A partial solar eclipse will take place Saturday, October 14, 2023.

Officials say the event will start at 10:28 a.m. Central and reach maximum coverage around noon Central.

The sun should be around 40 to 50 percent covered by the moon during the brief maximum coverage in our area.

The eclipse will end around 1:30 p.m. Central.

The “ring of fire” will be visible from Texas north northwest to Oregon (see the orange area on the map with this story). This is where the moon nearly covers the sun, creating a ring of fire effect.

The weather in our area could play a factor in being able to view the partial eclipse. The National Weather Service calls for cloud cover Saturday with a 40 percent chance of rain, mainly before noon, and then turn partly sunny.

Residents of Crossville and the surrounding area are no strangers to a total eclipse.

It happened on August 21, 2017, when Cumberland County and the surrounding area experienced a total eclipse. It sent the area in the afternoon into darkness for nearly 2 minutes.

Officials say the next total eclipse for our area will be in October 2153.

There will be several partial eclipses in the future.

The next, April 8, 2024, will pass diagonally across the continental U.S. just west of Tennessee, from southwest to northeast.

The next will be on August 12, 2045, as a total eclipse will pass just south of Tennessee, from northwest to southeast.

On March 30, 2052, an eclipse will pass from Louisiana to South Carolina, but the area of totality will be well south of Tennessee.

Another will cross just east of the state on May 11, 2078.

The next one will be a few hundred miles north of Tennessee on September 14, 2099.