What time does the eclipse start?

Millions of sky watchers will be treated to a total solar eclipse today.

To experience the greatest levels of darkness as the moon passes in front of the sun, you will need to be in the path of totality. The moon’s shadow will completely cover the sun in parts of 15 states for as long as four minutes.

States along the path are Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, New York, Pennsylvania, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine, as well as small parts of Kentucky, Michigan and Tennessee. The total solar eclipse will chart a 115-mile-wide path of totality across Mexico, then into the United States and Canada.

Totality in the U.S. will begin at 1:27 p.m. CDT in Eagle Pas, Texas. It will end in the U.S. around 3:55 p.m. EDT in Lee, Maine, according to NationalEclipse.com.

What you will see in other places depends on how far away you are from the path.

Here’s a look at the start of totality for major cities, per USA Today, based on NASA data:

  • Dallas, Texas: 1:40-1:44 p.m. CDT
  • Idabel, Oklahoma: 1:45-1:49 p.m. CDT
  • Little Rock, Arkansas: 1:51-1:54 p.m. CDT
  • Poplar Bluff, Missouri: 1:56-2:00 p.m. CDT
  • Paducah, Kentucky: 2-2:02 p.m. CDT
  • Carbondale, Illinois: 1:59-2:03 p.m. CDT
  • Evansville, Indiana: 2:02-2:05 p.m. CDT
  • Cleveland, Ohio: 3:13-3:17 p.m. EDT
  • Erie, Pennsylvania: 3:16-3:20 p.m. EDT
  • Buffalo, New York: 3:18-3:22 p.m. EDT
  • Burlington, Vermont: 3:26-3:29 p.m. EDT
  • Lancaster, New Hampshire: 3:27-3:30 p.m. EDT
  • Caribou, Maine: 3:32-3:34 p.m. EDT

Want to see the times in Alabama? You can go here to see start and end times for major areas.

You can also go here to put in your ZIP code to see specific times.

A map by NASA showing the path of the total solar eclipse on April 8, 2024. Weather forecasts continue to improve in Texas cities near totality.Photo courtesy NASA