Missouri and Illinois Will Be Darkest States During Solar Eclipse

Yes, it goes without saying (but I'll say it anyway) that Missouri and Illinois will be dark for about 4 minutes during the historic April 8 total solar eclipse, but how dark will each state be? Answer - all of it.

I saw this very interesting graphic trending on Digg and shared on Instagram this week which shows the percentage of each state that will be dark during the April 8, 2024 total solar eclipse. You'll have to wait until near the end to see Missouri and Illinois as both states will be 100% dark.

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It's for this reason why you'll want to be prepared for increased traffic (and maybe life convenience hassles) on April 8 in both Missouri and Illinois as many who live in states that will not witness all of the solar eclipse will head this direction.

The only other concern as of this writing is weather. Some forecasts show sunny skies (except when the sun is eclipsed obviously) for Missouri and Illinois, but others show the potential for cloud cover.

There are almost a bizarre number of warnings being shared by authorities in Missouri and Illinois about the upcoming eclipse including possible cell phone problems and 10 warnings from the Missouri Highway Patrol about things to do to prepare.

Along with all of that information, know that both Missouri and Illinois will be darker than almost any other states in America once the historic eclipse begins on Monday.