Millions of sky tourists anticipated for April 8 solar eclipse

When it comes to seeing April 8’s total solar eclipse, the good news is that Texas is poised for some of the best views anywhere in the Lower 48.

Of course, the bad news also happens to be that when it comes to eclipse viewing, Texas is poised for some of the best views anywhere in the Lower 48.

With millions of people expected to descend on Lone Star State in coming days to catch the best view possible of this once in a lifetime event, emergency planners are already prepping for the worst, especially in some of Texas’ most scenic places, where officials say everything from the time it takes to get around and even cellular service could see disruptions.

Hang on!

Now wait just a doggone minute there, bub, you might be saying right about now. How do you get all this “once in a lifetime” nonsense? Didn’t we just go through all this rigamarole already a few months back?

Indeed, a solar eclipse did occur in October 2023, and not just any ol’ eclipse, either.

Last year’s eclipse saw the earth, moon and sun all situated perfectly in their relative orbits so that, for ever so brief a moment, the moon blotted out all but the sun’s outermost ring in an annular eclipse, also known colloquially as a “ring of fire” eclipse.

Still, it’s been more than three decades since Americans saw a good total solar eclipse. That took place on Feb. 26, 1979, and it crossed through Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana and North Dakota, before heading north to Canada, according to NASA.

That was the last time anyone in the contiguous United States saw a total solar eclipse, prior to the one on Aug. 21, 2017, which was referred to by many as the “Great American Eclipse.”

Looking ahead:

We’re not likely to witness a total eclipse again until August 2045. Even then, it’s likely to be a partial eclipse only across most of our Texas skies, NASA says, as the optimal viewing path sweeps just north of Texas through the Great Plains states as the celestial bodies make their journey from northern California to Florida on that date.

After that, March 2052 offers the next best hope for total eclipse viewing in the extreme southern parts of the state, when Mexico is lined up for prime viewing.

For those of you keeping tabs, the 2045 date is 21 years and five months from now. The 2052 cycle is a full 28 years away.

I don’t know about the rest of you, but I’ll be 80 by the time the eclipse returns, if I’m not already pushing up daisies.

Fast moving:

The eclipse will be moving at roughly 3,000 mph, when you factor in the earth’s rotation speed on top of how fast the moon and its shadow will be traveling, so thoughts of catching up to it again are just plum ludicrous.

Eclipse viewing begins in Texas at 1:26 p.m. Central Daylight Time (CDT), when the moon’s shadow first enters the Lone Star State by way of Eagle Pass and Del Rio. From there, it swiftly moves north to Uvalde, Kerrville, San Antonio and Fredericksburg, and by 1:34 p.m. it should be passing over San Marcos, Austin and Georgetown.

By 1:37 p.m., it passes over Killeen, Fort Hood, Temple and Waco, and by 1:40 p.m. It’s passing over the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, Corsicana and Tyler, and just as darkness clears over Texarkana at 1:49 p.m. CST, it’ll be done.

That’s just 23 minutes to clear the entirety of Texas, and unlike anything anyone still alive might remember over Texas skies, the blackout could last as long as 4 minutes and 25 seconds along the path of totality, nearly twice as long as the 2017 eclipse.

Plan to text, not call:

Those headed some place within the prime view area, will be headed central Texas and points beyond because the zone of totality for the April 8 eclipse just so happens to follow a route up the Interstate 35 corridor, for the most part.

For the best views, in fact, keep heading west to the Texas Hill Country to some of the most scenic parts of our state.

Sadly, it misses Lavaca County by a couple counties at least. Although it lies within the 80% optimal viewing zone, we won’t achieve full blackout like places along the eclipse’s zone totality, the roughly 100-milewide swath that stretches Del Rio and Eagle Pass here in Texas all the way up to the State of Maine.

Those wanting to witness full blackout need to be on the other side of San Marcos before about 1 p.m. Monday, April 8, to catch the real show. San Marcos is the closest point to our county that lies with that totality zone.

Many already booked stays at nearly every town along the pathway. So much so, that places like Boerne, Kerrville, San Antonio and Fredericksburg were anticipating as many as a half million more people before April 8. That’s a half million more pe0ple each, state and national news sources said.

With that many people expected, local officials are warning that cell towers may become jammed up. If you’ve ever been to a large festival, you’ve likely experienced this before. Now imagine that across dozens of Texas towns.

Expecting the worst:

Full-fledged disaster declarations were drawn up for several Texas Hill Country towns because of the expected influx of tourists on April 8. While traffic is certainly a major concern, being able to get in contact with loved ones or even emergency responders may also become a challenge.

“At this time, no additional cell phone towers are planned. Citizens are encouraged to ‘Text if you can, Call if you must,’” City of Killen officials wrote in a release. “Due to the bandwidth of video calls and calls in general, it is best for citizens to utilize texting for communication on April 8, to limit the congestion of cellular networks.”

In Kerrville, officials say nearly half a million people could crowd the small town for a view of the total eclipse. With NASA setting up shop in the Texas Hill Country town to livestream the eclipse, it’s surely going to be a hotspot for visitors.

“It is also possible that cell service could be disrupted due to increased demand,” Kerrville officials said in a statement. “If these disruptions do occur, they may last several hours. Traditional hardwired telephones will likely not be affected, and knowing where the nearest one is, in the event of an emergency, is recommended. Planning ahead and knowing what to expect will make a big difference.”

Boerne officials also issued similar statements with much of the same information.

Considering the optimal viewing zone covers the most populous parts of that I-35 corridor, however, cellular service disruptions are pretty much a given.

That area includes San Antonio, Boerne and New Braunfels; San Marcos, Kyle and Buda; as well as Austin, Round Rock, Pflugerville, Georgetown and Taylor. It encompasses Temple, Kileen and Fort Hood; and farther north still, Waco and its many surrounding communities, not to mention Hillsboro and Grandview, and ultimately, the Dallas-Fort Worth mega-metropolis.