Mark your calendar: Total solar eclipse on April 8, 2024

Community planners across Ohio are talking about getting ready for the April 8, 2024 solar eclipse that is expected to draw tourists along a "path of totality" that will stretch from Texas to Maine.

Solarsystem.nasa.gov lists Cleveland, Ohio as having a maximum effect at 3:15 p.m. EDT on 4/8/2024 and the website https://eclipse2024.org/eclipse_cities/statemap.html shows nearby Forest, Ohio as being precisely in the middle of the path of totality. 

Not only can area residents expect great viewing of the event, they should also anticpate solar eclipse tourism. Weather and highway accessibility were noted as factors in 2017 solar eclipse tourism, with many individuals making spur of the moment decisions about where to travel. Booming business for restaurants and hotels should result, as well as congested roads and high demand for public bathrooms.