Partial solar eclipse for Wisconsin Monday… Millions head to path of totality to see day turn to night… for a couple minutes anyway

The total solar eclipse many have been anticipating for years that will stretch from Texas up through Maine happens Monday and millions of people are scrambling to figure out where mother nature will allow them to see the four minute spectacle without being hindered by cloud cover.

A low pressure storm system will be planted right over the region Monday that will have cloud cover in many areas, but a push of dry air has recently been showing up on forecasting models right over the path of the eclipse in southern Illinois into Indiana.

Nearly 250,000 square miles will be in the path of totality, but its looking like only a small fraction will be cloud free which means over 10 million people will likely be squeezing into a small area to get a glimpse of the period of time when darkness overtakes the daytime. Something local authorities are scrambling to stay ahead of to deal with the sudden influx of visitors to their areas. Everything from traffic to healthcare will be multiplied 10 times as the local population balloons up for the day. Some areas have already declared states of emergencies to get federal help in the form of funds for extra police, all the way to deployment of National guard to help with traffic.

Here in Fond du Lac, we are set to witness 86% of the sun being covered, though clouds are forecasted through much of the day. There is likely going to be some breaks in the clouds during the just over two hours the moon passes in front of the sun so try and get a glimpse somewhere between 1:30 and 2:30 for the best view, but don’t look right at the sun. If you don’t have special eclipse glasses, use a reflection off a window or puddle to see it.

KFIZ News Director Doug Raflik will be attempting to track down a clear spot in the path of totality and if internet availability allows, will do a Facebook live video on the KFIZ Facebook page starting just before 2 PM Monday afternoon.