WSKG News reporters were out at eclipse-viewing events Monday as the solar eclipse made its way through upstate New York.
Ithaca residents gathered outdoors to catch a glimpse of the eclipse. Ithaca was outside the path of totality and despite cloudy skies throughout much of the region, people headed to neighborhood parks to look up and watch the event.
Taylor Tate and a couple of friends spent the eclipse journaling and reading by Cascadilla Creek.
"[The] eclipse is something that's going to be so prominent probably in our lifetime," Tate said. "And to be able to take a snapshot, with people that we love, it's like really tender."
Conditions were cloudy in Ithaca as eclipse watchers played music and passed around eclipse glasses and homemade pinhole cameras.
Heavy cloud cover across the Finger Lakes meant eclipse viewers couldn’t see much of the moon making its path in front of the sun. But for those in the path of totality, the effects were still intense.
Allison Currier was watching from Cayuga Lake State Park.
“Oh my god, do you feel the darkness?" Currier asked. "Oh my god, it’s closing in. It’s getting darker!”
Even with the gray sky, Currier said she was still amazed.
The total solar eclipse brought darkness to parts of the Finger Lakes. For two minutes, the sun’s light disappeared. Then, just as suddenly, it reemerged.
Ithaca resident Carla Demello and her family, were also at Cayuga Lake State Park.
“Oh my god, the birds are coming back," Demello said. " That was like, emotional.”
Chemung County hosted several eclipse events.
The National Soaring Museum in Elmira offered free admission and eclipse glasses for the day.
Damaris Williams traveled from the Bronx for the opportunity to see the eclipse.
"I actually came in to travel to the Niagara Falls," Williams said. "And this was my first leg here in Corning and Elmira. And I decided to stay here since the clouds are covering- will cover- the eclipse. So I figured, well, why don't I just enjoy the local area? And I'm here, I'm just looking for things to do. And this is one of the more exciting things that's here, this lovely, glider museum.”
Larry Jolley, 73, came early to make sure he got a spot to view the eclipse.
“I've never seen one," Jolley said. "I probably won't be around for the next one. I'm retired anyway, so I travel a lot and see different things and it's just one more thing to check off my list I guess.”
Jolley stayed local to avoid possible traffic congestion in Niagara Falls and because the museum grounds have great views with wide open spaces.
Due to the cloud coverage, the eclipse was marked by what looked like the darkening of the sky right before a thunderstorm.
Elmira was not in the path of totality. But partial coverage took place at 3:22 p.m. and lasted approximately three minutes.
The next solar eclipse to occur over America will happen in August 2044.