Traffic Warnings Issued Ahead of Total Solar Eclipse

Motorists traveling toward Austin, Texas are reminded of Monday's eclipse and the possibility of traffic delays in Austin, Texas, on April 6, 2024. Charles Rex Arbogast/AP Photo

The solar eclipse on Monday is expected to delay traffic in some areas across the United States, prompting travel warnings from several local areas and states.

A total solar eclipse will be seen along a path that stretches from Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine. Overall, across various states, it will start at around 2:20 p.m. ET and will be finished by about 3:40 p.m. ET. The actual eclipse will last just over 4 minutes.

Millions of spectators are expected to turn out to watch the rare phenomenon.

Some local agencies said that people should fill up their gas tanks and pack food, water, medication, and other supplies if they are planning on driving. That’s potentially due to heavy traffic in some areas.

The Virginia Department of Transportation also said that drivers on the road during the solar eclipse hours should avoid wearing special eclipse glasses while driving.

“Eclipse glasses are darker than normal sunglasses and should only be worn when viewing the eclipse from a safe location and not while driving,” the department wrote on social media.

The New York State Department of Transportation said that drivers should not pull over on the side of the road to view the solar eclipse due to “heavy traffic” in some areas.

“Heavy traffic is expected throughout the eclipse & especially for Monday afternoon and evening as everyone makes their way home,” the agency wrote on social media. “Drive Safe NY!”

In Illinois, state officials warned that major highways are likely going to be congested.

“The Illinois State Police, working with our local law enforcement partners and other state agencies, is ready to assist the public during this unique phenomenon,” said Illinois State Police Director Brendan Kelly in a statement. “We encourage people traveling to the area to plan ahead, be prepared for traffic congestion, and be patient when driving.”

He noted that even if people are not intentionally going out to view the eclipse, they will have to deal with the higher-than-usual traffic load.

“Understand that traffic volumes are going to be higher than the typical Monday,” Mike Albano, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service, told a local media outlet. “Be mindful of some of the congestion on the roads. Understand that there will be a lot of out-of-staters in the region, so just exercise caution even just going through intersections. People might not be familiar with the road network.”

In Texas, the south-central region was locked in clouds, but it was a little bit better to the northeast, said National Weather Service meteorologist Cody Snell.

“Dallas is pretty much a 50-50 shot,” he said.

A graphic visualization of the path of totality and partial contours crossing the U.S. for the 2024 total solar eclipse occurring on April 8, 2024. Courtesy of NASA's Scientific Visualization Studio

For Monday’s full eclipse, the moon is due to slip right in front of the sun, entirely blocking it. The resulting twilight, with only the sun’s outer atmosphere or corona visible, will be long enough for birds and other animals to fall silent, and for planets, stars, and maybe even a comet to pop out.

The out-of-sync darkness lasts up to 4 minutes and 28 seconds. That’s almost twice as long as it was during the U.S. coast-to-coast eclipse seven years ago because the moon is closer to Earth.

It will be another 21 years before the U.S. sees another total solar eclipse on this scale.

“Severe” weather alerts were issued for much of Texas and other areas, with the National Weather Service noting on Monday that clouds are anticipated for a large swath of the eclipse-viewing area.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.