Region’s sky watchers eagerly await eclipse
People trek north to enjoy path of totality; closer to home, viewing parties planned
Well ahead of Monday’s historic solar eclipse, Brian Mernoff wasn’t taking any chances. He and his family booked their hotel room in Stowe, Vt., a year ago, and made the roughly 200-mile drive from Acton early Sunday morning.
Sure, if they stuck to Boston, they’d see a spectacular partial eclipse. But they wanted to see the moon completely obscure the sun. Now, there is no way they’ll miss it, said Mernoff, a 34-year-old science educator who manages MIT’s AeroAstro Communication Lab.
“I just like exploring,” he said. “A total solar eclipse is a very different way to see the sun and the moon.”
The eclipse will plunge a huge swath of the continental United States — from Texas to Maine — into darkness along its path of totality. In New England, that path cutting across northern Vermont and New Hampshire, along with much of Maine, is drawing a crush of travelers to communities all along the route.
Traffic wasn’t reported to be so bad heading up north over the weekend. But getting back home to Massachusetts, settle in for a long ride.
“We’ve been told it’s going to be like getting out of Gillette Stadium,” said Chandra Adams who drove up to South Burlington, Vt., from Newton with her family. “It’s going to be brutal, but we will deal.”
AAA is comparing travel this week to Thanksgiving or Christmas, thanks in part to overlap with spring break vacationers. And hotels are booked solid. Many of those fortunate enough to get a place to stay had to pay at least a 50 percent mark-up, according to AAA.
But the eclipse also promises to turn New England into one heck of a party. Across the region, viewing
parties are planned at ski resorts, in cities, and afterward a dance party on the shore of Lake Champlain.
In Caribou, Maine, the community of about 7,400, will open its official “Star Park” at its Recreation & Wellness Center before the city is plunged into darkness, according to the city’s Facebook page. At New Hampshire’s McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center in Concord, which will see a partial eclipse, the center will host a viewing party beginning at noon.
With the sun totally blocked by the moon, daytime turns to darkness, and a “360 degree” sunset emerges. The air gets colder, the winds change. And there’s that sight of the sun’s corona burning in the sky.
“You see a black disk in the sky, with all these wispy lines that are coming off the sun, and getting thrown off the edges,” Mernoff said. “It’s just an incredible sight.”
And for those sticking closer to Boston, while the show may not be as dramatic, there will be viewing events, such as at the Brighton Branch Library, Somerville’s Central Library, Cambridge’s Main Library, and across the state, including several state parks.
And what’s more: New England’s seemingly endless gray, dreary weather this spring should make way for blue skies Monday.
Andrew Loconto, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service’s office in Norton, said conditions across the region should look similar Monday: mostly clear skies. Some higher clouds could move in later in the day, but nothing that impacts viewing the eclipse. Temperatures should be in the mid to upper 50s and drop off a few degrees when the sun is blocked by the moon, he said.
“Conditions look good, should be generally clear skies ... overall, favorable conditions for eclipse viewing,” Loconto said.
The last time a solar eclipse’s path of totality crossed the contiguous United States was in 2017; the next one won’t be for another two decades, according to NASA. In Boston, the partial eclipse will start at 2:16 p.m., and reach its peak at 3:29 p.m.
In Burlington, Vt., where a full eclipse will occur, the event begins at 2:14 p.m. The total eclipse will last about three minutes, starting from 3:26 p.m., according to NASA’s Eclipse Explorer. The total eclipse will also last about three minutes in places like Colebrook, N.H., and Houlton, Maine.
Amy Tatko, a spokesperson for Vermont’s Agency of Transportation, said state officials estimate as many as 160,000 people and 60,000 vehicles will be entering Vermont from out of state for Monday’s eclipse. Over the weekend, there was also increased traffic on northbound highways, she said.
State officials recommended people sign up for real-time alerts by texting VTECLIPSE to 888777 to receive notifications related to the eclipse in Vermont, according to the state’s Agency of Transportation.
“If your family or friends are visiting for the eclipse, encourage them to be prepared for delays or stay longer to avoid anticipated traffic. If they must leave right away, help them find an alternate route on smaller highways or local roads,” the agency said.
AAA expects traffic across New England — particularly the major routes toward cities along the path of totality —to break records for this week in the month of April, according to Mark Schieldrop, a AAA spokesperson.
In New Hampshire, that state’s transportation agency recommended people plan their trip with newengland511.org, so they would receive up-todate traffic information about their routes, including traffic and road closures.
For Tim Adler, 47, who drove up with his wife and their three children from Newton Centre to watch the eclipse with friends in Magog, Quebec, the long drive will be worth it.
It’s been a long time coming. His teenage son noted the date of the eclipse on the family calendar two years ago. “We were always going,” Adler said.
“I think it’s going to be a memory for the kids, and a fun road trip,” Adler said. “And so far, the weather’s beautiful.”
‘You see a black disk in the sky, with all these wispy lines that are coming off the sun. . . . It’s just an incredible sight.’ BRIAN MERNOFF, who plans to view a total eclipse in Stowe, Vt.