DALLAS — Today marks one month and counting until the once-in-a-lifetime solar eclipse casts its nearly four-minute shadow across DFW and other Texas cities from San Antonio to Sulphur Springs. And, mixed with all that astronomical excitement there is also an understandable measure of April 8 concern about the confluence of hundreds of thousands of eclipse tourists filling Texas hotel rooms and highways.
"I'm super excited about the eclipse," astronomer John Mulchaey told WFAA. The Carnegie Science Center Deputy for Science and Director and Crawford H. Greenewalt Chair of the Carnegie Observatories will be part of the Perot Museum's event in Dallas tracking the Great North American Eclipse.
"It's very hard to describe," he said of total solar eclipses he has witnessed in other parts of the world. "It's almost like a religious experience. It's very powerful. People are going to be very excited. It will be one of the highlights of their life I think in many cases."
People are so excited that hotels across Texas in the path of totality are reporting heavy reservations for April 8th. Omni Hotels and Resorts, for example, has partnered with Southwest Airlines to offer guests a chance to experience the eclipse from the sky, along with themed suites and other events at Omni properties in the path of totality.
Delta, United, JSX, and Alaska are among other airlines that also announced plans to offer flights in the path of totality.
"This is very different because it is a once-in-every-two-hundred-year phenomenon," said VisitDallas CEO Craig Davis. The Dallas tourism organization's website lists a variety of events and hotel options. And, based on a prior eclipse event in Nashville, Davis predicts Dallas hotels could see a dramatic increase in bookings, especially since DFW is the largest metroplex in the eclipse path.
"And in doing that we have been able to determine that we are expecting a 35% increase in overnight visitation compared to previous years on a typical Monday in April," Davis said.
But in all this excitement, there is also concern.
Bell County in central Texas has issued an April 8 disaster declaration because they are expecting the population to double. Schools in Kaufman County, like Forney and Crandall ISD's, have declared a school holiday for the same reason. Kaufman County is predicting 200,000 extra eclipse tourists that day...and all the traffic headaches that could come with them.
Emergency management personnel throughout Texas are also preparing for a mass migration of eclipse watchers should bad weather cause last-minute moves to other areas of the state where the skies might be clearer.
"The next one won't be until 2317," said Mulchaey. "So that's quite a long time to wait."
So whether excited or concerned, either way, this will be your only Texas chance.
