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Southeast Oklahoma witnesses total solar eclipse

Cailyn Prather and her son view the solar eclipse at Clayton Lake State Park.
Logan Layden
/
KGOU
Cailyn Prather and her son view the solar eclipse at Clayton Lake State Park on April 8, 2024.

Eclipse chasers could start feeling the change when the frogs started singing.

Frogs and crickets started their evening songs as the skies slowly darkened in southeast Oklahoma.

Totality was brief but powerful as the moon completely covered the sun, casting off a brilliant circle of white. The air became cooler, too.

Cailyn Prather drove from Moore with her husband and two young sons to Clayton Lake State Park, just inside the path of totality.

Cloudy skies had been a worry, but they parted for the family.

“I’m glad the clouds disappeared just in time,” Prather said. “And it’s way better than seeing a partial eclipse. Nothing does it justice. You’ve got to go in person. It’s worth it.”

People gather at Clayton Lake State Park to view the total solar eclipse on April 8. 2024.
Logan Layden
/
KGOU
People gather at Clayton Lake State Park to view the total solar eclipse on April 8. 2024.

The path of totality completely covered McCurtain County, while partially going over Choctaw, Bryan, Atoka, Pushmataha, Latimer and Leflore Counties.

The state was expecting a boon from the event.

"This is going to be huge for tourism and a chance to show off the Oklahoma Standard," Gov. Kevin Stitt said. "We've been preparing for months for the influx of people coming in."

State tourism officials expected anywhere from 17,000 to 66,000 travelers to watch the solar eclipse. Roads were crowded across the state, as traffic and delays grew in the hours following the celestial event.

Some photos sent to us via social media:

Logan Layden is a reporter and managing editor for StateImpact Oklahoma. Logan spent six years as a reporter with StateImpact from 2011 to 2017.
Lionel Ramos covers state government for a consortium of Oklahoma’s public radio stations. He is a graduate of Texas State University in San Marcos with a degree in English. He has covered race and equity, unemployment, housing, and veterans' issues.
Robby grew up in Ardmore, Oklahoma and Fayetteville, Arkansas, and graduated from the University of Nebraska with a Journalism degree. Robby has reported for several newspapers, including The Roanoke Times in southwest Virginia. He reported for StateImpact Oklahoma from 2019 through 2022, focusing on education.
Nyk has worked in radio since 2011 serving as a board operator, on-air announcer and production director for commercial radio stations in Iowa. Originally from the Quad Cities area, Nyk joined KGOU in 2018 as a practicum student studying Creative Media Production at OU. Upon graduating the following year, he became part of KGOU’s staff and is now the local Morning Edition host. When not on the air, Nyk likes to read, listen to music and follow news about the radio industry.
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