Excitement, cloudy skies and final warnings as historic eclipse arrives

After months of anticipation, sky-watchers got a glimpse of impending darkness as the first total eclipse to cross the United States in 99 years began to materialize along the West Coast. The moon started its pass in front of the sun shortly after 9 a.m. and was due to fully cover the star along a roughly 70-mile-wide band by about 10:15 a.m., starting in Oregon and moving east across the nation to South Carolina. The full eclipse lasts about two minutes. Various levels of partial eclipse were expected to be seen to the north and south, with California seeing between 58 and 90 percent of the sun covered by the moon. Coverage will be greatest shortly after 10 a.m. as well.