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Solar Eclipse Will Bring 32 Seconds Of Total Darkness To Fremont County

FLICKR / TAKESHI KUBOKI

The path of totality for today’s solar eclipse all but misses Iowa, except for a sliver of Fremont County, the state’s most southwestern county. 

Less than 600 square acres of Iowa will experience total darkness. Part of this area includes the Lower Hamburg Bend Wildlife Management Area.

Matt Moles works at the Iowa Department of Natural Resources State Parks Bureau. At 1:05 pm, he says, eclipse watchers at the wildlife area will experience 32 seconds of total darkness.

"'Course the whole show is longer than that," he explains. "You’ve got a couple hours of the moon actually migrating across the sun. But that total coverage will last about 32 second from our vantage point."

There will be a shuttle service to the wildlife area, where people can enjoy refreshments. A light-filtering telescope and 150 solar glasses will be on hand. 

There's also a question of how much of even a partial eclipse will be visible Monday.  The National Weather Service is predicting clouds could cover anywhere from about half to 80 percent of the sky midday Monday.

For Iowans hoping for at least a couple minutes of complete darkness, the eclipse also crosses Nebraska, Missouri and southern Illinois.