The first solar eclipse passing over the United States in nearly 40 years is coming on Monday, August 21, 2017, and Salem will be the best city in Oregon to see it!

Is this the first time in four decades that Salem has been cooler than Portland?

On August 21, Salem residents (and thousands of visitors, we’re sure), will be able to view the solar eclipse (wear your protective glasses!) in its 100% obscuration entirety at 10:18:16 a.m. compared to Portland’s measly 99.2% obscuration.

Salem even has a better weather forecast with a 67% chance of clear skies where Portland only has a 46% chance of no cloud cover.

Man, whoever thought Salem would be the hottest ticket in town?

The entire eclipse event will last 2 hours and 31 minutes in Salem with totality lasting 1 minute and 57.6 seconds (gotta love those super-precise NASA scientists with the extra 0.6 seconds making a world of difference).

The last time NASA recorded a solar eclipse passing over the contiguous United States was in 1979 so this is definitely close to a once-in-a-lifetime event. Even worth schlepping to Salem!

Can you think of any other time in history Salem has been hipper than Portland? Leave it in the comments!

Source: What will the 2017 solar eclipse look like? 19 Oregon cities ranked by likely visibility