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Description
I had success this past Monday, but only just barely. I joined the eclipse crowd gathering in Kansas City (partly to revisit my old stomping grounds in town), and we had one heck of a storm blow in the morning of. As anyone visiting KC can tell you, it was spotty all over the metro area. There wasn't any certainty where there would be visibility and where there wouldn't.

Traveling with my family, we took a gamble and went up north near Excelsior Springs. When we arrived, it was raining in sheets. In the hour leading up to the eclipse, the rain stopped and the storm clouds thinned. In the last half hour, we got patches of clear sky, and caught slivers of the moon passing in front of the sun. Then, in the last five minutes, a hole opened up and we watched the whole eclipse from start to finish.

It is an incredible experience. Something out of a movie. The 360 degree sunset and darkness is spooky. We briefly heard the two NASA jets fly overhead chasing the shadow. I wish I had more time to capture it all, but eclipse totality only lasts for a couple of minutes.

And then when it ended, the storms rolled right back in and we experienced pounding rain for several more hours. A small miracle that it halted long enough for a few of us.

Description
I had success this past Monday, but only just barely. I joined the eclipse crowd gathering in Kansas City (partly to revisit my old stomping grounds in town), and we had one heck of a storm blow in the morning of. As anyone visiting KC can tell you, it was spotty all over the metro area. There wasn't any certainty where there would be visibility and where there wouldn't.

Traveling with my family, we took a gamble and went up north near Excelsior Springs. When we arrived, it was raining in sheets. In the hour leading up to the eclipse, the rain stopped and the storm clouds thinned. In the last half hour, we got patches of clear sky, and caught slivers of the moon passing in front of the sun. Then, in the last five minutes, a hole opened up and we watched the whole eclipse from start to finish.

It is an incredible experience. Something out of a movie. The 360 degree sunset and darkness is spooky. We briefly heard the two NASA jets fly overhead chasing the shadow. I wish I had more time to capture it all, but eclipse totality only lasts for a couple of minutes.

And then when it ended, the storms rolled right back in and we experienced pounding rain for several more hours. A small miracle that it halted long enough for a few of us.