April 8 total solar eclipse: Texas officials warn people to stock up on food ahead of solar eclipse

Officials in one state along the path of totality for the April 8 total solar eclipse are advising residents to stock up on food and gas ahead of the event.

In an interview with KXAN in Austin, Texas, Mike Jones, Hays County, Texas’s direct of the Office of Emergency Services, said the area is expecting thousands of visitors to arrive to see the eclipse. To prepare for the crowds, Jones advised residents to stock up on groceries and fill up on gas. If they are out on the day of the eclipse, he recommends residents “pack your patience.”

According to the county’s website, residents should brace for traffic delays and crowds, as well as the possibility of delayed emergency response, interruptions to cell service and issues with credit card machines due to the influx of people.

READ MORE: Total Solar Eclipse April 8: Map shows 15 best states to see April’s total solar eclipse

Travis and Kendall counties, neighboring areas to Hays County, have issued disaster declarations ahead o the eclipse to free up funding for additional law enforcement.

The path of totality for the eclipse  – the last total solar eclipse visible from the contiguous U.S. until 2044 – will start in Mexico and move across Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, New York, Pennsylvania, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine before heading out over the North Atlantic. Small portions of Kentucky, Michigan and Tennessee will also experience almost the entirety of the eclipse.

According to NASA, a total solar eclipse happens when the moon passes between the sun and Earth, blocking the face of the sun. People along the path of totality will experience the total solar eclipse, meaning the sky will become dark as if it were dawn or dusk. Weather permitting, people along the path of totality will see the sun’s corona, our outer atmosphere, which is usually obscured by the bright face of the sun.

Depending on how close you are to the path of totality will determine what you will see and how long it will last. The longest duration of totality is 4 minutes, 28 seconds, near Torreón, Mexico. Most places along the path of totality will see the sun blocked out for between 3.5 and 4 minutes.