SATURDAY UPDATE -- A unit from the Osceola County Sheriff's Office joined the KUA crew in the hardest-hit areas, leaving Friday morning to head to Levy County to render support and assistance in that hard-hit area. Lopez along with an Emergency
Response Team and a Marine Unit have been deployed for at least seven days.
The response team includes 18 sworn members, four Agriculture Marine deputies with two airboats, a civilian mechanic, a kicker boat and high-water rescue vehicle and trailer.
FRIDAY UPDATE — With everything back to normal here, electrical line workers have hit the road to put Floridians back together ‚ and back on the power grid — after another hurricane.
Kissimmee Utility Authority crews deployed to Gainesville Friday morning to assist with restoring power after Hurricane Helene knocked out most of the power in north Central Florida and the Big Bend area. The KUA crews departed Kissimmee just after 8:30 a.m., KUA said.
What's likely the first step in Helene recovery, 12 KUA linemen and a convoy of vehicles to Gainesville to assist the Gainesville Regional Utilities with restoring power to an estimated 49,000 customers.
We wish Godspeed to Austin Franey, Nick Aviles, Chase Fuller, Kyle Bezold, Gage Howard, Robert Diaz, Robert Rivera, Kyle Castleton, Richard McCrimon, Mike Taylor, Amaurys Gonzalez, and Hunter Anastasio.
A 11:10 p.m. Thursday, Hurricane Helene made landfall about 10 miles west-southwest of Perry as a Category 4 packing 140-mph winds, where they will remember Helene for a long, long time.
According to PowerOutage.us, about 1.2 million Floridians are without power Friday morning. That number never got above 1,000 in Osceola County, with handfuls out at time Thursday night into Friday as reported by KUA, OUC and Duke.
The Osceola Emergency Operations Center is currently at Level 2 activation status.
On Friday, Government and utility offices and the School District of Osceola -- students were already scheduled to be off with teachers and administrators in for professional development -- will re-open, returning the area "back to normal" for a day. Three county high school football teams are scheduled to play at 7 p.m.: Melbourne at Osceola, St. Cloud at Lake Nona, Celebration at East Ridge.
CLOSURES:
Government offices will be closed Thursday for Osceola County, the City of Kissimmee and the City of St. Cloud. Solid waste collection in unincorporated Osceola County will continue as normal on Thursday but the Bass Road Yard Waste Disposal Facility and the Kenansville Drop off Site will be closed.
From the City of Kissimmee: All trash and recycling collection scheduled for Thursday has been canceled. Residents are advised to secure their trash and recycling containers and not leave them out on the curb. Services will operate as scheduled on Friday, September 27.
Additionally, all temporary signs must be removed in preparation for severe weather conditions. This includes political signs, garage sale signs, event signage, business banners, and any other temporary signs.
Administrative Offices are scheduled to reopen and resume regular hours and operations on Friday, September 27, at 8 a.m., weather permitting.
Kissimmee Utility Authority will close its Customer Service Center on Thursday. The call center will operate as normal from 7 am. to 6 p.m. to take payments and other calls.
SunRail is suspending service Thursday.
WEDNESDAY, 11 A.M. — The National Hurricane Center has upgraded Helene to a Category 1 hurricane with top winds of 80 just northeast of Cozumel. It is forecast to make landfall late Thursday evening between Apalachicola and Cedar Key as a Category 3-4 storm, potentially with top winds of 125 to 130 mph for the unlucky few on the coast (they should have evacuated anyway). Forecasters said it was expected to bring what they described as a “life-threatening storm surge, damaging winds and flooding rains” to large parts of Florida and the southeastern United States.
The NHC says the Orlando area has a 27% chance of received tropical storm-force winds. Locally, expect the worst of our weather to come after about 4 p.m. Thursday and through the night into Friday morning. Expect winds of 25-35 mph with gusts up to 50 mph, mostly coming out of the south and southwest.
WEDNESDAY, 10 A.M. — Nothing yet from government officials, but Clerk of Court Kelvin Soto said his office, including the Osceola County Courthouse and St. Cloud location, will be closed Thursday.
WEDNESDAY, 9 A.M. — A reminder that football games that were scheduled for Thursday (since school was already scheduled to be out Friday) have been moved to today (Wednesday). Liberty at Gateway kicks off at 6:30, Harmony at Toho kicks at 7.
Additionally, a clash of volleyball titans, Winter Park at Osceola, begins at 3 p.m., as Orange County mandated that all activities be done by 6 p.m. tonight.
TUESDAY, 6:30 P.M.— Beginning Wednesday, September 25, at 8 a.m., the Osceola Emergency Operations Center will be activated to the elevated Level 2 status. The Citizen Information Center hotline (407-742-0000) will open Wednesday morning for citizens that have specific questions or need to speak with an Osceola County representative.
Sandbags will continue to be available Wednesday at Osceola Heritage Park, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the parking lot on Shakerag Road. Residents are allowed 25 sandbags per household and will need to bring their own shovel or filling tool. Supplies are limited, and sandbags will be available for filling on a first-come, first-served basis.
At 5 p.m. Tuesday, our area's Tropical Storm Watch was upgraded to a Tropical Storm Warning. This means Winds of 39-57 mph are expected within this area in the next 36 hours.
She's comin', folks.....
SCHOOL UPDATE: Wednesday, September 25, 2024 —School will be held as normal. All school activities and events will also proceed as normal, including after-school activities and programs, Extended Day/Learning Program, and athletics.
Thursday, September 26, 2024 — All schools and district offices will be closed. Employees will not report to work unless deemed essential by their supervisor (i.e. Maintenance Department).
Friday, September 27 — The district will closely monitor the impacts of the weather system, relying on local public works directors, power companies, and Toho Water Authority, before making any decisions about what is already a non-student day/teacher professional study day.
