WORLAND - While Worland is not in the path of the total solar eclipse coming Aug. 21, Worland-Ten Sleep Chamber Executive Director Jenn Rasmussen is asking residents and businesses to be prepared for an influx of visitors.

Rasmussen met with Washakie County Homeland Security Director Jeff Schweighart, Washakie County Sheriff Steve Rakness and an officer from the Worland Police Department a few weeks ago regarding the impact and now she has scheduled the first public meeting at 5:15 p.m. Tuesday at the Worland Community Center Complex.

Rasmussen said she wants this first meeting to provide general information to residents and businesses that they should plan for an influx of people. She said not only is Wyoming expecting a large number of additional tourists coming to the state to view the eclipse, for Worland, the eclipse follows the annual Pepsi Wyoming BBQ Championship and Bluegrass Festival, which runs Aug. 18-19.

"We're not in the direct path but there will be extra traffic coming through," Rasmussen said.

With Thermopolis in the path of the total eclipse, Worland can also expect some spillover and some businesses are already feeling the impact.

Mike Dykman, owner of Worland RV Park and Campground said he is already full that weekend and day of the eclipse.

The Town House Motor Inn is booked Aug. 18-20.

Worland Days Inn and Comfort Inn are both out of rooms on Aug. 20 with limited availability on other nights around the day of the eclipse Aug. 21. Visitors are coming from across the country and overseas, according to the reservations.

In a meeting in Thermopolis last month about the solar eclipse, Hot Springs County Emergency Management Coordinator Bill Gordon said there is no way to accurately predict the number of people who would be coming into the area to view the, for many, once-in-a-lifetime event. "It is on record over and over again, worldwide that when these events have occurred around the world a lot of people came. A lot, come and in some cases overrun communities, so that's where we are putting our emphasis," Gordon stated.

According to Hot Springs County Chamber Executive Director Meri Ann Rush, using the prediction measures that Casper used during the governor's conference, around 4,500 people could be expected starting a few days before the total solar eclipse until the day after. She said Casper took all of their hotel rooms, camp sites, vacation rentals and multiplied it by three, and she did the same to come up with 4,500.

Having that many people come to Thermopolis will generate a drain on the community's resources and Gordon said that they are trying to plan for every issue that may or may not come up. Food and fuel shortages, public restrooms, internet service and cellular crashes were some of the concerns discussed. Also discussed was how the hospital and rescue services were preparing for high numbers of heat-related emergencies and rattlesnake bites.

Rasmussen said she wants to make sure businesses are prepared to have enough food, supplies and staff available for the influx of visitors. She said this is one item that will be discussed. There will also be a time for questions.

THE ECLIPSE

Michael Pierce, a University of Wyoming associate professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy, said, a total solar eclipse is when the moon's shadow touches the Earth and blankets portions of it in total darkness for a few moments. In essence, the sun, moon and Earth align. A person in the dark part of that shadow, known as the umbra, will see a total eclipse. A person in the light part, called the penumbra, will see a partial eclipse.

The next total solar eclipse to cross the United States is scheduled to occur Aug. 21.

The last total solar eclipse to cross the continental United States occurred Feb. 26, 1979 - more than 37 years ago. This next one will start in Oregon and move in a southeasterly direction all the way to South Carolina, Pierce says.

UW is assisting NASA's Citizen CATE (Continental-America Telescopic Eclipse) Experiment. Using 61 telescope stations across the country, including nine in Wyoming spaced approximately 50 miles apart, the project's goal is to create a continuous 90-minute movie of the solar corona during the total eclipse. Researchers and scientists hope to gain a better understanding of the sun's inner corona.

The southern part of Grand Teton National Park will be one of the best places in the entire country to view the eclipse, according to the website Eclipse2017.org. On the centerline, the park will experience 2:20 of totality at about 11:35 a.m.

The shadow will then cross Pavillion (at 11:38 a.m.), and Shoshoni and Riverton (at 11:39 a.m.) for about 2:23 before landing squarely on the city of Casper. The centerline will pass right over the intersection of Highway 220 and South Poplar Street in Casper at 11:42 a.m., and provides viewers there with 2:26 in totality.

Douglas, Glendo, Thermopolis, Lusk and Torrington are other larger Wyoming towns that will experience a total eclipse. For those who live in or will be visiting Wheatland at that time, they will be right on the southern edge of the eclipse's path and, so, the eclipse will only last a few seconds. To experience the full length of totality, people there will need to move north.

Statewide there are 12 counties that fall in the band of total eclipse - Teton, Lincoln, Sublette, Fremont, Hot Springs, Natrona, Carbon, Converse, Albany, Platte, Niobrara and Goshen.

Thermopolis falls in the band of totality, which is the area where the eclipse can be viewed in its entirety. "Totality will be at about 11:40 a.m. While we are on the edge of totality we will indeed have totality. In Thermopolis we will have about 53 seconds of total coverage. We will start to see the moon crossing in front of the sun about 10:20 that morning," Gordon said.

During portions of the eclipse where the sun is only partially covered and visible, safety glasses are advised. When it gets fully covered, meaning the moon is in front of and blocking out the sun, it will be safe to view the solar eclipse with the naked eye, Pierce said.