Total solar eclipse 2024

More than four minutes of total darkness just passed through Fredericksburg, Texas — turning the landscape dark as night.

The fully eclipsed sun peeked in and out of clouds. At one point, the stunning, blazing ring visible during totality even showed off what Planetary Society CEO Bill Nye called a solar flare.

Temperatures dropped in the area, shifting from sweltering humidity to the chill of midnight in mere minutes.

The crowd of hundreds gathered here let out loud cheers and cries of, "Oh my god!"

The sunrise began to creep back in from the west, and the diamond ring effect — a moment of intense brightness around the moon — was clearly visible just before the landscape was thrust back into daylight.

A tornado watch has been issued for portions of eastern Texas and northern Louisiana, including some areas in the path of totality.

The western portion of this watch includes a part of Texas that is in the path of the total eclipse.

Severe storms are expected to develop this afternoon and after totality comes to an end in Texas around 1:49 p.m. local time.

The severe storms and potential heavy rain will impact the very crowded roadways over the next several hours.

As the solar eclipse reached full totality, staff at the Dallas zoo noted moments of change in animals' behavior.

The flamingos gathered in the middle of the pond together, a zoo staffer said, and the penguins also all clustered together. "All the birds are joining together," the zoo staff member said, to protect themselves and keep safe.

CNN's Ed Lavandera also observed that the zebras were running and ostriches later huddled together.

A total eclipse is underway in Texas and the temperatures are responding in kind as sunlight is replaced by darkness.

Weather station data shows temperatures have begun to drop by a couple of degrees in cities and towns closest to the southern border of the United States. It is also starting to feel more humid. Temperatures could drop by 10 degrees in some areas in the path of totality with lesser drops in areas with a partial eclipse.

In Kerrville, Texas, the crowd was not sure if clouds would block out the total solar eclipse on Monday.

But during totality, there were some moments where the clouds did part, revealing the view. The crowd cheered and clapped when the phenomenon was able to poke through the weather.

People, some lying down on their backs on blankets in the grass, others in lawn chairs, were looking up at the sky as it went completely dark.

The total solar eclipse is moving along the path of totality, and it'll soon be visible in some cities and towns around the US-Mexico border.

The total eclipse started in Eagle Pass at 2:27 p.m. ET and Del Rio at 2:28 p.m. ET, according to NASA. The total duration of the solar eclipse in this area is until 3:05 p.m. ET.

The solar eclipse is also expected to reach totality in the following cities in Texas:

Follow the path of totality here.

As the moon completely blocked the sun and the sky went dark in Torreón, Mexico, crowds started cheering, looking up at the sky with their eclipse glasses, and taking photos of this rare total solar eclipse.

Delta Air Lines’ first “path-of-totality” flight took off from Dallas a bit ago and is bound for Michigan. The passengers gave a large round of applause as they took off.

Nearly all of the 194 seats are full on board Delta flight 1010, taken by many who paid $1,000 or more for a chance to see the total solar eclipse from the air. 

Before taxiing, the captain told passengers that because totality will travel faster than the cruising speed of the plane, the eclipse will “catch up to us.”

The flight is planned to fly at 35,000 feet.

Fredericksburg, Texas — a small hill country town west of Austin — has grown darker.

Partly because only a small crescent sliver of sun remains visible. There's also thick gray clouds rolling in. But the show is still breaking through intermittently, offering a stunning view.

Spectators are waiting breathlessly to see whether the sky will be clear for totality — expected just after 1:30 p.m. CT.