Clouds Obscure Solar Eclipse in Schuylkill County

You could use a thousand different words to describe the solar eclipse Monday over Schuylkill County.

We think this one just about sums it up: bummer.

Clouds quickly moved in after a bright, sunny morning and it made viewing the eclipse very difficult, if not entirely impossible.

This forecast went against what National Weather Service had been predicting for our area up until very early this morning, when we put together today’s weather forecast post.

By the time the alarm went off to start another work week, we’d been downgraded to a “partly sunny” sky here in Pottsville. And that was being generous.

Typical … we just can’t have nice things.

The Big Solar Eclipse Letdown of 2024

As the moon began obscuring the sun, the clouds would break just enough to get a quick peek at the celestial action.

We got to use the solar camera lens filter a few times to get some lucky – albeit, grainy – shots with the phone.

This happened just as the moon was beginning to overtake the sun:

About 10 minutes later, another lucky break revealed more obscuration of the sun by the moon:

But for the most part, as we stood outside the newsroom, this is what we saw:

Frustrated by the lack of breaks in the clouds and wanting to witness some kind of history, we did what any self-respecting Schuylkill County resident does when something big happens.

We went to the mall … the Cressona Mall.

We’d just been there about a half-hour prior to get some bread for lunch (a late lunch, yes), and it was actually rather sunny. So, maybe the clouds hadn’t gathered there just yet.

Wrong!

We were met by some pretty thick cloud cover. And by this time – it was about 3 o’clock and just 20 minutes from the maximum obscuration – there was no turning back.

So, we waited for any potential lucky break.

It began getting a little darker and definitely much colder. And then, finally, a break in the clouds:

But these would be fleeting glances at the eclipse as we neared the point of maximum obscurity.

Our last good shot came at about 3:17 p.m. Monday, when we snapped this pic of just a sliver of sunshine peeking from behind the moon:

Finally, we’d reached that moment. It was 3:22 and we wanted to see the moon blocking the 93% of the sun, just like we’d been promised.

And we got hosed:

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