LLANO, Texas — With a little over a month to go before the 2024 total solar eclipse on April 8, some Texas communities in the path of totality worry about a strain on local resources as an influx of visitors pour in to catch the solar phenomenon.

What You Need To Know

  • Ahead of the total solar eclipse in April, Llano Mayor Marion Bishop is advising residents to hunker down and stock up food and supplies

  • Bishop said purchasing supplies and groceries ahead of time gives retailers time to restock goods before the influx of visitors from out of town

  • Bishop also urged residents to be aware of increased traffic in the area and to be prepared to stay home for a few days as the congestion passes

  • Last week, officials in Belton County — located less than an hour north of Austin — issued a disaster declaration ahead of the phenomenon citing extreme traffic congestion and a strain on first responders, groceries and fuel

Residents in Llano, located about an hour and a half northeast of Austin, have already been warned.

In a post to Facebook, Llano Mayor Marion Bishop told residents to hunker down and stock up on food and supplies to prepare for the eclipse.

Bishop advised residents to make sure they have two weeks’ worth of groceries, a full gas tank, filled prescriptions and any other necessary supplies by April 1 — one week before the eclipse.

Bishop said purchasing supplies and groceries ahead of time gives retailers time to restock goods before the influx of visitors from out of town. The mayor also urged residents to be aware of increased traffic in the area and to be prepared to stay home for a few days as the congestion passes.

“We are just a little over a month out now and ready or not, here it comes. As I told the crowd gathered at the Lantex last week, as long as you know what is coming, what to expect and what to do, we will be alright and make it through this once in a lifetime event,” Bishop wrote.

Llano isn’t the only Texas town where residents are preparing for the worst. Last week, officials in Belton County — located less than an hour north of Austin — issued a disaster declaration ahead of the phenomenon citing extreme traffic congestion and a strain on first responders, groceries and fuel.

On Monday, April 8, the total solar eclipse will pass over Mexico, through Texas and the Midwest and all the way up to Maine.

This year’s solar eclipse will be in a larger path of totality than when it occurred in 2017. According to NASA, as the eclipse becomes visible in Texas, totality will last approximately 4 minutes and 26 seconds. In 2017, the longest period of totality was 2 minutes and 42 seconds.