BUFFALO, N.Y. — Western New York will witness a total solar eclipse on April 8, and there are precise times to note for people who want to take in the unique event.
Those times will vary depending on where you are, though, as the moon fully covers the sun and creates a path of totality. Cities and towns right down the center of the path will enjoy the event for a longer period of time than communities that are on the edges of it.
For example, Buffalo is closer to four minutes of totality compared to Cuba, which is barely more than one. Then there's Olean, which is just outside the path of totality, near the edge.
So, how long will different communities across Western New York enjoy that dayside plunge into darkness? These estimates, in minutes, are provided by the National Solar Observatory and Eclipse2024.org:
- Akron, 3:44
- Albion, 3:40
- Alden, 3:43
- Allegany State Park, 2:27
- Amherst, 3:41
- Angola, 3:43
- Arcade, 3:05
- Attica, 3:39
- Batavia, 3:42
- Bemus Point, 3:13
- Boston, 3:35
- Brockport, 3:43
- Buffalo, 3:45
- Cassadaga, 3:31
- Cheektowaga, 3:45
- Clarence, 3:44
- Clymer, 3:06
- Cuba, 1:32
- Darien Center, 3:42
- Depew, 3:45
- Dunkirk, 3:43
- East Otto, 3:08
- Eden, 3:41
- Ellicottville, 2:41
- Fredonia, 3:39
- Gasport, 3:36
- Geneseo, 3:15
- Gowanda, 3:27
- Grand Island, 3:39
- Hamburg, 3:42
- Holland, 3:28
- Houghton, 2:18
- Irving, 3:42
- Jamestown, 2:54
- Java, 3:22
- Lackawanna, 3:45
- Lancaster, 3:45
- Le Roy, 3:37
- Letchworth State Park, 2:56
- Lewiston, 3:23
- Little Valley, 2:46
- Lockport, 3:35
- Lyndonville, 3:33
- Machias, 2:55
- Mayville, 3:29
- Medina, 3:38
- Newfane, 3:23
- Niagara Falls, 3:30
- North Tonawanda, 3:39
- Olcott, 3:16
- Orchard Park, 3:43
- Panama, 3:05
- Pembroke, 3:44
- Pendleton, 3:40
- Perry, 3:11
- Randolph, 2:47
- Ransomville, 3:21
- Ripley, 3:40
- Rochester, 3:41
- Salamanca, 2:04
- Sanborn, 3:32
- Sinclairville, 3:19
- South Dayton, 3:22
- Springville, 3:18
- Tonawanda, 3:41
- Varysburg, 3:32
- Warsaw, 3:20
- West Seneca, 3:44
- West Valley, 3:00
- Westfield, 3:39
- Wheatfield, 3:37
- Wilson, 3:15
- Youngstown, 3:12
As for Buffalo, NASA provided these time estimates:
- Partial eclipse begins: 2:04 p.m.
- Totality begins: 3:18 p.m.
- Maximum totality: 3:20 p.m.
- Totality ends: 3:22 p.m.
- Partial eclipse ends: 4:32 p.m.
If you want to view the eclipse, like many others across North America, make sure you have properly certified solar glasses to do so safely.
According to NASA, roughly 31.6 million people live in the 2024 path of totality, representing a big jump from to 12 million in the path of the 2017 eclipse. "An additional 150 million people live within 200 miles of the path of totality," NASA said.
The path will run from Mexico and Texas and head northeast, ultimately going over Maine before exiting North America on the Atlantic coast of Newfoundland, Canada.