April 8, 2024
Today’s the day. Some estimates are that 200,000 people will have converged on Vermont for the solar eclipse. I drove to and from Montpelier on I-89 yesterday afternoon, and the northbound traffic was heavy by Vermont standards, but was equivalent to non-rush hour traffic in Boston. Late tomorrow afternoon, after the eclipse, may be a different matter altogether.
I know of a number of people who have traveled to Texas for the eclipse, but the weather forecast there is not particularly favorable. Meanwhile, “Some of the best conditions in the country will be in Vermont,” says William Churchill, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service’s Maryland-based Weather Prediction Center. “Northern New England is definitely among the best.”
Where will I be this afternoon? Northern New England. South Hero, Vermont, to be specific, home to Camp Ta-Kum-Ta, where I have volunteered for many years. It also happens to be right smack dab in the middle of the zone of total occlusion.
Boo-yah.