P.E.I. on the path for 2024 total solar eclipse

Prince Edward Islanders who were unimpressed with the partial eclipse on Monday will get a chance at seeing the full meal deal in seven years.

• With eclipse 2017 complete, get ready for eclipse 2024

On April 8, 2024, western P.E.I. will find itself on the path of totality for the next total solar eclipse visible in North America.

This eclipse path will follow a more south to north route than the last one. Canadians will first see it in the far south of Ontario, with Toronto just on the edge. It will then pass through southern Quebec and New Brunswick before coming to P.E.I.

Totality will cover the Island from about Summerside and west, with the centre of the path crossing over North Cape.

What about the weather?

When watching anything happening in the sky, weather can be a spoiler.

Reviewing the last 18 years of weather in Summerside, this could particularly an issue for the 2024 eclipse.

First of all, it's likelyto be a lot cooler than Monday's event, when the temperature in Summerside hit 26 C. Temperatures on April 8 in Summerside since 2000 have ranged between -2.3 C and 12.1 C.

While you can dress for the temperature, clouds are another issue, and the trend there is not good.

With one year of data missing, there has been rain on April 8 in seven of the last 18 years, putting the odds of actually seeing the sun over that period at about 50 per cent.

That data, of course, cannot predict the weather for April 8, 2024. We will just have to wait for that.

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