Total solar eclipse begins: Live updates on what's happening in southwest Ohio
Apr. 8—The total solar eclipse is bringing large crowds and a lot of activity across southwest Ohio.
We have reporters and photographers at nearly a dozen sites today, and we'll continue to update this story with what they're seeing.
2 p.m., National Commons Park, Springfield
From reporter Jessica Orozco
The crowd at National Commons park has grown to more than 200 people, with viewers getting out their eclipse glasses to watch as the solar event begins, while a live band plays original music.
Brenda Holbrook, of Columbus, and several of her grandchildren, of Lancaster drove to Springfield, which Holbrook said was convenient to see totality.
Holbrook said she has been to Springfield and is enjoying the downtown area, planning to come back in the future. She and the grandkids are all excited to watch it get dark in the middle of the day, she said.
1:19 p.m., Marcum Park, Hamilton
From reporter Michael Pitman
Today is Valentina Valencia Canizles' 13th birthday — a special day she called a "really cool to have a once-in-a-lifetime experience."
The Mason teenager was at Marcum Park in Hamilton to see the total solar eclipse with her parents, Fransico and Noelia, and her 11-year-old brother, Leo.
She recalled last time there was a partial eclipse in 2017 she didn't get to see it live.
"I didn't watch that one because we were at school and we have to have forms to go watch it. My mom signed the form wrong," she said, adding she was in a classroom by herself watching it on television.
Noelia said she felt terrible and looked up the next one, finding out it was supposed to take place on Valentina's 13th birthday.
"It was a perfect day to celebrate my daughter's birthday," said Fransico.
The Mason family won't be celebrating formally today, outside of watching the eclipse together, but will have a family celebration this weekend.
"She's going to start a new era," said Noelia. "It's difficult to be a teenager but also it's fun."
Valencia, who plays volleyball and enjoys painting and drawing, said she'll be talking about this day for years to come. She wants to be an architect.
1:18 p.m., Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historic Park
From reporter Sydney Dawes
More than 100 people were setting up lawn chairs and laying out blankets at the Dayton Aviation Heritage Historical Park ahead of an eclipse watch party at 1:30 p.m. in Dayton's Wright-Dunbar neighborhood.
For some eclipse watchers, the journey to the path of totality was far.
Helen Dunn, of Virginia, traveled nearly nine hours with her husband. They're anticipating their second eclipse, their first being in Idaho years back.
"This was one of the closest places to us, so we took a trip out here," she said. "And we couldn't have asked for more beautiful weather. The sky is clear. The sun is shining — for now."
Wright-Dunbar watch party attendees can create eclipse art, look through a telescope, check out museum exhibits and more.
A NASA livestream of the eclipse will also be playing inside the museum and visitor center.
12:54 p.m., Marcum Park, Hamilton
From reporter Michael Pitman
Three college friends were in Marcum Park in Hamilton to see the party in the park for the total eclipse.
Hamilton is within the path of totality, and is set to experience about 90 seconds of total darkness.
Eric Klaus, of Chicago, Ed Roberge, of California, and Dom Smith, of Cincinnati, were Northwestern University classmates and came to town for Dom's 31st birthday this weekend.
They were playing Catan waiting for the eclipse activities to begin (Smith said he won the game "very handily").
Klaus said he wanted to visit is friend, and his birthday and seeing a total solar eclipse seemed like a good time. Also, he said, "I've never seen an eclipse before."
He even missed the partial eclipse in 2017.
Roberge, a Chicago native, said he missed the last eclipse, too
"My family saw it and they only had great things to say so I wanted to come to this one," he said. "I heard all the nighttime creatures come awake during the 2 minutes, 3 minutes, so it'll be kinda cool to hear the crickets and animals, so I'm most excited for that."
Smith, who was also at Marcum Park with his wife Grace Justinvil said he's excited to see the what's known as the diamond ring.
As totality approaches, a faint ring, or solar corona forms around the moon. As the crescent sun shrinks to a jewel of sunlight, a diamond ring forms in the sky. Seconds after that, the sunlight breaks up into several light points called Baily's beads.
This really excites their friend Arielle Kililis, of Florida, who wasn't going to miss this event.
"I just love everything to do with our solar system is really special," she said. "I'm just a nerd. I'll watch stuff like this on TV for fun, so being able to see it for yourself is pretty cool."
12:45 p.m. Darke County Fairgrounds
From editor Rich Gillette
Ann and Curt Mayrand of Centerville sat in a circle with their daughter Brenda Edwards of Winchester, Virginia, during the early beginning of the eclipse.
"This is why we came. Party until you black out," Brenda Edwards laughed, holding her bottle of water at the Darke County Fairgrounds.
The Marandas have lived in Centerville 27 years, but they wanted to be in totality for the solar eclipse.
"We're hoping this will be a great place," Curt Mayrand said.
12:45 p.m. National Commons Park, Springfield
From reporter Jessica Orozco
The crowd at National Common Park just about doubled in size early this afternoon.
Lifelong Springfielders Shawn and Kim Guthrie didn't have to travel far to see the total solar eclipse. Shawn Guthrie said he has been looking forward to this for the last seven years, having only seen partial eclipses before.
Shawn Guthrie wanted to travel to Indiana where he thought it might be a clear day, but Kim Guthrie wanted to stay in Springfield, where the sky is covered by thin, wispy crowds.
"I'm looking forward to being able to be in the totality; I hear there's just a huge difference as opposed to 99.9% to 100%, Shawn Guthrie said.
12:06 p.m., National Commons Park, Springfield
From reporter Jessica Orozco
At National Commons Park around noon, more than 60 people gathered for an eclipse viewing party, with food trucks, vendors and live music.
Excitement for the eclipse has brought people far and wide to downtown Springfield, where many are patronizing businesses, said Chris Schutte, Greater Springfield Partnership vice president of destination marketing and communications.
"We've been at Champion City Guide and Supply and so far, virtually everyone that's come in has been from out of town or out of state," Schutte said.
Schutte said GSP had not known what to expect but so far has been pleased with turnout in downtown Springfield. He said he expects more visitors to start leaving their hotels and arriving to viewing events around 1:30.
"I was honestly pretty surprised that before noon we already had people starting to descend here," Schutte said. "A lot of people already left chairs; they left blankets. It's almost like the summer arts festival; they kind of stake out their spaces that they're going to be in."
Jenny and Leonard Hayhurst traveled from Heath, Ohio, and said they chose Springfield as their destination after researching areas that will see a total eclipse that are close to Yellow Springs to explore its shops and restaurants. They went to Young's Dairy Farm this weekend.
The Hayhursts, who have never seen a total eclipse, have also been exploring downtown Springfield, patronizing businesses like Winan's with plans to continue to do so.
Leonard Hayhurst said through their exploring he has discovered that Springfield's downtown "is on the way up."
Heath will see 99% totality while Springfield will see 100%.
"We can see the eclipse anywhere; it was finding something that fit us that was fun," Leonard Hayhurst said.
Tiffany Hurd and her family drove up early this morning from Amelia, Ohio, to avoid traffic. She said she is excited to see her first total eclipse.
The Hurds also chose Springfield because it is in the path of totality and is near Yellow Springs where the family wants to go.
Hurd said she has seen partial eclipses before, and Amelia will almost see totality, but her husband wanted to see 100% coverage.
The majority of the family will stay in Springfield after the eclipse to avoid returning traffic, Hurd said.
11:31 a.m., Darke County Fairgrounds
From editor Rich Gillette
People are setting up lounge chairs at the Darke County Fairgrounds today in expectation of the solar eclipse.
Horse trainers are working their horses on the track on the fairgrounds as people watch them stride.
Kit Hubbard of Benzoia, Michigan, was walking near the track. The retired accountant for a corporate beekeeping company said this will be her first eclipse.
"The community has been very welcoming. We went to (Bear's Mill) yesterday. Today is going to be a great day for the eclipse," Hubbard said.
About 800 people are at the fairgrounds around 11:30 a.m. today. Eight food trucks are preparing food for the crowd.
Jeff and Cheryl Pfiffer of Cincinnati have the day off from their school jobs.
"We thought Darke County would be a great place for this," Jeff Pfiffer said.
11:26 a.m., Air Force Museum
From photographer Marshall Gorby
Jay Patel made the four-hour drive from Pittburg, Pennsylvania, to the Air Force Museum to see the total solar eclipse with his family and kids.
They picked the museum because they thought it would be the perfect opportunity to experience the eclipse with others, Patel said.
His family is taking advantage of the different activities the museum is offering.
"So far we've made eclipse glasses," Patel said. "We're looking to look through some telescopes and get some good food."
He said it's their first total solar eclipse and the kids are really excited for the day.
11:19 a.m., Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historic Park
From reporter Sydney Dawes
Eclipse watchers are wandering the Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historic Park ahead of a watch party near the Wright-Dunbar Interpretive Center and Aviation Trail Parachute Musuem.
Park ranger Kathleen Walters said the weekend leading to Monday's eclipse watch party saw many people coming to the park. Right at 9 a.m. when the museum opened, people began pouring in to collect their free eclipse glasses and check out exhibits displaying snapshots of the early days of the Wright brothers.
"It's been so great to see people this excited," she said.
She said she has met local residents coming to view the eclipse, as well as people traveling from as far as Washington and Nebraska.
Park rangers and volunteers will be running guided tours of historic building at the park. A telescope will be set up outside the museum and visitor center later Monday afternoon, and an indoor NASA livestream will also be playing.
11:11 a.m., SunWatch Village, Dayton
From reporter Samantha Wildow
Travelers at the day-long solar eclipse at SunWatch Indian Village began gathering for breakfast at around 10 a.m. A number of the eclipse viewers came from out of state or other parts of Ohio.
Claire Arndt and Trace Tomme traveled from South Carolina to view the eclipse at SunWatch.
"I've seen a couple," Tomme said about seeing other eclipses, including seeing one as a kid while in Germany. "...I've seen a couple partials in the meantime."
SunWatch is expecting about 50 people for the day-long viewing experience. Taylor Hoffman, director of marketing at the Dayton Society of Natural History, expects it will be a laid-back day as they serve food and host educational programs throughout the day for their solar eclipse viewers.
"Our education team is going to have dig pits out for people to dig through if they want, and they've planned some other activities, too," Hoffman said.
Nick Westerhaus traveled from Kansas City to view the eclipse at SunWatch. Westerhaus will be attending the Air Force Academy later this summer.
"My ultimate goal is to be an astronaut," Westerhaus said.
A. Griffin, of Columbus and originally from Queens in New York City, brought his own pinhole projector for viewing the eclipse, which he has used during previous eclipses.
"There was the one that was partial to the Ohio region midway through last year," Griffin said. "The effect for us on the ground was so subtle."
Griffin previously saw an eclipse in New York in 2017.
"That one the effect was more visible to the naked eye in terms of the shadows on the ground. Everything looked like a video game where the lighting slightly glitched out," Griffin said. Griffin was impressed with how he was able to make out the clouds passing in front of the eclipse in his pinhole projector during the 2017 eclipse, he said.
10:58 a.m., Buck Creek State Park
From reporter Jessica Orozco
Creig Donnald came from Eldersburg, Maryland, to view and photograph his first total eclipse at Buck Creek State Park. Donnald has taken photos of the Milky Way in Chesapeake Bay and the northern lights in Reykjavik, Iceland.
"I have sort of a passing interest, not so much that I'm willing to go out in the middle of nowhere in freezing temperatures but, it's like there's an opportunity [to] come see and give it a shot," Donnald said. "Hopefully it won't get too much cloudier."
10:30 a.m., Greenville, Darke County
From editor Rich Gillette
While traffic remained calm in Greenville this morning, South Broadway Street was starting to fill up with toursist in town for the soalr eclipse. Coffee shops on both sides of the street were full with people chatting about what is to come.
Greg Billing, executive director of the Darke County Visitors Bureau, was excited about the clear skies.
"It's going to be a great day. We expect some large crowds," Billing said.
Robert and Liz Harris of Durham, North Carolina, arrived Sunday in Greenville.
"It was the closest spot for us and we wanted to be out of the way," Robert Harris said.
The couple witnessed the 2017 solar eclipse from North Carolina.
"It will be amazing. People will love it," Liz Harris said.
10:13 a.m., Air Force Museum
From photographer Marshall Gorby
Kevin Johnson, from Franklin, arrived around 7 a.m. He said he picked the Air Force Museum as his viewing locations due to all the different events scheduled for today.
Virginia Richards said the museum has four different activities for children. Kids will be able to make their own solar eclipse glasses, a pinwheel camera, a model simulating the solar system and a lunar calendar they can use to calculate the moon phase for any time this year.
Richards said the museum will also have coloring books.
Sean Hayes arrived around 8 a.m. with his family from Mason.
"The kids had been here for an outing before and I looked it up and saw that there'd be an event for the eclipse and said why not with it being so close," he said.
Hayes went to Cincinnati for the 2017 eclipse but wasn't able to see totality.
"As soon as I knew the date was coming up we planned it and we're ready to go," he added.
We'll continue to update this story throughout the day. We'll have reporters and photographers at nearly a dozen sites to bring you the latest on traffic, scenes, interviews, photos and more.
When will it happen? Depending on the area, the partial eclipse will begin at about 1:52 p.m., and the totality will begin at about 3:09 p.m. and last between about one minute and four minutes. The eclipse will be over by about 4:24 p.m.
What will crowds and traffic be like? Officials expect between 100,000 and 500,000 tourists to come to the state, which is one of the few in the path of totality. People are asked to expect long traffic delays, especially on state Route 4, Interstate 75 and U.S. 35.
Total solar eclipse in Ohio
Ohio today is seeing a total solar eclipse for the first time since 1809. Our complete coverage: — —EVENTS: What's happening today in southwest Ohio — —TIMING: What time is the eclipse? — —LENGTH: How long will the eclipse last? — —VISITORS: How businesses are trying to cash in — —PHOTOS: How to photograph the eclipse — —HISTORY: What happened in the total solar eclipse of 1806? — —SIGN UP: Get the news of the day delivered to your inbox every morning with our free Morning Briefing newsletter. — —SUBSCRIBE: Like what you see? Explore all special offers here
