Eclipse in Lincoln Area Should Be 80% Totality

LINCOLN–(KFOR Apr. 8)–You should have a great view of the Solar Eclipse that’s set to start happening around 1pm Monday, then becoming 80% totality in the Lincoln area shortly before 2pm.

“The best viewing in the entire state of Nebraska will be along and south of Interstate 80,” said Taylor Nicolaisen, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Omaha/Valley.  “That’s where we’re expecting the skies to be clear.”

Nicolaisen says it’s heavily recommended to get the protective eyewear you can buy at local stores, otherwise don’t look directly into the sun to see the eclipse.  But if you don’t have special glasses, you can come up with other alternatives.

“You can create a pinhole camera, which is really easy to do.  You just poke a little hole in a card or a piece of cardboard and it will show you the eclipse in a shadow,” he added.

The sun will get darker closer to 1pm with it being 80% totality about five to ten minutes before 2pm.  Nicolaisen says it will be real slow moving by increasingly getting darker for about 45 minutes before the peak.  It will slowly start to get brighter afterward.