Total solar eclipse 2024: Live updates on start time and weather forecast

We’ve got live footage from Nasa telescopes stationed across North America. The feed cycles through different setups in the US and Mexico, but you can see the solar eclipse already beginning in Mexico, where the Moon is moving slowly in front of the Sun.

The first colander has been spotted in Old Montreal as crowds gather by the waterside for the total solar eclipse.

It belongs to Sam, a computer science student who has driven up from the Canadian capital, Ottawa, to join the party. “When the partial eclipse is happening, the normal circles of light in the shadow of the colander turn into slits,” he explained.

A confirmed sighting of the first Dark Side of the Moon T-shirt featuring the iconic Pink Floyd logo has also been made.

Vendors of eclipse glasses are desperately trying to offload stocks before the city starts dispensing them free of charge to protect damage to spectators’ eyes. The initial price of C$5 (£3) is tumbling.

We’re about 90 minutes away from the total eclipse beginning in the US.

If you want to know the exact time that it starts where you are, here’s a handy map shared by Accuweather.

The folks over at the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) have shared an animation that shows just how much today’s solar eclipse will impact the heating of the Earth.

Incoming solar radiation will drop from above 700 watts per metre-squared to nearly zero when the Moon passes directly in front of the Sun.

“Scientists at NOAA GSL are calculating how much the moon will block incoming solar radiation, which impacts heating of the Earth and therefore the weather,” the US governemnt agency wrote in a post to X.

The Lodge at Wyckoff Maple – just outside Jeffersonville, Vermont – was fully booked for the eclipse. Owner Tom Wyckoff hadn’t known the eclipse was coming until about a month ago, he’d assumed the rush in bookings had been for a local wedding.

He had just charged the regular rate – he’d been horrified to hear of other Airbnb hosts later that had cancelled bookings and upped prices four times higher once they realised they could make a lot of eclipse guests. Him and wife Karen put on a special pancakes and maple syrup eclipse morning breakfast for guests.

His son Jordan Wyckoff dipped his pancake directly into the fresh maple syrup coming from the Wyckoff Family Maple sugar house – it was the very end of the sugaring season, the last batch of syrup they were expecting to boil.

Jordan said his wife saw on the news that the weather was cloudier down south – “so everyone is driving up here”.

Last week there had been a late huge dump of snow, the local ski resort Smuggler’s Notch seeing snowboarder and skiers taking advantage of the fresh powder.

On Monday morning, it was blue sky sunshine and the snow was melting. Jordan said he was going to watch the eclipse from the porch with his kids – everyone was hoping the blue skies lasted until the afternoon. “We say around here, if you don’t like the weather, just wait five minutes.”

When the Moon moves in front of the Sun and the sky darkens, celestial features that you can normally only see at night will briefly be visible.

Jupiter, Mars, Saturn and Venus will all be nearby the Moon and the Sun, with Venus being particularly easy to spot.

As excitement builds in Montreal – the only big city in the zone of totality with clear skies – Montreal City News reporter Swidda Rassy has been speaking to The Independent.

“The city is going crazy for this total solar eclipse,” she says. “It’s been on the news for so long. The government and just everybody is pushing to get those safe solar eclipse glasses.”

Tourism is up in Montreal. The Montreal hotel occupancy rate is around 70 to 75 per cent. And that is way above the normal rate for April.

“There’s just so many people that I’ve spoke with from America, mostly from Connecticut, London and people are coming from around the world just to check out the solar eclipse,” Ms Rassy adds.

“The weather is beautiful. I think that’s one of the main reasons why a lot of people are here. It’s supposed to be clear, sunny skies. So, yeah, a lot of people are excited.”

Ms Rassy sympathised with eclipse chasers who have headed for Niagara Falls, 400 miles southwest, where cloud cover is expected.

“I know it’s such a disappointment because I did hear that Niagara Falls is supposed to be one of the best destinations,” she says.

“Sorry, to people who are going to go to Niagara Falls. But here in Montreal, the weather is great, and it feels like an underrated spot. This solar eclipse – it’s a nice one for the history books, for sure.”

It’s always worth remembering that eye safety is very important when it comes to looking at the Sun, even when the Moon is partially in the way. If not, the Sun’s rays can permanently damage your eyesight.

This is something former US president Donald Trump seemed to forget during the last solar eclipse over the US in 2017. The reality TV star stared directly at the Sun with no protection over his eyes.

Not one to miss an opportunity for a shot at his rival, President Joe Biden shared a video on Instagram and X showing him in the same spot Trump stood seven years ago.

“An eclipse is worth marveling at,” he wrote. “But don’t be silly, folks – play it safe and wear protective eyewear.”

We’ve heard from astrophysicist Jonathan Blazek from Northeastern University in the US, who says that even those not directly beneath the path of totality will have the opportunity to gain a few minutes of “cosmic perspective” during Monday’s eclipse.

Professor Blazek tells The Independent that he is organising a viewing event on Northeastern’s Boston campus, which will see about 93 per cent totality.

The UK Met Office has helpfully provided a graphic showing the weather forecast for the path of totality in the US for today’s solar eclipse.

There is heavy rain across much of the southern US, with both Austin and Nashville potentially facing at least partial cloud cover. Luckily, most other spots look like they will get clear skies.

“For many along the optimal path with weather will allow a good view,” the Met Office says.

Unfortunately for those in the UK and Ireland, the weather forecast is not looking so favourable.