Fill up your gas tank and prepare to wait. Some tips to prepare for April's total solar eclipse

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Small towns and rural enclaves along the path of April's total solar eclipse are steeling for huge crowds of sun chasers who plan to catch a glimpse of day turning into dusk in North America. Look no further back than the last U.S. total solar eclipse in 2017 to understand the concern, said Tom Traub, who is part of NASA's eclipse ambassador program. "And hopefully that won’t be the case.” CELLPHONES MIGHT NOT WORK In central Texas, emergency officials in Hays County recommend a "solar eclipse survival bag” stocked with items including a mobile phone and charger. Traub suggests people treat the eclipse like a snowstorm: “Stock up, get ready, prepare to hunker down.” At Serafin’s Food Market in Erie, Pennsylvania, owner Dan Serafin is ordering extra milk, eggs, water and batteries in preparation.