On Monday, millions of people will tilt their heads toward the sky and marvel at the total solar eclipse. The moon will cross the sun, briefly blocking its light, creating a communal celestial experience that won't be as accessible again for decades for people in the United States, Canada, and Mexico.
The path of a total solar eclipse (the extent to which the moon completely obscures the sun) stretches from Mexico's Pacific coast to the rim of Atlantic Canada and passes through dozens of major cities, but officials say they are not looking to experience such a phenomenon. Authorities are preparing for an influx of tourists. A once in a lifetime opportunity.
In New York, signs along freeways advise travelers to arrive early and stay late to avoid the inevitable traffic jams that disrupt routes to and from key viewing areas along the eclipse's path. ” he urged.
As we neared Niagara Falls, which is on the path of totality, the second half of the message switched to a more realistic “Delays expected.”
This will be the first total solar eclipse seen in the United States since 2017, and the lower 48 states won't see a total solar eclipse until 2044. Many people across the country are expected to enjoy the view on Monday. John D. Miller, a research scientist at the University of Michigan, estimates that the majority of American adults directly observed a solar eclipse in 2017. This number of 154 million people far exceeds the attendance for the most-watched Super Bowl, which was 123.4 million this year. And the path of Monday's total solar eclipse will draw more than twice as many people as the 2017 event.
Many solar eclipse watchers are anxiously checking Monday's weather forecast. National Weather Service forecasters said Sunday morning that nearly everyone in the U.S. path would experience at least some chance of clouds blocking visibility.
Forecasters said clouds were likely to form in Central Texas, raising concerns of severe storms across much of the state. They found reason for optimism in Little Rock, Arkansas, and Cleveland's prospects were improving. But there is a lot of uncertainty from there to Buffalo, and the picture may not be clear until several hours before the eclipse.
The only exception was Maine, where the bureau's forecaster said people in the state “got a near-perfect day” to view the eclipse.
Cities across the country have canceled schools and millions of pairs of safety glasses have been distributed or sold. Scientists have warned people to never look directly into the sun without eye protection, as it can cause serious retinal damage.
Special events galore are planned across North America, including a street party in Mexico, an animal study at the Indianapolis Zoo, and a solar eclipse display at Niagara Falls.
In the Mexican coastal city of Mazatlan, which will be one of the first places where people will be able to see the eclipse from land, the seaside promenade is crowded with tourists.
Local authorities said they expected about 120,000 people to attend. The few hotel rooms available were three or four times the normal rate.
“This is where the eclipse will land,” said Greg Schmidt, director of NASA's Solar System Exploration Research Virtual Laboratory. He is part of a team that will live stream the eclipse from the city.
Schmidt chose Mazatlan as his team's eclipse observation site about two years ago. He sounded optimistic about the selection compared to other locations along the eclipse's path. The weather forecast was favorable for cirrus clouds in the sky.
“At least we can see the whole thing through it,” he said, contrasting Mazatlan with Texas, “which we have a lot of problems with weather right now.”
In Dallas, more than 1,000 miles from Mazatlan, many people had already resigned themselves to not being able to see the eclipse.
Eric Isaacs, director of the Carnegie Institution for Science in Washington, D.C., was hosting a three-day science and tourism feast in Dallas for donors and their friends, but the group's viewing location has already been changed to his mansion. said that it was done. A place where people can gather inside if they need to stay out of the rain.
Further north and east, a black inflatable planetarium in the University of the North Atlantic's cafeteria drew long lines of residents of Gander, Newfoundland, to get a preview of what they wanted to see on Monday.
The community, which sheltered transatlantic air travelers whose planes were diverted after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, is near the end of the eclipse's path but may have to make compromises in the simulation. A meteorologist with the Canada Weather Service told The Canadian Press on Friday that cloud cover would “ruin” total viewing in Gander.
In Buffalo, Martin Penkala, 60, an assistant at the Buffalo Psychiatric Center and an amateur astronomer, didn't let the gloomy weather forecast dampen his excitement.
“We're still going to see three minutes of total darkness,” he said at an eclipse-inspired concert at the Buffalo Philharmonic on Saturday night. “That's going to be amazing!”
In Canada's Niagara region, authorities declared a state of emergency 10 days before the event, allowing authorities to quickly deploy security and police resources as needed.
The state of emergency has created a sense of mild panic across Niagara Falls and several large Ontario cities within a two-hour drive, including Hamilton and Toronto.
However, there were still no signs of traffic congestion in other parts of the eclipse's path by Sunday afternoon. Those areas included a long, lonely stretch of Interstate 95 in Maine between Bangor and Halton, the last U.S. town to experience a total power outage on Monday.
At Marden's, a department store on the outskirts of downtown Houlton, Paul Kinney, 71, said he's seen very few out-of-state cars so far, and the influx will be limited by hotel room availability. I expected it to be loud.
“We expect it to be in the hundreds, not thousands,” he said.
But beyond the parking lot of the state visitor center, there were signs of people gathering.
Atlanta resident Abi Hazra had booked a flight to Mexico for the eclipse. But as the forecast changed and the chances of clear skies in the south became uncertain, Hazra and his friends abandoned their plans and set off in search of better weather. They flew to Boston and drove to Quebec, where they booked a hotel. As clouds loomed over Canada, they retreated into Maine.
“There's a 14 percent chance we'll get clouds here tomorrow, so this place wins,” he said.
In New York state, Jessica DeSaas, the governor's director of interagency operations, said officials are preparing for the eclipse the same way they would prepare for a weather disaster. The total solar eclipse will be visible over a wide area of the state. Although New York City is outside the total orbit, about 90 percent of the eclipse will occur around 3:25 p.m. ET.
DeSaas, known as the state's eclipse czar, has spent the past two years thinking about all the potential problems, including traffic jams, lack of restrooms and spotty cell phone service.
She didn't want to name the best place to see the eclipse, but said it would be hard to beat Niagara Falls.
“Can you imagine a better place to watch this than in front of one of the world's natural wonders?” she said.
While Monday may be the first and only time some people will see the eclipse, others are excited for a second chance, like Marian Galligan, who traveled south from Chicago to Carbondale, Illinois.
She was last in town in 2017 to see the first total solar eclipse, which she said was “amazing.”
Carbondale is home to Southern Illinois University, where Galligan attended college in the 1970s. During the 2017 solar eclipse, she reunited with two of her college roommates.
“The eclipse gave us the perfect excuse to be here,” she said.
They will gather again on this solar eclipse to celebrate their 70th birthday.
Another 70-year-old woman, Gladys Mejia Roa, who lives on the island of Maria Madre off the coast of Mexico, was also thinking about a second solar eclipse.
Mejia Roa recalled seeing the solar eclipse in 1991 and said being able to experience it for a second time outside a church on the island was “an asset to me.” Perhaps it could be her last chance. Mexico will not see a total solar eclipse until 2052.
“And you know what? I don't think you want to see that,” she added, laughing.
In Indianapolis, zoo officials plan to hand out up to 10,000 pairs of eclipse glasses to visitors to prevent the zoo's automatic lights from turning on when the sky darkens.
Alicia Bonanno, operations coordinator for several parts of the zoo, said she can't wait to see how the macaws react to the eclipse.
As the birds chirped in the enclosure in front of her, she said, “Perhaps they're flying around because they feel like a storm is coming due to the turbulence in atmospheric pressure.'' But there was another possibility. “They could hang out all night. You'll just have to take a look.”
Report contributor: Ian Austin Originally from Gander, Newfoundland Vjosa Isai From Toronto, judson jonesMeteorologist from Little Rock, Arkansas; juliet mccool From Indianapolis, Katrina Miller Originally from Carbondale, Illinois Sarah Maslin Nir From Buffalo, Dennis Overby From Dallas, Emiliano Rodriguez Mega From Isla Maria Madre, Mexico. Simon Romero From Mazatlan, Mexico Jay Root Originally from Niagara, New York jenna russell Originally from Houlton, Maine.