as seen out west, total eclipse along a 70-mile wide path from oregon to south carolina. the rarest of events that plunged entire towns into darkness. right in the middle of the day. here in philadelphia, a partial eclipse. the moon covered almost 80% of the sun. less dramatic than a total eclipse, it's something that has people in the area talking tonight. >> we have team coverage of the excitement following the eclipse. sydney long was there for one of the viewing parties. krystal klei is explaining what we saw. >> sidney, quite a birthday for people to remember. >> reporter: it was. people couldn't believe their eyes. there were a lot of cheers, high fives and hugs and people celebrating the birthdays on this special occasion. depyett the sun being hot, it gave us all the chills. it was amazing to see how crisp and clear the moon was covering the sun.

it's where science and mother nature converge. >> never seen a solar eclipse before. >> reporter: so did the crowds in the thousands both outside the franklin institute. >> so great! it was amazing. you have never imagined what that is like. >> so super excited to be here. >> reporter: inside, the fels planetarium, a front row teseato the totality by nasa. >> i think we first saw the corona, that was the most excited part. >> reporter: for mother and daughter, it is a blessing in disguise. >> i got to see the moon covering the sun. >> we actually just got to see the first totality view and it's amazing. >> reporter: it must be the year of the leo, 9-year-old shawn, twins avery and jamison and best friends carly and sophia with an out of the world birthday to remember. >> when the moon was moving again, it was cool to see it -- it was just really cool.

i don't know. i loved it. >> it is great. it is great. i'm so glad i took half a day off. >> reporter: mar ji said they aligned in her favor convinced a selfie to bring her powerball lottery fame. >> extra celestial good luck? >> exactly. i wrote a song this morning. >> reporter: a ball of positive energy? ♪ when the moon is crossing the sun's path ♪ it got really hot getting stronger and darker. it was so -- beautiful. absolutely beautiful. >> reporter: a beautiful sight, beautiful people and personals. mixing out here today. it was standing room only out here on the parkway over a solid hour. on a normal summer monday here at the franklin institute, it's usually about a crowd of 2,000. today over 8,000 people were out here setting their sights on this beautiful and momentous event. live in center city,

philadelphia, sydney long, nbc 10 news. in delaware, people came out to smyrna to watch the eclipse. they quickly blew through the 600 pairs of safety glasses but lots of people shared and a lot of people took a turn looking into the observatory's big telescope for a great view of the eclipse. >> the best to get in delaware. like it would have been great to see it in totality. this is a unique experience. >> there were games, crafts, moon bounces and food trucks but the big star of the day is the big star in the sky, of course. the sun. >> south jersey people kept it cool. and to stay on theme, there's moon pies. and sun chips while they watched. >> families to the belmar branch

of the library for a party. thanks in part to nasa's at my library program. our lady of lords medical center for the eclipse today and lit the blessed mother that chew. the iconic statue is normally lit sunset to sun rise each day but it was glowing to recognize the event. we have complete coverage of the eclipse excitement for you right now on the nbc 10 app to find photos of the eclipse from here in philadelphia and find out how old you will be when the next total solar eclipse occurs. coverage continues with meteorologist kraystal klei. >> what we experienced here is different from other parts of the country, right? >> yeah. that's exactly right. some parts of the country, in 14 states, they experienced something of the path of totality. we were under a partial eclipse. let's take a look at a map to

show you guys with the entire united states and that darkest line across the u.s. shows the path of totality from oregon where they first saw a total eclipse at about 1:20 down to south carolina where the last total eclipse occurred at about 2:40 p.m. everyone saw the eclipse come to an end around 4:00 p.m. there's a lot that goes into the total eclipse. you have the moon revolving around the earth. the earth revolving around the sun and you have got the earth rotating on its own and for them to line up for a path of totality coast to coast, that is a large feat. not something that happens very often. in fact, last one coast to coast was about 100 years ago so really amazing moment for us. now here in philadelphia, we were under a penumbra. edge of the shadow. you don't see a complete 100% coverage of the sun but we saw 75% here and while it may not have been that total dark-out that you were hoping for it's still certainly affected the

weather. talk temperatures. in the early part of the afternoon hours, we were warming up. we were at about 86 degrees around 2:00 p.m. and had a high today of 88 degrees. but once we hit that max viewing at 2:44 p.m., things went down fast. 84 degrees to the rest of the afternoon. a quick drop. why? because once the moon was blocking some of that sun, getting to us, it was just an instant cool down and amazing and affects your forecasting and we were expecting it to occur and now we are looking at another period of time until 2024 for the next total eclipse to pass through parts of the united states. right now, i'm live in westchester university. >> thanks for that lesson there. 6:15, after the eclipse, right? how do you know if you suffered any eye damage from today's spectacle in the sky? the symptoms you need to watch out for as our coverage continues. that's at 6:15.

there's a cool down and tracking showers out there today as we take a live look at the scene in cape may. glenn "hurricane" swartz joining us. >> where are the showers right now? >> about as far from cape may as you can get up in the northern and western portions of our area. berks county getting the rain now. seeing increased clouds across philadelphia blocking the skyline up in easton still seeing a lot of sunshine. so it is just fairly isolated and you can see these storms just coming in to the edge of berks county. you think it's just on top of redding but take quite a while to get there because it's moving at 10 to 15 miles per hour. 6:43 to redding. 7:04 at exitor. the storms to the south near chesapeake bay and baltimore, they're not moving this

direction. they're stationary causing flooding down there. now, we've got a first alertd. two first alerts, actually. one for the heat and humidity combination. that's for the southern half of the area, philadelphia southward except for the beaches. 2:00 to 6:00 p.m. tomorrow. mid-90s. high humidity making it feel like 100 to 105. a second one for potentially severe storms. in the pennsylvania counties. further north and west. closer to where a cold front comes because it's coming through here in the middle of the night. so the farther toward the coast it goes more likely it's to weaken. more on the timing of that and what comes afterward in a few minutes. president trump's first full day become at the white house, the commander in chief will outline the plan for the conflict in afghanistan. he'll address the nation tonight. nbc 10's lauren mayk is

expecting. >> what are people expecting? >> we're looking for whether the president adds troops in afghanistan. right now about 8,400 are there. now, it is an option his military advisers have been evaluating as part of a larger review of strategy there and today i spoke to people ready to spring into action here at home if it happens. rafael perez's time in uniform supported the groups. even back then, he knew the mission wouldn't be quick. >> i'm proud that we didn't just go over there and ran. we stayed there, we were committed. >> reporter: now retired from the u.s. navy he has a new role with the red cross using ek peerchs to support military families. comes as the u.s. involvement in afghanistan enters a new phase as the president will reveal tonight. >> a lot of families are on pins and needles. they have no idea what the president will say tonight. >> reporter: the way forward for

afghanistan could involve more americans deployed. >> i think it's going to be some troops, maybe some equipment, maybe some drones. >> reporter: retired colonel kiernan says the time is right for the new administration to address what's happening there. >> of all the districts they have in afghanistan, only about 48% of them controlled by the afghan government so al qaeda is getting stronger. >> reporter: the colonel's expecting 4,000 to 4,500 americans to be deployed. a mix of troops and advisers. rafael the r rafael perez seeks out family members of members. >> i feel like i'm serving the people i worked with. >> reporter: folks i talked to at the red cross watching the speech tonight knowing they could have work to do no matter where troops might be deployed from because even though they're sent from a base in another state, their parents or loved ones may live here and need support at home.

jacqueline? >> all right, lauren. nbc news will carry president trump's address to the nation. you can watch it right here on nbc 10 starting tonight at 9:00. and we'll have a complete wrap-up at 11:00. in delaware county, skyforce 10 over the scene of a murder/suicide investigation outside of a funeral home happening earlier this afternoon. that's where police rushed to the scene at carr funeral home finding two people shot. one person dead at the scene. the other died at the hospital. in philadelphia right now, people are lining up between city hall and the frank rizzo statue as the controversy rages on whether to tear it down. here's another look at the crowds from another angle. and earlier today, philadelphia police were putting up protective fences around the statue. this video from around 2:00 this afternoon and this is what police are trying to avoid. the bronze statue of rizzo, the former police commissioner and

mayor, defaced thursday. someone spray painted the words black poweren it and someone threw paint on the mural of the former mayor in the italian market. three people arrested since last thursday. the string of vandalism of renewed calls for the removal of images after the violence in charlottesville, virginia. sun damage, we were warned about the potential effects of viewing the eclipse without the proper protection. up next, all new, how to know if you or your kids are experiencing a post-eclipse eye injury. also all new, bird watchers watched the eagles excitement when the moon makes the sun vanish in south philadelphia. those stories and more all new on nbc 10 at 6:00. plus, here comes the heat. temperatures are about to climb in a big way. along with the humidity. i'll break it all down in my exclusive first alert forecast.

the experience in easton offered a safe place to batch the eclipse. they offered eclipse themed crafts. kids made some glasses just for fun. and you heard the warnings about looking at the sun for long periods of time today without

proper protection. >> it is capable of damaging your eyes and nbc 10 speaks to doctors about what you need to be looking out for after the eclipse. >> very, very, very hard to get. >> reporter: if you didn't have special glasses today, well, you could be in for big problems late fehr you took your chances without any eye protection. >> it can cause a permanent reduction in your vision. >> reporter: local doctors say it doesn't take much to damage your eye. while many took opportunity of the eclipse with some special glasses, some took a peek and there are a few signs you should watch out for. >> blurred vision or a spot in the vision like a dark or dim spot in your vision and it will tend to be right near the center of your vision. >> reporter: for many, once the damage is done, reversal is hard to come by. >> steroids but they're most likely not effective. >> reporter: the doctor says any viewing of the sun with the naked eye can cause permanent damage and might not damage the

symptoms for a day or ten days and you should go and see the doctor right away. nbc 10 news. and krystal showed us earlier, the eclipse knocked the temperature down four degrees. we won't have an eclipse tomorrow so the temperature's going to go up quite a bit. that's why we have a first alert out for the extreme heat plus much higher humidity tomorrow. this is from philadelphia southward. except for the beaches and going to get the sea breeze. 2:00 to 6:00 p.m., the worst of it. temperatures into the mid-90s and then very high humidity making it feel like 100 to 105 and then another part of our area for another time of the day, for the other first alert, pennsylvania counties, starting lehigh valley, berks county and possible thunderstorms around 8:00 tuesday up in lehigh valley and berks extending down toward

the philadelphia area by 2:00 a.m. so the further south and east it goes, the later at night and so more likely to weaken. damaging winds, frequent lightning and small hail in some of those. 80s throughout the area. of course, everybody cooled down for a little bit in the middle of the day because of the eclipse. and in the suburbs, we have some temperatures even down into the 70s now. but collegeville's 87. elroy 84. north wales 84. forth washington and new hope at 85 degrees. all the places should probably get to at least 90 tomorrow. the storms in baltimore causing loads of problems. flooded roads, five inches of rain and it just is not moving very much to the east. so berks county about the only place in the area hit and not tracking the leading edge of the light rain, heavy rain tracking

in to redding by 6:49. moving very, very slowly. of course, it will tend to weaken as the sun goes down. way stormier out in the middle of the country with the cold front to come through tomorrow night. this is the isolated echoed we're seeing this evening so most of you not going to get rain gone. nobody gets rained on tomorrow. the heat, the humidity builds up and a line of thunderstorms. 10:00 tomorrow night. one nasty line and i can see some severe weather with that. look at it weaken as it moves to the east because of the time of day. it is going to feel like close to 100 in the philadelphia area. not quite that hot in other areas north and west. but we sure have a first alert for del care and south jersey. feeling like 100.

toward the end of the week, feeling like about 80. coming up, the eagles with a joint practice with the dolphins. who stood out for the birds and then former eagle byron maxwell. does he want the eagles to lose? that is next.

hey, i'm john clark. the eagles welcome to dolphins, first joint practice today. hicks left early. check out charles barkley. taking in practice today. he had to have been impressed with alshon jeffrey. caught a bunch of passes today

from wentz. looked really good. alshon's former offensive coordinator is with the dolphins and jay cutler with high praise for alshon. >> as long as he's healthy, he's going to produce. he is a pro. he knows football. he's got a great feel, great instincts. >> getting a guy that basically can throw the ball up and go get it. make a play. it doesn't matter what the coverage is. two, three guys on him. he's made some incredible plays when we were together in chicago. remember byron maxwell? chip kelly signed him to a deal only lasted a year. howie roseman traded him to the dolphins. in step number one to trade up. here's byron today. he does not forget being traded by the birds. >> well, yeah. i would be lying if i told you i don't want to do better than the eagles do.

i do. you know? it is just i want to win more games than them. i want to prove them wrong so yeah. all right. eagles out from the meetings today and hit the practice field this afternoon to check out the eclipse. here's bo allen capturing it on camera. >> hey, what's up, guys? i'm the eclipse reporter here. giving you the hottest picks of the eagles checking out the eclipse. >> the birds did follow their instructions. they wore the eclipse glasses the whole time. no injuries reported. high school blitz is back and this means it's time to vote for the game of the week. this week's choices -- to cast your vote, go to nbc10.com and call or text your vote to 6106244111. a greatest catches to ever see, it was a kid that did it. yesterday's junior league world series game. 14-year-old jack regani jumps over the fence to make an amazing catch!

epic catch! really one of the best you will ever see. he's back in kenneth square today, he's the big man on campus now. >> i stay humble. i don't want to make myself look like i think i'm the best in the world. i'm really not. i just -- kid from somewhere. >> humble kid. he's a legend. i'm john clark. we're right back.

most of the area's dry tonight and not berks county and into parts of lehigh valley. that one storm, severe thunderstorm warning, lin at 6:54. south white hall at 7:37. more of the area thunderstorms later tomorrow night. and then, boy does it get nice. sunshine for days. low humidity for days. look at the low temperatures, too. >> boy, we go from summer to fall just like this. >> oh wow. >> not quiet.

that's the news at 6:00. >> up next, "nbc nightly news" with lester holt. we'll see you back here at 11:00. tonight, a nation captivated by a historic event in the sky. >> oh, my gosh. i just wish it could last forever. >> day suddenly turns to night as a spectacular solo eclipse mesmerizes millions from coast to coast. disaster at sea. another crash involving a u.s. navy destroyer in the pacific. ten american sailors missing. war plan. president trump addresses the nation on america's mission in afghanistan. are more troops headed into harm's way? courthouse ambush. a gunman opens fire on a judge. the judge firing back and survives. tonight the suspect's connection to a case that made national headlines. and under pressure. doctors sound the alarm about a silent condition hitting a