ERIE — If only the solar eclipse happened on a day like Sunday, the people crammed into Erie’s hotels would be able to rest easy.

It was almost nothing but clear skies Sunday afternoon in northwest Pennsylvania, completely ideal conditions as visitors and natives prepared for Erie’s once-in-a-lifetime astronomical phenomenon.

But the latest National Weather Service predictions are for significant cloud cover at 3:16 p.m. Monday in path of totality of the long-anticipated eclipse.

Still, Claude Fye isn’t worried.

Fye and Jen Schenck drove six hours from Kalamazoo, Mich., partly to visit family in the area, but they also timed their trip to coincide with the eclipse.

“I’ve never seen a total eclipse,” Schenck said. “We’ll have a great view from where we’re staying, nearby in Waterford.”

Downtown Erie was busier than usual Sunday morning, according to Visit Erie spokesperson Christine Temple.

“A lot of the restaurants that would be closed Sundays are open today,” she said. “We’ve seen a lot of people coming in over the course of the weekend. Local stores that aren’t usually open Sunday or even Monday decided to open, and I think they’re probably glad they did.”

Monday’s partly cloudy forecast had some visitors a little more concerned.

Robert Normant, 71, traveled more than six hours from the Philadelphia area to his room at the Hampton Inn & Suites just a few hundred feet from Lake Erie. But he’s strongly considering driving all the way back across the state for a better view.

“I was thinking of maybe getting up early and driving down to Carbondale (near Scranton) to try and outrun the clouds,” Normant said.

From there, Normant would still be able to see more than 95% of the sun obscured.

Rae Ann Serrano of Erie isn’t going anywhere. She and son Angel, 3, were feeding the seagulls at Dobbins Landing on Sunday afternoon, with tentative plans to return Monday.

“Angel’s got his glasses and we’re ready,” she said. “We’ll be here or just watch at home, depending on the traffic.”

Nick Scott Sr. is staying put as well. It’s hard to blame him — the view from the top floor of his hotel is a panoramic lakefront tableau, perfect for watching the eclipse.

“I’m pretty confident it’s going to be the single biggest business day in the history of our company,” said Scott Sr., president of Scott Enterprises, which operates five Erie hotels as well as the city’s Splash Lagoon, the Peek’n’Peak ski resort and several restaurants,s including Oliver’s on the top floor of the Hampton Inn & Suites.

Along the pier, Kelly Altendorf and her son, Henry, were waiting to take a boat tour on the Victorian Princess after traveling four-and-a-half hours from their home in Greencastle, Franklin County.

Tour staff said all 120 tickets for the Victorian Princess’s 3 p.m. tour Monday have been sold out for weeks.

Keith Eberly of Erie started preparing for the eclipse for three years ago, when he began stockpiling the cache of ISO-certified eclipse viewing glasses he was selling Sunday near the Bayfront Convention Center.

“I have a food truck and sell hot dogs, but not in the winter,” he said. “I started buying eclipse glasses in 2022, and I’ve been selling them since September.”

For drivers headed north on Interstate 79, the McDonald’s at the Millcreek Marketplace shopping center will look awful tempting after potentially sitting in hours of traffic.

McDonald’s crew trainer Tyler Phillips said Sunday afternoon the restaurant hadn’t quite seen the crowds it was anticipating.

“We ordered about 25% more product to try and cover for everyone coming here,” Phillips said. “I’m pretty sure they hired about four additional people to work these few days. We have extra staff working today, but we haven’t seen the crowds yet.”

Scott is confident Monday’s business will be brisk.

“It’s probably more reasonably priced to come here than in Cleveland or Buffalo,” he said. “People can stay at campgrounds and can watch it at a lot of parks.”

And even with the potential for a cloudy day, Scott is looking forward to the path of totality passing over the city.

“It really reminds you about your place in the universe,” he said.