Life-Threatening Hurricane Helene Approaches the US: 15 School Closures Revealed

Since news of Hurricane Helene approaching the U.S. first circulated to the public, more updates concerning how soon-to-be affected states have been preparing have surfaced online. According to News Channel 9, 15 schools in Georgia have decided to close throughout the rest of the week.

The following school districts had already closed earlier this week: Catoosa County Public Schools (which also stipulated that there would be no evening activities), Chickamauga City Schools, Cohutta Arrows Kingdom Academy, Dade Co. Schools, and Dalton Public Schools.

In addition to these institutions, Gordon County Schools, Learning Tree Elementary School, Walker Co. Schools (which suspended evening activities), Whitfield Co. Schools, Whitfield County Schools, all branches of Northwest GA Regional Libraries, and Oakwood Christian Academy, had also closed already.

Schools that are set to close today, September 26, and tomorrow (Friday), September 27, are Dalton State, which is dismissing its students at 12:30 pm, GA Northwestern Technical College – All Campuses (closing at 3:00 pm), and Union Co. Schools.

In addition to the closing of the school districts, the governor of the state, Brian Kemp, has declared a State of Emergency for all of Georgia’s 159 counties. According to News Channel 9, thus far, Georgia is the only state that has and will be closing schools.

The news outlet pledged to keep civilians updated on whether there will be any school closings in Tennessee, another state that is set to be affected by the hurricane.

However, according to an X post shared by Brooks Garner, most schools across Florida have also decided to suspend classes today (September 26), as Hurricane Helene is set to make landfall in Tallahassee and Apalachee Bay as soon as this evening.

“This will cause widespread severe damage with weeks-long power outages in some areas […] In Central Florida and Orlando, tropical storm conditions will develop this afternoon and evening with winds of 40–60 mph in gusts and tornadoes,” reads part of Garner’s statement.

With Florida’s capital city bracing for the impact of such a major hurricane that the area has not faced in over a century, civilians have been urged to prepare for the worst.

BBC reports that Hurricane Helene, which is currently listed as a category 1 storm, will intensify rapidly into a category 4 hurricane by the time it reaches Florida this evening. Official forecasts have deemed the impacts as “catastrophic,” “life-threatening,” and “unsurvivable.”

We first reported on Hurricane Helene on Tuesday, September 24, when it was believed to make landfall in Florida that same day (Tuesday). At the time, news outlets stated that tropical storm conditions were possible within the next 36 to 48 hours.

According to CNN, it could just take a mere 48 hours for the hurricane to go from a 45 mph tropical storm to a Category 3 major hurricane. Hurricane Helene was increasing in strength over the incredibly warm waters of the Gulf Coast of Mexico.

Given the accelerated timeline, the news outlet had urged civilians in the coastal areas of Florida to prepare for the potentially life-threatening storm surge, flooding rainfall, and damaging winds.

Evacuations were reportedly likely to happen on Tuesday, September 24 for residents in Florida’s coastal areas. The Taylor County Sheriff’s Office also released an announcement on social media to alert residents of the Big Bend region that they were likely to issue a county-wide evacuation order later that same day as well.

The storm was projected to come ashore in the Big Bend area, which potentially faces the most severe storm surge of up to 15 feet. CNN reported that the greater Tampa area could also experience up to 8 feet of surge should the storm’s large size and intensity continue to grow.

As early as Wednesday afternoon, September 25, tropical storm-force wind gusts were expected to begin for the Florida Keys and could have reached a large chunk of the Peninsula by the morning (Thursday, September 26) at the earliest. Hurricane-force wind gusts had the potential to follow closely behind.

Some organizations and government officials had already begun preparations to combat the worst of the storm, like Tampa General Hospital, which began erecting a 10-foot-high flood barrier around the building on Monday.

In an effort to speed up preparations and coordination between local governments and the state, the governor of Florida, Ron DeSantis, declared an emergency for 41 of Florida’s 67 counties.

The National Hurricane Center and Central Pacific Hurricane Center also released a bulletin on their website, which outlines and analyzes the forecast of Hurricane Helene. Like CNN, they highlighted which areas will be affected and explained how.

Residents based in areas outside of Florida were urged to make preparations too and put a hurricane plan in place, as the storm was expected to hit other parts of the Southeast as well.

According to the Weather Prediction Center, flooding rain may also impact the states of Georgia, Alabama, and parts of the Carolinas today, (Thursday, September 26). At the time CNN reported on the hurricane, the risk level sat at 3 on a scale that goes up to 4.

Some parts of Tennessee, Virginia, and the Carolinas were also expected to experience rainfall totals between 4 and 8 inches.