Fayette County Looks Skyward

After months of build-up, Mother Nature didn’t provide the perfect conditions for viewing Monday’s historic total eclipse in most of Central Texas, Fayette County included.

But that didn’t stop many locals from trying to get outside Monday about 1:30 p.m. to see the event.

While a total eclipse was present as near as the Austin area, Fayette County was in the path of about 90% totality.

Cloudy conditions here had the sun playing hide-and-seek Monday afternoon, but there were occasional clear glimpses of the moon’s blockage of the sun.

One fortunate by-product of the cloud cover was that folks were able to view the eclipse without special glasses at times. Street lights came on downtown as darkness arrived with the eclipse.

Over at La Grange elementary, some classes were outside and others headed there when lightning was detected in the area and everyone was sent back inside, but not before some students were able to see the eclipse.

Monday evening and Tuesday morning some roadways through Fayette County, especially east-bound, were much busier as people who had headed to the Hill Country for the eclipse (where clearer conditions made for some spectacular viewing) returned home.

The next total solar eclipse visible from the lower 48 states, will be Aug. 22, 2044.