Couldn’t see the eclipse through the clouds? Here’s when the next one will hit Bellingham

Daniel Schrager
·2 min read

Between cloudy weather and its distance from the path of totality, Bellingham didn’t have a great view of Monday’s total solar eclipse. Here’s how long you’ll have to wait to get a glimpse of the next one.

Total solar eclipses in the U.S.

  • Technically, the next total solar eclipse to hit the U.S. will take place in 2033, but its full effects will only be visible from northwest Alaska. Bellingham will still see a partial eclipse, though, will 61.6% of the sun appearing blocked by the moon from Whatcom County.

  • For a total eclipse that will be visible from the lower 48, you’ll have to wait until 2044. While the path of totality won’t quite pass through Washington, it will get pretty close, going through Montana and North Dakota. From Bellingham, 96.5% of the sun will be covered, according to timeanddate.com. That eclipse will take place in August, so you won’t have to worry quite as much about clouds blocking it.

  • If you’re feeling really patient and long-lived, Bellingham will also see 92.4% of the sun blocked by the moon in September of 2099.

Other solar eclipses

  • Don’t want to wait decades to see the next eclipse? A 2029 partial solar eclipse will be 72.3% visible from Bellingham. But that eclipse is slated for mid-January, so cloudy weather might get in the way.

  • None of the entries in timeanddate.com’s database of solar eclipses through the year 2200 have a path of totality that include Bellingham. But the July 2084 annular solar eclipse, in which the moon is directly between the sun and the Earth, but too far away to block out the entire sun, is expected to pass through Bellingham.

What about a lunar eclipse?

  • If you don’t have a preference for which celestial body is getting eclipsed, you won’t even have to wait a year. A total lunar eclipse will be visible from the entire continental U.S. on March 13, 2025, going into the early hours of the 14th. Another one will be visible from Bellingham the following March as well.