Eclipse-mania hits Arkansas, weather could cloud views

Thousands of visitors are in the state for rare celestial phenomenon

By Ralph Hardin

news@theeveningtimes.com

You’re probably either super excited about the solar eclipse taking place today or super ready to stop hearing about it.

Either way, today is the day, as millions of spectators will be lined up across the central United States for what promises to be a spectacular astronomical event — if the weather cooperates.

There is cloudy weather in the forecast but that won’t deter folks from looking up to the skies beginning around 12:30 p.m. today as the Moon crosses directly between the Earth and the Sun — and Arkansas has a front row seat for the rare convergence.

As many as a million visitors are in The Natural State today for the event, meaning a huge injection of revenue for Arkansas restaurants, hotels and entertainment venues.

The “totality” (the full coverage of the view of the Sun by the Moon) will only be viewable from a few locations for today’s eclipse and Arkansas is one of those areas.

While Crittenden County isn’t in the estimated “totality” range, locally we are still expe cted to have about an 85% totality at the peak of the eclipse, which should be around 2 p.m. local time.

Of course, to make sure you get the most out of your eclipse viewing with the proper level of safety, you will need to watch the event with a pair of official safety glasses. To get a pair, you can head out to Tilden Rodgers Park at noon for the community eclipse viewing party, hosted by the West Memphis Parks & Recreation Department. A large crowd is expected to be on hand to observe the event.

If you want to experience the “totality” to maximum effect, you’ll need to head toward central Arkansas, where Little Rock, Searcy, Conway and other communities are hosting large eclipse-related events of their own, but you might want to leave early as thousands of other skyward spectators will be heading that way as well, and traffic is expected to be heavy in the morning as folks make their way down I-40 and other major routes for the event, which should be completed by around 3:20 p.m.

Many schools are also hosting eclipse watch parties.

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