NEW YORK (NEWSnet/AP) — Where will you be watching the April 8 total solar eclipse? A few weeks remain to pick your spot to watch the sky darken along a strip of North America.

For those who reside with the 115-mile path of darkness, it's a simple as stepping outside and donning special eclipse glasses.

For people outside the path, it requires hitting the road, with a plan.

The eclipse reaches Mexico’s Pacific coast in the morning, cuts diagonally across the U.S. from Texas to Maine and exits in eastern Canada by late afternoon. Most in the remainder of the continent will see a partial eclipse.

Weather is the key, and that can prove uncertain. Mexico and Texas offer the best odds of a cloud-free sky, said Jay Anderson, a retired retired meteorologist in Canada.

“There’s no guarantee of sunshine anywhere — just better chances,” Anderson said.

Anderson studies satellite data for the previous 20 years to calculate how often a location has cloudy weather on any eclipse day. Other promising spots on the path of totality include near Great Lakes.

Watch local weather about 10 days ahead and make a plan based on the three-day forecast, Anderson said. Die-hard eclipse chasers often arrange more than one location and make decisions based on the forecast.

Tom Schultz, a veteran eclipse-chaser recommends choosing a location and make it a vacation, so the eclipse is “the cherry on top” and not the only highlight.

In April, Schultz plans to travel from home in Costa Rica to watch the eclipse from his mother-in-law’s house in Rochester, New York, along with other relatives.

“If we get rained out, we’ll get this great family reunion,” Schultz said.

Some communities along the path have organized activities and “watch parties” to attract visitors. There are multiple vantage points to watch the show from Niagara Falls State Park, and the “Maid of the Mist” tourist boats may be running, weather permitting, said Sara Harvey, spokeswoman for Destination Niagara USA.

In Waco, Texas, festivities culminate on eclipse day with science-themed activities at Baylor’s McLane Stadium.

It may be too late to snag a cabin on a cruise ship positioned off the Mexico coast for the eclipse, but there are other watery options including a ride on the paddle-wheeler Victorian Princess on Lake Erie from Erie, Pennsylvania.

Indianapolis Motor Speedway will host NASA astronauts and other guests. Cedar Point amusement park on Lake Erie in Sandusky, Ohio, opens on the date of the eclipse. Little Rock Zoo in Arkansas is holding a tailgate fundraising party and inviting visitors to watch the zoo’s residents react to the midday darkness.

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