Ohio and Indiana are expecting a massive influx of visitors and locals to view the total solar eclipse on April 8. NASA reports the eclipse will cover a 124-mile-wide band across Ohio and a 115-mile-wide band across Indiana. (Sorry, Kentucky, you'll be sitting this one out.) However, even areas within the partial coverage zones and their larger metro areas are likely to feel the traffic effects. (Sorry, again, Kentucky.)
Law enforcement, emergency management and transportation agencies say they're all working together to help things go smoothly, but traffic is, well, gonna traffic.
Tip 1
- Do: Plan to arrive at your chosen viewing destination early.
- Don't: Head out right away after the eclipse ends. If possible, plan to stay late to help ease congestion.
Once the eclipse is over — around 3:18 p.m. in much of the Cincinnati Public Radio listening area — everyone is going to be heading home at the same time. You know those traffic jams at the end of a fireworks show or concert at Riverbend? It's going to be like that.
Tip 2
- Do: Research your chosen viewing destination and maybe have a few back-up ideas in case it's too crowded or the forecast calls for the area to be cloudy or have poor weather conditions.
- Don't: Try to wing it. Know where you're going.
Tip 3
- Do: Pack some snacks, water, charging cables, and other supplies.
- Don't: Forget a change of clothing, just in case.
"You never know what April could bring. It could be snow or it could be rain or it could be a beautiful sunny day," says Sidney Nierman with the Indiana Department of Transportation. "We encourage motorists to prepare for any of those."
Tip 4
- Do: Have a paper map backup if you're not familiar with the roads.
- Don't: Plan to rely solely on your smartphone.
Cell phone companies say they're prepared for any surge in network demand during and after the eclipse, but the Ohio Department of Transportation's Matt Bruning asks, why take the risk?
LISTEN: How to get ready for this year's total solar eclipse on April 8
"It's always good to have a backup plan. With all those extra people, if something were to tax the cell phone network, and your only available source of direction is via your phone, you could have a complication, certainly," says Bruning. "We are telling people, make sure you pack in a good old paper map."
Maps are available from several sources — think AAA, book stores, etc — but you can also pick up an Ohio map for free at a rest area (while supplies last!). It's probably too late to order one online for April 8, but for future reference, you can also order a free map on the ODOT website.
Tip 5
- Do: Fill up your gas tank in advance.
- Don't: Assume you'll be fine on a quarter-tank of fuel.
"We've talked to a lot of the states that experienced [the 2017 eclipse] and tried to learn from them," says Bruning. "One thing we heard was that people were running out of gas. They were stuck in traffic for a lot longer than maybe they anticipated. They didn't tap off their tanks and they were running out of gas. And now you're a another roadblock.
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"In the event that we have people running out of gas, our crews are going to stock some gas in their vehicles that we can give someone a little splash of gas to get them out of the way so we can get traffic moving again and keep things moving," he adds.
Tip 6
- Do: Use eye protection to view the eclipse. Make sure your glasses or filter meet the ISO 12312-2 international standard.
- Don't: Stare directly at the sun. Duh!
There are a lot of counterfeit or bogus products out there. Miami University Associate Professor of Supply Chain Management Yao "Henry" Jin says to make sure you're buying (or bought) your eclipse glasses from a reputable supplier.
The American Astronomical Society offers this approved list of brands and manufacturers.
Tip 7 (for those who don't really care about the eclipse)
- Do: Know where the best viewing locations are.
- Don't: Go to those places.
Here's which areas (by county) of the Tri-State and Miami and Whitewater valleys are in or near totality.
Ohio
Total
- Preble
- Montgomery
- Clark
- Miami
- Darke
- Shelby
Partial
- Butler
- Hamilton
- Warren
Indiana
All in totality:
- Wayne
- Randolph
- Liberty
- Fayette
- Franklin
- Henry
- Rush
- Decatur
- Most of Ripley and Dearborn
