SHELBURNE, Vt. (WCAX) – While many feared cloud cover would ruin the eclipse, a sudden bout of sun is drawing in last-minute tourists to Vermont.
Ruben Kier was twelve when he saw his first eclipse. It inspired a life-long love for astronomy and eclipse chasing. He was eager to make the 2024 eclipse his seventh. “I’ve been planning for this eclipse for over 10 years,” Kier smiled. “I was going to make sure I had the absolute best chance to see this eclipse.”
He booked a room in Texas a year ago, anticipating some of the best visibility around Austin. But last week, forecasts revealed northern Vermont, not Texas, would make for better viewing. Kier scrambled to make a reservation in Vermont. “There were no hotel rooms that are available, all the Airbnbs were booked within a 100-mile radius,” Kier explained. “So I had to do some exploring to find a place to come.”
That exploring led him to Krista Reincke, the aunt of a friend of Kier’s son-in-law. She graciously welcomed Kier and his wife into her Shelburne home. “I’m amazed at this person as he is such a wealth of knowledge,” Reincke said. “I’m gonna have the opportunity to be asking him all these questions.”
To understand the rarity of such clear weather this time of year, I spoke with our in-house expert, Meteorologist Dave Busch. He showed me April 8 weather data from the past decade.
“We could see on this graphic here since 2014, we’ve had only a couple of days which feature a lot of sunshine,” Busch explained. He says this year is an anomaly. “The timing is great with this. A lot of sunshine on the way. Maybe some high, thin clouds for the afternoon, but it will be very thin, so it won’t ruin the viewing.”
Other tourists say they’re relieved to have found room in Vermont for the spectacle. Like Kier, Rob Gougher of Pennsylvania ditched his Texas reservations for a last-minute trip up north. “I guess maybe two days ago, we made the decision – yeah, probably better to cancel all my plans and just drive up here and stay with my daughter.”
Ernie and Shiela Grillo, who came to Vermont to see family, were happily surprised to find themselves with pristine front-row seats to the spectacle. “Vermont is the place to be because Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas are all clouded in so we’re really lucky honestly, really lucky,” Ernie said.