Local officials and others are ready for the solar eclipse on Monday

LANCASTER− Monday will be a big day across Ohio as people will gather to watch the solar eclipse.

The eclipse will enter western Ohio about 3:10 p.m. near the city of Greenville in Darke County, according to a NASA map. The path of the eclipse will travel northeast, reaching Cleveland by 3:15 p.m. Viewers in the path of totality will see the full eclipse for nearly four minutes.

The Fairfield County District Library's main Lancaster branch will host a viewing party from 1:45 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. to watch the eclipse like it did for a 2017 solar eclipse.

"We have saved back some glasses for that day for people to be able to safely view the eclipse," library director Becky Schaade said. "And if the weather doesn't cooperate we're going to stream from somewhere where it is cooperating."

She said the 2017 eclipse party went well

"It was great," Schaade said. "It was a great atmosphere. People were really excited about it. It was so much fun we decided to do it again."

She said the library presented educational programs about the eclipse leading up it, as did the city parks department.

The watch party will be only at the main library branch at 219 N. Broad St. There are no viewing parties set for the other branches.

The city parks department doesn't have anything special for the event. However, parks superintendent Steve Gayfield said the parks will be open and that the city encourages everyone to follow park rules and regulations and be safe during the eclipse and for any park activity.

Fairfield County Emergency Management Agency Director Jon Kochis said the local area is in the 98% totality range of the eclipse.

"Still a pretty good show," he said. "But not the best it can be."

Kochis he's had meetings with various local officials to act in a support role. He said there could be an increase in traffic as people travel to the prime viewing spots in the state to view the eclipse. Kochis did not know how much traffic may be coming through.

Kochis said most of the traffic should be on U.S. 33 and Ohio 37.

"We frequently handle events that draw 20,000 people to the area," he said. "Like the Lancaster Festival. We're good at managing large crowds. I don't see this as much different, other than the population is traveling through. We don't anticipate any people will stay here to watch it, other than our locals."

Kochis said anywhere someone can see the sky is a good place to watch the eclipse.

"We anticipate most people will take a moment out of their day and see what they're going to see," he said. "We've been coordinating with the Department of Natural Resources, and a lot of those special events are happening kind of in the northeast area."

For those watching eclipse, Kochis said to wear the appropriate eye protection.

jbarron@gannett.com

740-681-4340

Twitter/X: @JeffDBarron

This article originally appeared on Lancaster Eagle-Gazette: The solar eclipse has officials ready for possible traffic influx