Eclipse

KC topics that don't fit anywhere else.
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Roanoker
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Re: T minus 10 years (Solar Eclipse of 2017) - Totality in KC!

Post by Roanoker »

swid wrote:I'm a little biased, but if I was planning to find a near-optimal spot that's less than a day's drive away, I'd go to the Nebraska Sandhills. Wide open spaces and a very good chance of clear skies in August.
My son agrees with you. However, he said that roads in that area are sparse, and it is difficult to find a place to pull off. He reminded me of a time when we drove through the Sandhills and experienced said difficulty. He prefers places with denser road networks, affording greater navigability.
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Re: T minus 10 years (Solar Eclipse of 2017) - Totality in KC!

Post by grovester »

mean wrote:Hard to believe this forum is almost 20 years old. Sheesh. In no time we'll have to buy it a beer.
First round's on me.
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Re: T minus 10 years (Solar Eclipse of 2017) - Totality in KC!

Post by flyingember »

https://www.citylab.com/life/2017/08/th ... se/535740/

The sun is basically creating one giant disaster preparation scenario across the US
“We have a playbook that we follow for big events,” said Chris Hernandez, a spokesman for Kansas City, Missouri. “Just a few years ago, we won the World Series [and had] about 800,000 people crowded into downtown for one day.”
Quoting the single biggest event in KC history shows just how serious the city is taking things and that seemed like an exaggeration except the hits kept coming
Gridlocks are expected across the U.S. for several days before and after the eclipse.

“It is similar to what would happen for an evacuation for a hurricane,” said Howard Duvall, councilman for Columbia, South Carolina.

To help the public grasp the size of these traffic jams, Duvall said it’s easier, and less frightening to compare the impact to a football game, even if no football game aside from the Super Bowl can really get close to the scale of traffic. “This is going to be like having 10 Carolina-Clemson football games on the same day,” Duvall said.
Regular deliveries might also get stuck in transit, so grocery stores, gas stations and even hospitals have to think about supply chain concerns in the weeks before eclipse travelers get on the road.

Hospitals have begun ordering extra medicine for their patients for that week, plus some supplies to treat an influx of minor injuries that go hand-in-hand with large crowds, like heat stroke.

Gas stations have been warned to keep up with supply that week, Kelley said. “We certainly don’t want a run on gas,” she said.
Cell phone service and smartphone internet are expected to be unavailable inside the path of totality due to the large concentration of people. So visitors should go old-school and print out directions and reservations for hotels and campsites.

City officials will need to know how to access emergency channels. Cell phone companies are beefing up their network capacity for emergency responders, but not increasing capacity for commercial use, according to a Verizon spokesperson.
Some visitors may be inclined to stand on top of parking garages to get the best view, said Duvall, who has a background in hardware supply management. But due to the weight distribution of people versus cars, he cautioned that in a particularly extreme scenario, hundreds of people standing on a parking garage could cause a collapse.
Some responders will turn to more outdated technology. Brad Kieserman, Vice President for Disaster Operations and Logistics for the American Red Cross, said the Red Cross will rely on ham radio to communicate with their staff and volunteers.
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Eclipse

Post by Highlander »

I've heard that nearly all the hotels are booked in KC for Monday's eclipse. Any evidence of tourists being there in droves?
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Re: Eclipse

Post by missingkc »

In June, I reserved two rental cars at KCI for pickup Sunday the 20th. I cancelled one of them immediately. I forgot that I had done that and cancelled the second reservation about a week ago. I realized my mistake and called back immediately to stop the cancellation or make a new reservation. My $340 rental was now going to cost me $650 and the few remaining cars were going fast. Got around it, I think, by renting in Northtown. I'll see if they have my $309 car on Monday morning or not.
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Re: Eclipse

Post by earthling »

Weather forecast not looking good up north, cloudy to possible thunderstorm in afternoon.
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Re: Eclipse

Post by WSPanic »

I heard the last few rooms at the new Courtyard were going for $350/night.

Anyone venturing up North from the city? There's a lot of talk about traffic being crazy. We're not sure where we're headed yet.

By the way, we really should be using this thread... http://kcrag.com/viewtopic.php?f=51&t=1 ... it=eclipse
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Re: T minus 10 years (Solar Eclipse of 2017) - Totality in KC!

Post by grovester »

We'll be camping in Slater MO this evening. Weather is looking iffy, chance of rain and clouds, but hopefully not a complete bust.

I'll post a road review later.
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Re: T minus 10 years (Solar Eclipse of 2017) - Totality in KC!

Post by DaveKCMO »

WSPanic wrote:By the way, we really should be using this thread... http://kcrag.com/viewtopic.php?f=51&t=1 ... it=eclipse
merged.
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Roanoker
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Re: Eclipse

Post by Roanoker »

My son drove all night to a small town in Kentucky after studying weather patterns all over the country. He insists on seeing the corona. Happy Eclipse, everyone!
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beautyfromashes
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Re: Eclipse

Post by beautyfromashes »

What time does the eclipse start? How long does it take for the whole cycle?
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Re: Eclipse

Post by brewcrew1000 »

beautyfromashes wrote:What time does the eclipse start? How long does it take for the whole cycle?

I think it starts around 1030 our time and ends around 230 with the totality in the 1:00-1:15 range
swid
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Re: Eclipse

Post by swid »

The whole event takes about 3 hours. For areas around KC, the partial eclipse starts around 11:40, totality is a little after 1, and it’s over around 2:35.

(Edit: NASA has a nice interactive map.)
herrfrank
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Re: Eclipse

Post by herrfrank »

Thunderstorms rolling in now at 9am. Hoping they keep moving to the northeast...
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Re: Eclipse

Post by JLowe2018 »

Highlander wrote:I've heard that nearly all the hotels are booked in KC for Monday's eclipse. Any evidence of tourists being there in droves?
I drove along I-29 near the airport and every hotel along it had completely full parking lots and many RVs too. That's something I've never seen before in my twice daily drive, so I guess so.

It's nice to see Kansas City packed full of visiters! :D
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Re: Eclipse

Post by brewcrew1000 »

St Joesph seemed to be a total bust
mean
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Re: Eclipse

Post by mean »

Totality was short here, and a bit cloudy, but I managed to get a phone shot: http://i.imgur.com/TWVyie6.jpg

I guess it's not really totality, it never actually got completely dark, but whatever. It looks kinda neat.
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beautyfromashes
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Re: Eclipse

Post by beautyfromashes »

Totality and no clouds in Midtown. Streetlights on and animals freaking out.
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Re: Eclipse

Post by JBmidtown »

I was at the Town of Kansas bridge (which was obnoxiously blocked off) and, damn, the slight cloud cover actually HELPED the mood. That was incredible.
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Re: Eclipse

Post by pash »

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Last edited by pash on Thu Sep 21, 2017 5:52 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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