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Indiana did not see an influx of traffic on solar eclipse day like predicted. What happened?

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Indiana did not see an influx of traffic on solar eclipse day like predicted. What happened?


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Indiana State Police expected thousands of visitors to view the total solar eclipse. Governor Eric Holcomb even signed and emergency order. But the state didn’t see nearly the number of tourists expected.

The April 8 solar eclipse was predicted to be big day for Indiana tourism, and while in many ways it still was, the crowds were not what local officials predicted.

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Here’s what happened during the 2024 total solar eclipse.

Read more from the Herald-Times: Eclipse day was sunny in Indiana. Where were the crowds?

Bloomington’s numbers were lower than expected

Instead of 300,000 spectators, as multiple officials projected, Bloomington saw tens of thousands, according to early estimates, The Herlad-Times reported.

While the smaller-than-expected crowds enabled the city to escape snarled traffic, the overestimates also kept some Bloomington residents from leaving their homes and attending the local events, including those at Switchyard Park and Memorial Stadium.

At the Bloomington Police Department, officers of all ranks were scheduled to work 12-hour shifts. But they were cut to 10 hours as the day progressed and the anticipated crowds failed to appear.

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Nashville also saw lower numbers than predicted

Between 50,000 and 100,000 eclipse viewers were expected in Nashville and Brown County, an estimated 20,000 showed up.

Indianapolis saw the most tourists, but still lower than estimated

Indiana State Police told IndyStar in March they were expecting about as much traffic for the eclipse as the city sees for the Indy 500, which can be anywhere from 200,000 to 250,000 visitors.

Clare Clark, senior communications manager for Visit Indy, confirmed that Indianapolis welcomed 125,000 visitors for the eclipse, with representation from all 50 states and 35 countries.

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Why was solar eclipse viewing attendance lower than expected?

According to NASA, the path of totality for this year’s eclipse was between 108 and 122 miles wide, or about 72% wider, at the high end, than the eclipse in 2017. This year, about 31.6 million people lived in the path of totality, compared with 12 million in 2017.

The eclipse this year also passed over “more cities and densely populated areas” than in 2017, NASA said.

That meant people had more options as to where to travel, reducing the likelihood of congestion for any particular area.

Several Indiana cities had reported chances of cloud cover during the eclipse, which may have also been a reason less tourists came to Indiana, but neither Indianapolis or Bloomington ended up having any clouds block the view of the solar event.

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Schools being closed for the day also helped reduce normal traffic in cities.

Local events, tourism still saw success despite fewer visitors than planned

Despite getting fewer visitors than planned, several cities in the state still saw great success.

Airbnb said Indianapolis was the #1 most booked destination within the path of totality and there was a virtual sell-out of hotel rooms on Sunday night ahead of the eclipse, Visit Indy said.

Visit Indy also broke their record for the most website traffic in a single day on the day of the eclipse, meaning tourists and locals were looking for things to do.

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Mike McAfee, executive director of Visit Bloomington, said hotels and short-term rentals were “near capacity,” though he won’t have final data until later this month.

IU spokesman Mark Bode said the university hosted “tens of thousands of visitors and students across at least seven separate events,” including “nearly 10,000” at Memorial Stadium.

Katie Wiseman is a trending news intern at IndyStar. Contact her at klwiseman@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter @itskatiewiseman.





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Indianapolis, IN

Pirates farm report for April 18, 2026: Rafael Flores Jr. hits 1st homer in Indianapolis win

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Pirates farm report for April 18, 2026: Rafael Flores Jr. hits 1st homer in Indianapolis win


INDIANAPOLIS (Triple A, 6-14) thumped Omaha (Royals), 11-3. 1B Rafael Flores Jr. (.206) went 2 for 3 with a double, his first home run, two runs scored and three RBIs. LF Tyler Callihan (.239) went 3 for 4 with a double and his first homer, a two-run shot. DH Enmanuel Valdez (.273) went 2 for 4 with his first homer and three runs scored. RF Esmerlyn Valdez (.258) went 2 for 5 with two doubles and a run scored. SS Davis Wendzel (.269) went 1 for 3 with a double, two walks, two runs scored and two RBIs. RHP Carson Fulmer (2-0, 5.51) started, gave up three runs on three hits in five innings and earned the win. RHP Chris Devenski (1.50) and LHP Joe La Sorsa (3.24) each pitched two scoreless innings.

Next: Sunday at Omaha (Royals), 3:05 p.m.

ALTOONA (Double-A, 2-12) had two hits – both solo home runs – and beat Portland (Red Sox), 2-0. LHP Dominic Perachi (1-0, 1.80) started and went six innings, allowing three hits and two walks with three strikeouts. RHP Landon Tomkins (3.38) followed with two scoreless. RHP Jaycob Deese (3.00) worked the ninth for his first save. LF Titus Dumitru (.146) went 1 for 3 with his second homer. C Shawn Ross (.182) went 1 for 3 with his second homer.

Next: Sunday vs. Portland (Red Sox), 1 p.m.

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GREENSBORO (High-A, 10-4) lost 8-3 to Brooklyn (Mets). C Easton Carmichael (.273) went 2 for 4 with an RBI. RF Shalin Polanco (.250) went 1 for 3 with a stolen base and an RBI. 1B Jared Jones (.277) went 2 for 5 with a run scored. RHP Carlson Reed (0-1, 7.36) started, recorded one out and gave up four runs on two hits and four walks. RHP Jose Garces (3.60) pitched two scoreless innings.

Next: Sunday at Brooklyn (Mets), 2 p.m.

BRADENTON (Low-A, 5-9) allowed seven stolen bases in its 6-5 loss to Tampa (Yankees). CF Edward Florentino, starting a rehab assignment as he recovers from an ankle injury, went 1 for 3 with a walk, double and run scored. LHP Reinold Navarro (6.43) started and gave up three hits, four walks and two earned runs over three innings while striking out five. SS/1B Eddie Rynders (.128) went 2 for 4 with a double and an RBI. DH Edgleen Perez (.238) went 1 for 4 and drove in two runs. LF/CF Josh Tate (.208) went 2 for 5 with an RBI. 2B/SS Antonio Pimentel (.154) went 2 for 4 with a double. RHP Greiber Mendez (5.40) and RHP Noah Murdock (0-1, 9.00), who took the loss, each gave up two hits and one run in one inning. RHP Treyson Peters pitched the final three innings, allowing five hits, one earned run and one walk while striking out two.

Next: Sunday at Tampa (Yankees), noon

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Indianapolis, IN

The Zone Extra | April 18, 2026

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The Zone Extra | April 18, 2026


INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — It was another busy week in high school sports in central Indiana and ‘The Zone Extra’ has it all covered.

Athlete of the week and Guerin Catholic senior outfielder Ian Taylor is off to a scorching hot start to the young season. Check out his interview as well as Guerin Catholic head coach Dave Schrage talk about Taylor’s success.

The Johnson County baseball tournament came to a close. See highlights from Center Grove’s tournament victory.

The 4A baseball coaches poll was released as well as the 3A softball coaches poll.

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The former Columbus North gymnastics coach, John Hinds, passed away at 88 years old.

Center Grove head softball coach Alyssa Coleman joins the show for a coaches corner conversation.

See highlights from the Colts Local Pro Day, featuring several former Hoosiers and Purdue’s Devin Mockobee.

Girls lacrosse is in the first season as an IHSAA emerging sport.

All of that, and more, can be found in the full The Zone Extra show above.

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Tornado watches issued for counties north and west of Indianapolis

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Tornado watches issued for counties north and west of Indianapolis


(WISH) — A tornado watch was issued until 3 a.m. EDT Saturday for counties northwest and west of Indianapolis, and into Illinois.

Indiana counties in the watch area are Boone, Carroll, Cass, Clay, Clinton, Elkhart, Fountain, Fulton, Howard, Kosciusko, La Porte, Marshall, Miami, Montgomery, Parke, Pulaski, Putnam, St. Joseph, Starke, Tippecanoe, Vermillion, Vigo, Wabash, Warren and White. The watch area includes the cities of Crawfordsville, Elkhart, Lafayette, Lebanon, South Bend, Terre Haute, and West Lafayette.

The National Weather Service Storm Prediction Center has issued two watches in Indiana. The other one until midnight EDT Friday includes the Indiana counties of Benton, Jasper, Lake, Newton and Porter. That includes the city of Gary. That watch also extends into Illinois.

Storms on Friday night in central Illinois, Iowa, Missouri and Minnesota led to dozens of confirmed tornado warnings. The storms in central Illinois has gusts up to 80 mph, and tornadoes embedded in heavy rain.

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An alert issued after 10:30 p.m. Friday from the National Weather Service at Indianapolis said, “A line of strong thunderstorms is nearing the state line with a history of widespread damaging winds and tornadoes. The line is expected to continue to produce damaging winds as it moves into Indiana with the potential for additional tornadoes. The line is then expected to gradually weaken as it moves further into the state.”



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