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Expert; Eclipse won't be total in McCook, but still 'incredible'
McCOOK, Neb. — As Nebraska and the U.S. gear up for the total solar eclipse on Monday, Aug. 21, McCook will not be left in the dark, said a noted Pennsylvania professor.
Despite not being in the “path of totality” — a diagonal path across 14 states where the eclipse will travel and be seen completely — McCook will definitely see a difference when it occurs, weather permitting, said David Hurd, Ph.D., professor of geosciences and planetarium director at Edinboro University at Edinboro, Pa.
McCook will see 98 percent coverage of the sun being blocked by the moon, Hurd said, with the area “easing” into semi-darkness and then easing out of it.
In McCook, Hurd calculated that the eclipse will gradually start by 11:30 a.m., achieve maximum darkness by 12:55 p.m. and be completely over by 2:23 p.m. The best time to see the eclipse will be between 12:45 and 1:05 p.m.
As the world’s source of light is obscured, the temperature will drop slightly, street lights may kick on and insects and other animals will go into their night time routine, Hurd said.
“It will be totally worth it in McCook, it will be incredible,” said Hurd, formerly the junior high physical science teacher in McCook from 1986 to 1990.
Hurd booked himself a room in Grand Island back in January in anticipation of the event and said he didn’t doubt that the state would be filled with visitors.
“People are going to be surprised at how crazy it gets,” he said.
Central Elementary and some high school students at McCook Public Schools are planning to travel to nearby areas in the eclipse path, said McCook Schools Superintendent Grand Norgaard. Teachers at their discretion may take individual classes outside to see the eclipse, but only if certified eye ware is used, he said. According to Jamie Mockry, executive director of the McCook Area Chamber of Commerce, eclipse glasses will be donated to McCook Schools and St. Patrick School, in partnership with High Plains Radio who sold sponsorships.
Because Nebraska has low population and wide open spaces, Hurd said it is prime viewing for the eclipse. Figures have ranged between 200,000 to 400,000 for the number of visitors expected.
Being called by some as “The Great American Eclipse,” the path in the U.S. will start in Oregon and end in Charleston, S.C., for a total of one hour, 33 minutes and 16.8 seconds, according to www.eclipse2017.org. In Nebraska, it will travel diagonally across 470 miles, beginning from Scottsbluff down to Falls City. The path of totality varies from town to town, with several, such as Alliance, Grand Island and Stapleton and Tryon, small communities in the Sandhills area, directly in the center of the path that will experience more than two minutes of totality. Hurd also noted that even though totality only lasts a little more than two minutes in places like North Platte, those in the path of totality and even those in McCook can witness the partial eclipse for over two hours.
Much of the eclipse path covers Interstate 80, with Gov. Pete Ricketts announcing at a July 31 news conference that extra Nebraska State Patrol and other agencies will be on duty that day to help direct traffic. Concerns vary, from travelers on I-80 stopping on the shoulder to view the eclipse and the massive amount of traffic expected.
The City of McCook has been booked for several months for that Sunday and Monday, according to front desk employees at local motels.
And calls keep coming in, said Alicia Berry of the 54-room Cobblestone Hotel and Suites. Berry said she recently had to turn away a bus tour of people wanting rooms in McCook for those two days.
“We’re getting calls every day, wanting to know if we have rooms,” Berry said. “North Platte is full, so I’m thinking people are moving in this direction now.”
It’s the same at the Chief Motel and Horse Creek Inn. Levi Doris, front desk reservationist at the Chief, said he’s received calls from all over the United States about booking rooms for those two days. With all 84 rooms reserved, those occupancy days have been removed from its website, he said.
“We’re excited but we’re booked every weekend anyway so we’re used to it,” Doris said.
Carol Schlegel, Red Willow County Visitors Bureau director, says McCook is at the right place at the right time.
“The state has advertised quite a bit for the eclipse and McCook is getting the overflow from North Platte,” Schlegel said. It’s really the best of both worlds, she said, as more than the usual number of tourists will eat and sleep here but no local dollars were spent on advertising.
The use of proper eye wear cannot be over-emphasized when viewing the eclipse, Hurd said, so “buy your glasses, it’s worth it.”
He, along with thousands of others, will also be in need of something else very important on Aug. 21: clear skies.
The last eclipse seen in the U.S was in 1979, with the next one with a visible U.S. path in 2024. The last time an eclipse like this was seen coast to coast in the U.S. was nearly 100 years ago, on June 8, 1918.