Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - Thursday marks 60 days until the 2024 Total Solar Eclipse takes place, a once in a lifetime celestial event with the path of totality sweeping directly through Western New York on Monday, April 8.
Planning for the eclipse across the region has been ongoing for nearly two years, at this point, with a massive influx of people from around the country expected to descend upon Western New York to experience a phenomenon that hasn't taken place in 100 years, and will not happen again locally for another 120 years.
With just two months remaining until the Total Solar Eclipse, experts locally are making their final preparations to try and ensure the public has what they need to enjoy this incredibly unique experience.
"What we are doing here at the Science Museum is to get everybody in our region ready to view it," said Dr. Holly Schreiber, Chief Scientist at the Buffalo Museum of Science. "One of the ways we are doing that is distributing solar eclipse viewing glasses, courtesy of Erie County, and making sure everyone knows the science and safety behind the eclipse, so they can enjoy this once in a lifetime experience."
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Meanwhile, many local municipalities are also gearing up for April 8 when the the Moon is set to completely obscure the Sun, providing about three minutes and 45 seconds of total darkness for many in the path of totality.
"The planning for this across Western New York, and obviously anywhere along the lines of the eclipse, started a year-and-a-half ago, and one of the biggest pieces that it started with was emergency response," said North Tonawanda Mayor Austin Tylec. "In Niagara County, all of our emergency responders, coordinators, and so on have been meeting just to plan. What do we need to do? What do we need to be prepared for? That really was the big piece of it, I would say. Our fire and police chief were meeting with people in the county and so on."
One of the more attractive places to take in the Total Solar Eclipse this April will be in Niagara Falls on either side of the border.
On the American side of the Falls, Angela Berti with New York State Parks says the focus has primarily been on providing a safe and enjoyable day for people.
"We are really good at doing large scale events up here, so this is certainly falling into that category. We're working together with both of our parks staff, our operations staff, our tourism partners in Niagara Falls. We're lining up a pretty fun time," said Berti in an interview with WBEN.
Across the U.S.-Canada border, Niagara Falls, Ontario Mayor Jim Diodati knows just how unique and special this celestial event is set to be. That's why he's expecting April 8 to be a historic day for not just Niagara Falls, but also for Southern Ontario and all of Western New York.
"People will be coming here in caravans to take it in. There's a lot of people, surprisingly, who will travel to these types of events," said Diodati during a conversation with WBEN. "As a matter of fact, we've got a major U.S. documentary group that are telling us you should expect 8-9 times the biggest crowd you've ever had. The biggest crowd we've ever had goes back 11 years to Nik Wallenda walking across the Falls on a tight rope. I can tell you that day, between the Canadian and American side, we had about 150,000 people here in person. If you do the math, that'll bring upwards of a million people here at one time, which would definitely be the biggest crowd we've ever had."
National Geographic recently called Niagara Falls, Ontario the best place in the world to view the Total Solar Eclipse, which Diodati knows will be very beneficial for both sides of the Falls in the U.S. and Canada.
"We know that NASA will be working closely on the American side. On our side, we'll have the Canadian Space Agency here, we'll have all major media. I'm getting calls from media around the world, they know how big this is going to be. And when something happens in Niagara Falls, it seems to have a bigger impact than anywhere else," Diodati said.
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While Diodati is expecting more than 1 million people to flock to Niagara Falls to view the eclipse, Erie County has been expecting and preparing for a similar number of people to flock into the area come April 8.
With that in mind, several schools and other businesses across the entire region have already closed for the day to prepare for the massive arrival of many in the days leading up to the eclipse.
In North Tonawanda, city officials are even looking as far as closing down other public buildings and facilities ahead of what's to come on April 8.
"We've been toying around with this idea of do we close some of our municipal or publicly accessed buildings here? We haven't made a decision yet, but again, it goes to, do we want more people driving around to-and-from the city? There's a lot of moving parts, and we're trying to gather as much information," Tylec said.
A large reason for this possibility in North Tonawanda, as well as other municipalities in Western New York, is because of what could happen on some major roadways when the eclipse starts happening.
"We fear people are just going to stop in the middle of the road, get out of their car and start looking up," Tylec said. "We're really trying to figure out, what auxiliary or police, fire do we need in place to just keep things flowing or navigate them? Safety is going to be our biggest concern in the end here, and I think that goes for every mayor or supervisor in Western New York."
While many cities and other locations locally and nationally are scheduling viewing parties and other gatherings for the Total Solar Eclipse on April 8, experts like Dr. Schreiber are recommending for residents if they have no plans to go anywhere for the eclipse, it's just fine to stay right at home.
"We encourage people to stay at, or close to home," Dr. Schreiber said. "What's great about this event is it can be viewed from your own backyard if you have a clear view of the Southwest sky. It's really accessible, or can be accessible to everyone in our region if you have the proper tools like those solar eclipse glasses or other type of viewing device."
Despite the happenings that may be going on in their locality, local leaders echo the sentiment of the professionals when viewing the eclipse.
"Simply put, it's going to be very, very busy. It's like during a snowstorm: You tell people if you don't need to go out, stay home," Diodati said. "Make sure you have everything you need for the day, make sure your fridge is full and the kids have got a lot of activities planned. You can take it in from your backyard. I know some people have said the weather, we don't know what the weather's going to be. Certainly it's going to get very dark, whether it's cloudy or not. It's going to get very dark, and nature reacts and knows what's going to happen."
On the American side of the Falls, Berti says state officials are working with law enforcement partners locally to ensure traffic is as seamless as possible.
"We're looking at ways to extend people's stays here in the Falls. Maybe they'll stay another night, not getting cars and drive out of town right away and maybe spend one more night here," she said. "A lot of us remember the Nik Wallenda walk that happened here, and at that time, that had never been done before. As we went, it was just really working as a team to make sure we were making the right call on things. It's kind of the same playbook we're employing for this as well. How do we work together as a community to make sure that people come and have a great time, and take away great memories?"
Leaders are also recommending if you can hang out with friends or family at someone's home, they're also encouraged to do so, if they time things out properly.
As for those who may be thinking about taking in the solar eclipse at a local event in Western New York, Dr. Schreider encourage anyone to make plans and finalize those plans well in advance.
"Realize there will be traffic and probably many more people in the area than we are used to. And prepare to potentially be at that location for an extended period of time, or in traffic for a period of time," Dr. Schreiber said.
"They can expect to be at their location for a period of time, potentially a few hours."
Mayor Diodati adds this is an event you definitely do not want to wait until the last minute to make a decision on, or just decide to fly by the seat of your pants.
"Don't just wake up in the morning and say, 'Hey, let's go,' because you're going to be very disappointed. Plan right now what you want to do," he said. "Order your [glasses] today so that even if you're in your house as a family, you could take it in in a safe way, and make it a fun event. And make sure your food's in the house, you're ready to go, and know where you're going to be. Because unless you're on a bicycle, you're not going to be going to many places that day."
So what other advise does Dr. Schreiber have for anyone taking in the Total Solar Eclipse in two months?
"We know April in the greater Buffalo region can be kind of all over the place, so prepare for the weather," Dr. Schreiber noted. "We're all hoping for beautiful sunny weather, it could be that you need sunscreen if you're outside for a few hours."
And, again, don't forget your certified eclipse viewing glasses!
"The ones that, of course, we are distributing, courtesy of Erie County, are certified and safe for direct viewing," Dr. Schreiber reiterated. "Another important point for people who are viewing the eclipse is they need filters for any sort of cameras or binoculars or telescopes that they may be using to view the eclipse. It is dangerous to look through those without the certified filters made specifically for those devices."
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In North Tonawanda, Mayor Tylec has been in discussion with the city's Parks and Rec director what to do for the solar eclipse, and any additional coordination that may go into accommodating for residents to take in the once in a lifetime event.
As of now, plans are in the works to, more-or-less, secure or navigate Gratwick Park along River Road for an eclipse-viewing event.
"Our Parks Department plans to hold a list of vendors, food vendors, music, activities, games, and so on - I think we're calling it the 'Blackout Bash in NT'," Tylec noted. "We will be charging for parking, and we'll be putting out notices about that, just to keep it coordinated so we don't have thousands of vehicles there. And we're going to be working with Gratwick Firehose and parking there as well, and they'll have a shuttle system of sorts there."
In Niagara Falls, New York, Berti says the state park is no stranger to hosting large events for people in the past. She says the park's plan is for people to arrive early on that Monday to grab a good spot somewhere to get the best views, weather pending, of course.
"We're expecting Terrapin Point to sort of be a really popular viewing area. So come early, come prepared, keep an eye on the weather, maybe bring some snacks and layers of clothing. In April, we could have snow, we could have 80s. We don't know," Berti said. "Certainly we'd love to have Western New Yorkers come, bring your patience, bring your safety glasses you can get, and we'll see you there. It'll be a lot of fun."
On the Canadian side of the Falls, Mayor Diodati and the city is preparing for one of the biggest celebrations with the massive influx of visitors from both sides of the border.
"We're gonna have entertainment, we're gonna have a big stage set up in front of the Falls. We've ordered significant numbers of glasses. We're gonna have a lot of preparation so that people can take it in in a safe way, and turn it into more of a festival atmosphere so that people don't immediately leave right after," Diodati detailed. "We're gonna have the entertainment so it's a gradual way for people to leave, because the last thing we want is major congestion in all directions. We know what it's like New Year's Eve, this is going to be significantly bigger with significantly more people."
While there has not been an announcement of who will provide the entertainment for guests yet, Diodati says it will be appropriate for all ages.
"We've been in touch with Guinness, we're gonna have Guinness people here from the U.K., who will be judging. We plan on breaking, at least, one Guinness World Record, so we'll be here to watch it and take it in," he said. "And we're going to turn it into a fun event the way Niagara Falls does. We take neat things, and we turn them into really neat things."