soon left as the families started piling in, folding chairs in hand and a few dogs on leashes. Just as they would during a soccer game, they set up along the slope adjoining the field, while 15 kids of various ages started playing impromptu soccer on the field.
And so the mingling and catching up began, with music blaring, after the school's two-week spring break.
"I think it's so exciting," said Nicole Cook, sitting with her daughter, Ella, a second-grader at Park. "It's the time of our lives to try it. It won't happen for another 20 years, at least. Hopefully the clouds will open up a bit, but it'll be cool to see the darkness."
Camilo Trumper, father of Maya, 12, and Nito, 9, even brought their dog, Remi - in part to see his reaction to the eclipse.
"We wanted to see it in a community, in a place where people could be in community and we could bring the dog," he said. "So this is great. It's really nice. The energy is good. I'm really enjoying the space."
"It's absolutely wonderful," said Oliva Earley, mother of kindergartner Dominic. "I love that Park School has this here. The last time we saw an eclipse, I was 10 years old and in fifth grade, and it wasn't even a full eclipse, so this is exciting, even though it is cloudy."
Will that diminish things? Not for her.
"It's going to get dark, even if it cloudy, and if it's anything like i remember from last time, the birds and the insects are going to be making some noise," she said. "So it's exciting."
Same for Trumper. "In life, there are things you can't control and you make the best of them," he said.
– Jonathan D. Epstein
'Great energy' at Knox Farm
Attendees of the Knox Farm State Park solar eclipse watch party began filing in quickly a little after noon.
“So far there’s been a great energy going on here," despite the cool and cloudy weather, said Kathleen York, executive director from the Friends of Knox Farm State Park, which put on the event.
More than 2,500 people were expected to attend the ticketed event that included educational programming, family activities, live music with FolkFaces and the Brass Machine, and food and beverage vendors.
The event, which took a year to prepare for, was expected to bring mostly locals, as well as some out-of-state attendees, including “eclipse chasers,“ organizers said.
– Mike Petro
'We may never get to do this again together,' families lunch at Anchor Bar before chasing clear skies
For Kristen and Sam McGaughy, the opportunity to see a "once-in-a-lifetime" total solar eclipse with their family while their kids are still young was too good to pass up. Even if it meant driving 12-and-a-half hours Saturday night from Kimberly, Ala., after their children finished up their soccer and volleyball games.
"We may never get to do this again together," Sam said.
Kristen, Sam, 12-year-old Ellison and 11-year-old Sam Jr. arrived in Buffalo on Sunday and spent the day in Niagara Falls. They got wings at Anchor Bar in Buffalo on Monday afternoon and planned to drive to Highmark Stadium, where they'll watch the total solar eclipse.
They started devising an eclipse plan a month ago, booking a nonrefundable hotel room in Tyler, Texas, but pivoted a few days ago when meteorologists were predicting better weather for Buffalo.
"That kind of changed, but we already had our reservations made," Sam said.
At least they'll get to see where the Bills play.
Sam Jr., standing outside Anchor Bar in a Philadelphia Eagles sweatshirt, is a big football fan. The Eagles are his favorite, but he likes the Bills, too.
"If it's going to be 30, 40 years until it happens again, it's exciting that they're going to be in different places in their lives when it comes around again," Kristen said. "It's just a good memory for our family."
– Francesca Bond
Underground Railroad Museum decides to open last minute
George Johnson decided a few days ago to give solar eclipse travelers a taste of the history behind one of Buffalo's hidden gems.
As visitors cascaded into Freedom Park early Monday afternoon with lawn chairs, snacks and soccer balls, the doors of the Underground Railroad Museum were opened wide to showcase the park's background as a stop on the underground railroad, the final stop before escaped slaves could reach freedom in Canada.
"We consider this sacred ground," said Johnson, president of the Friends of Broderick Park, which was the park's name until November. Despite the rapids of the Niagara River, "this is the shortest distance from this side of the Peace Bridge to Canada."
The Buffalo facility is smaller than the museum in Niagara Falls, but it is nevertheless a key location. He had a hunch that the park would swarm with visitors on Monday thanks to its view of the skyline and its popularity among Buffalonians wanting to watch the sun set.
"We realized how significant the eclipse was," he said.
Johnson watched as a guide explained the path to freedom from the South to Canada during the early 19th century. A stack of eclipse glasses were perched on a table inside. The museum's programming – including healing events, bands and food vendors – does not usually start until the summer.
– Ben Tsujimoto
McAuley Residence cook 'brightens up' residents' day with eclipse-themed treats
Gerry Downs spent the weekend baking about 45 cookies and 120 cupcakes, then spent hours more meticulously decorating them for the solar eclipse.
On Monday afternoon, staff and residents of McAuley Residence in the Town of Tonawanda were biting into the creative treats while hoping to catch a glimpse of the eclipse through the clouds.
To Downs, a cook at McAuley Residence for nearly two years, a weekend of baking was time well spent to try to do something special for the facility's residents.
"Residents are always No. 1 in any facility I've ever worked with, because this is their home and I'm an invited guest into it," Downs said. "And a lot of them can't get out and stuff like that. This way, if you can give them something exciting to look at, it brightens up their days."
Downs baked the cupcakes Saturday and then decorated them for about 3½ hours Sunday. The cookies, meanwhile, took Downs about eight hours – "because I'm just very meticulous about how they need to come out."
An eclipse viewing party for McAuley residents was scheduled to begin around 2 p.m., complete with Downs' cookies and cupcakes, Mars and Milky Way bars and SunnyD.
– Jon Harris
At Southgate Plaza, many businesses hold eclipse breaks
It was business as usual at the Southgate Plaza in West Seneca, where stores were open at nearly full capacity, though many planned to provide employees time to watch the eclipse.
KAY Jewelers, Subway and Market at the Square were among the businesses closing for 45 minutes to an hour to let employees take an eclipse break.
"We're allowing our employees to go out and take a look," said Nick Kusmierski, a co-owner of Market at the Square, which closed from 3 to 3:45 p.m., when employees could go outside if they wished. The store took on the same community spirit it shows for other holidays and Buffalo Bills games with eclipse-themed clothing, baked goods and other gear available and employees decked out in eclipse T-shirts and sweatshirts.
On the other side of the plaza, Southgate Liquor & Wine closed from 2 to 4 p.m. so “everyone can do their thing,” said sales clerk Linda Volansky. “I hope this turns out the way people are hoping it will be and that it goes nice for Buffalo."
A store display held bottles of eclipse-themed wine, which Volansky said were selling over the weekend.
"We did notice people were buying for parties and for watching the eclipse at home. And they were trying our eclipse wine. People are interested and they're making the most of it," she added.
– Toni Ruberto
Eclipse chasers with roots in Buffalo considered Cleveland to watch totality. Instead, they're in WNY
Karen and Alan Troidl drove from their home in Binghamton to watch the total solar eclipse inside the path of totality in their native Western New York – unless it got cloudy.
“Then, we’re going to Cleveland,” said the former Karen Guyette, a West Seneca East High School Class of 1979 graduate, shortly after their arrival in the region Sunday afternoon.
The couple – avid vacationers who plan a European travel business after Karen’s retirement later this week – were among those in the Buffalo Niagara region who awoke Monday morning to cloud cover blanketing almost all of the sky.
They considered the three-hour drive to Ohio, then decided to stay put – sort of.
"I was looking at the reports last night, and wasn’t really seeing a huge difference," Alan Troidl said late Monday morning. "I was considering hopping in the car and finding some park or parking lot and being able to set up for the eclipse. The more I thought about having to return, with lots of traffic jams and a couple million of my closest friends, all in their cars on the highways, that started to look a little less and less appealing to me.
"We decided in the end that staying put was probably the best course of action, and hoping for the best here. There’s also the hope here that there can be a little bit of clearing around the totality.”
Alan Troidl grew up in the Bailey-Delevan neighborhood of Buffalo. His grandfather, George “Inky” Troidl, and father, John, both worked for decades in The Buffalo News composing room. Alan worked as a Vestal High School math teacher until his retirement in January.
Karen on Friday will end a career in corporate communications with Welliver, a construction management firm.
First thing Monday morning, the couple decided to watch the eclipse with her sister and their brother-in-law, Mary and Len Przewozny, at their house in West Seneca.
Then, the excitement of the day got the better of them.
Alan Troidl had toyed with another backup plan for the last 10 days and decided to spring into action early Monday afternoon.
He, his wife and in-laws drove to Chestnut Ridge Park in Orchard Park.
“If the weather wasn’t going to cooperate to actually see the eclipse," he'd reasoned, "could there be some other way to capture some photographs showing the effects of the eclipse on the area?"
The sledding hill at the county park has a sweeping view of Buffalo on many days, and the Troidls brought cameras with solar-filtered lenses.
"I’m going to try to zoom in on the downtown Buffalo area and try to get a series of shots showing what’s happening to the landscape of downtown Buffalo as the eclipse progresses,” he said.
“We’re going to be eclipse chasers," his wife said, "but we’re going to chase it to Chestnut Ridge.”
As totality struck, they were glad they stayed.
"Reporting back from Chestnut Ridge ... totally worth staying in the Buffalo area," Karen Troidl told The News. "The skies opened up at just the right moment."
– Scott Scanlon
'I just want to get a glimpse,' Tonawanda amateur astronomer pleads
Steve Barth of the Town of Tonawanda has been waiting since the Aug. 21, 2017, partial eclipse for Monday's totality.
Barth got the town to let him close off his section of Puritan Road for a solar eclipse block party. He and his wife, Maria, have set up moon pies and other snacks, pop and Big Ditch Brewing Co.'s WNY Eclipse beer and a grill for hot dogs.
He's got eclipse glasses to hand out to friends and neighbors and two telescopes with solar filters set up in his driveway. His daughters are helping to set up a music playlist heavy on songs with "moon" and "sun" in the titles.
He's got everything except the ideal viewing weather he's coveted for seven years.
"I don't ask for too much," said Barth, who wore a "Get Ready 04.08.2024" totality T-shirt, as he looked up ruefully at the gray skies overhead.
Barth, an amateur astronomer who was hoping to photograph the eclipse, said it's been tough over the past couple of weeks watching Monday's forecast fluctuate before the final predicted cloud cover came into focus.
"It's just been too much. I had to get away from it. Gets you upset," he said.
His daughter Julia tried to cheer him up. "Don't be so negative," she said.
If Monday didn't pan out, Barth was eyeing an international do-over.
"If we don't see it here," Barth said, "we talked about going to Spain in two years."
– Stephen T. Watson
It's my first day on the job. Is it always like this here?
It's not often you can say that on your first day at a new job, a highly anticipated astronomical phenomenon shut down local and county government offices, closed businesses and plunged the region into temporary darkness.
But I can say that today.
On Monday, I began work as The Buffalo News’ climate and environment reporter, writing about environmental justice, pollution and climate change adaptation issues in Erie County.
“Welcome officially to The News!" wrote Managing Editor Margaret Kenny Giancola in an email to me Monday morning. "Weirdest first day ever.”
I didn't get to meet my new colleagues in person. My first day was spent filling out new-employee paperwork from an apartment I moved into on April Fools’ Day.
Odd beginnings aren’t entirely new to me. My first day of work at my previous job at The Tribune newspaper in San Luis Obispo, Calif., was July 13, 2020. As the world was suffering from the Covid-19 pandemic, The Tribune was moving out of its office to shift to completely remote work by July 17.
So, I had one week in the office during which my new colleagues were moving their computers, files and office trinkets to their homes. Introductions to the news team were made behind masks or virtually through computer screens. I had no idea what the bottom half of faces looked like of many of the first people I met in San Luis Obispo, and going to bars, restaurants or cafes to socialize wasn’t an option.
I see my first day at The News on the day of the eclipse as pretty significant. Solar eclipses have many different meanings in various cultures around the world. Astrologically, the solar eclipse can be seen as a catalyst for major changes and new beginnings in life, according to astrologer Georgia Nicolas in an interview with The Toronto Star.
“Use this solar eclipse to grab a new opportunity in any way you want to move forward,” she told The Toronto Star.
I'll take that advice.
– Mackenzie Shuman
Area roads and highways free of slowdowns
Despite concerns about eclipse-watching crowds causing gridlock, there were no major traffic issues in the area Monday.
The number of motorists who had used the state Thruway by about noon Monday was down about 9% compared to the second Monday in April last year, according to a Thruway Authority spokesman. The drop was likely due to school and business closures, as well as travelers being encouraged to get to their destinations early, the spokesman said.
Head here to read more about eclipse day traffic.