Thousands of people are expected to descend on New Hampshire for the total solar eclipse in just one week, but the major tourism draw is prompting some major traffic concerns.
“We’re telling people do not stop on the highways and do not stop on the other roads as well.” Richard Arcand of the New Hampshire Department of Transportation told NBC10 Boston Monday. “You may see snow, you’re probably going to see mud, so if you pull over onto a soft shoulder, you may get stuck in that mud.”
Arcand said the New Hampshire Department of Transportation is treating this like a major holiday weekend – with an estimated 20,000 people heading to the most northern part of the state.
“If it is going to be bright and sunny, which is what we’re hoping for, then yes we’re going to see quite a few travelers, but we just don’t know where they’re going,” Arcand said.
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Officials are expecting heavy traffic on the roadways, so they’re urging people to plan ahead and pick a destination rather than pull over on major highways or small country roads to watch it.
“This total solar eclipse travel that we’re seeing right now – the booking data the hotel prices and the overall activity we’re seeing on our travel business here at AAA – it’s similar to what we see for Thanksgiving and Christmas,” said Mark Schieldrop of AAA Northeast.
Scientists have a narrow window of time to look closely at the corona of our sun on April 8. NASA plans to fly two planes into the stratosphere with five special instruments onboard to be prepared for when the moon blocks out the sun. National climate reporter Chase Cain visits Johnson Space Center for an early look at what scientists hope to learn during the total eclipse.
Meanwhile, there is little to no lodging availability in the path of totality, where hotel prices are up about 50%, according to AAA Northeast.
“We know that the whole state will be at least 95% totality if not total totality,” New Hampshire Tourism Director Lori Harnois said. “Anecdotally we are seeing about 10,000 overnight rooms up in our great Northwoods area of the state that are primarily sold out.”
Officials are encouraging anyone thinking of heading north to go to NHsolareclipse.com for more information.
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2024 solar eclipse: NH officials warn visitors not to get stuck in mud
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