DALLAS — Clouding the excitement for roughly four minutes Dallas will experience a total solar eclipse on April 8 - if we actually have a clear sky to view it.
“I’m gonna wish the clouds away, it’ll be a sunny day,” said Mayor Pro Tem Tennell Atkins.
It’s the same wish the tens of thousands of people predicted to come to North Texas to take in the view are making just days ahead of the phenomenon.
Dallas is the largest city in the path of totality. And Tuesday despite the dreary forecast, city leaders laid out how they’re preparing for the things they can control.
“Traffic is gonna be the biggest challenge that day,” said Dallas Office of Emergency Management Director Travis Houston.
He says they’ve drafted a traffic management plan to keep emergency routes open and maintain access to hospitals and highways.
“The day of we’re activating the emergency operations center we’ll have reps from all the departments and agencies in the room with us so as things come up and as the day progresses,” Houston said. “We can have those face-to-face conversations to focus and close resource gaps.”
Trash pick-up in Dallas has been suspended for Monday to keep those workers off the roadways. The city is also urging folks not to stop in the middle of the road to watch the eclipse and to remember not to look at the sun without the correct protective glasses.
Deputy Mayor Pro Tem Carolyn King Arnold showed off what they look like during the press conference.
“So this is the proper gear, you’re going to see it all throughout the city,” she said.
Preparation has been all hands on deck, from Dallas Police and Fire to Parks and Rec. Estimates for just how many people are coming to Dallas for the eclipse are still up in the air, but for some context, downtown hotels are at about 99% sold out for April 5-9.
“We have a lot of people coming from out of town, but also just in the metroplex and several big events,” Houston said.
And hundreds of eclipse Solarbrations are planned throughout Dallas and North Texas with organizers and anticipated attendees praying for the weather to cooperate.