Authorities reported on Monday, April 8th that there was a road that was going to be delayed or closed due to the solar eclipse.
A solar eclipse occurs when the moon passes between the sun and the Earth. The sun becomes obscured, or hidden, and places a shadow on the Earth. This happened previously in 2017, so viewers were fortunate to see two eclipses this close together, and in some places in the same area!
Thousands of people were forced to stop and turn their cars off and wait until the eclipse was over to make their way home. The states that closed or delayed highways were Texas, Ohio, Illinois, Michigan, Indiana, Vermont, and New Hampshire. In particular, Indiana posted a video that showed backups forming on Interstate 65 headed toward Indianapolis. The places where the path of the eclipse took place were central Mexico, parts of Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri, Kentucky, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, and southern Canada. As if the confusion of the eclipse wasn’t enough, many places were also impacted by flooding in some areas due to severe storms that swept across the United States.
The whole eclipse was able to be viewed across approximately 115 miles and through 13 states. The next solar eclipse is expected to occur on August 23, 2044. The best places to see the next eclipse will be southern Chile and southern Argentina.
Bourbon County Schools, alongside other schools, were dismissed to provide students and families the opportunity to view the eclipse. When interviewing Mrs. Cindy Mendoza she stated that she saw it at her house, but could barely see it because it was cloudy and it was about to rain, so the clouds covered the eclipse. Many other viewers had similar experiences across the United States. Hopefully, when the next eclipse occurs, we can hope for better weather!
