Total Eclipse amazes and thrills locals, no issues reported
On Monday, April 8, a total eclipse of the sun crossed over the Dayton, Ohio, area, delighting skywatchers with a once-in-a-lifetime display. As the eclipse began, folks in many locations watched through special glasses to observe the moon slowly covering the sun.
Gatherings took place in Troy, West Milton, Piqua, and downtown Dayton, including a very large gathering at the Air Force Museum, where they were planning for upwards of 30,000 guests. While crowds did not seem to be that high, there were still many visitors from out of town staying in local hotels and Airbnbs and enjoying local restaurants. Overall, an expert on CNN estimated that the total economic impact of travelers visiting the entire area of totality, which stretched from Texas to Vermont, could be upwards of $6 billion.
At around 1:53 p.m. here locally, the moon started to move in front of the sun, slowly covering up more and more of it until 3:18 p.m., when the sun was completely blotted out and the skies went dark. A ring of sunlight was all that could be seen while the moon blocked the rest of the sun.
After almost three minutes of eerie darkness, which triggered the streetlights to come on and seemed to confuse local wildlife, the moon moved to the side and sunlight burst out again, illuminating the sky.
There were no reports of any issues in the area other than increased traffic on some roads. According to our partners at WKEF, the Montgomery County Emergency Operations Center was activated on Monday afternoon, although no incidents were reported.
The area of total darkness, known as “totality,” passed over the Dayton area on Monday afternoon around 3:18 p.m. Known as the 2024 Great North American Eclipse, this total solar eclipse crossed North America, passing over Mexico, the United States, and Canada. According to a recent article in the USA Today, Dayton was one of the top 12 larger towns in the United States to view the event. The last total solar eclipse visible in Ohio was in 1806. The next total solar eclipse in Ohio will be in the year 2099.
