Thursday, Sept. 26
12:30 p.m.
All offices of the Escambia County Clerk of Court and Comptroller will close at 1 p.m. today, Sept. 26.
11 a.m. update from FPREN
10:30 a.m.
The regular meeting of the Pensacola City Council scheduled for Thursday, September 26 has been canceled.
Escambia and Santa Rosa courthouses will be closing at 1 p.m. today. Normal operations are expected to resume tomorrow.
6 p.m.
The University of West Florida and Pensacola State College have both announced that campuses will be closed tomorrow, Thursday, Sept. 26.
Read the info from UWF here.
Read the info from PSC here.
4:30 p.m.
Santa Rosa County Schools and Escambia school will now be closed tomorrow, Sept. 26.
3 p.m.
Hurlburt Field will go to Mission Essential staffing only beginning tomorrow, Sept. 26, 2024, at 6 a.m. until Friday, Sept. 27, 2024, at 10 a.m.
To accommodate the mission-essential workforce, Child Development Center East will remain open for its normal hours on Thursday and Friday, with all others being closed.
Okaloosa County courthouses will be closed beginning at noon tomorrow, Thursday, September 26. All afternoon court proceedings will be rescheduled; however, pretrial detention hearings before Judge Gontarek set for tomorrow, Thursday, September 26 at 12:30 p.m. will proceed as scheduled.
Naval Air Station (NAS) Pensacola will close for public visitation Sept. 26.
Service members assigned to commands in the NAS Pensacola area are advised to contact their chain of command for reporting procedures.
Civilian employees and service members and their families are encouraged to monitor local and trusted news sources for weather information as well as NAS Pensacola’s social media pages for installation closure information.
2 p.m.
The Navarre Beach Pier will close at 7 p.m. today, Sept. 25, and will remain closed on Thur., Sept. 26, due to expected hazardous weather conditions. It's expected to open 8 a.m. Friday, Sept. 27.
1:31 p.m.
Okaloosa County and Walton County schools will be closed tomorrow, Thursday, Sept. 26.
Santa Rosa County Schools will be in session tomorrow. No after-school activities or athletics. Escambia County Schools will also be in session tomorrow.
11:33 a.m.
Helene is now a hurricane. Read the story here.
Walton County courts will be closed tomorrow, Thursday, Sept. 26. Details below.
Update: 9:55 a.m. Wednesday, Sept. 25
Tropical Storm Helene continues to rapidly strengthen as it moves across the eastern Gulf and towards the Florida Big Bend area. Residents in the panhandle are urged to be cautious of dangerously high surf, deadly rip currents, and hazardous marine conditions that are expected to begin tonight.
——— Original story ———
While Escambia County, and the local area, are outside the track of Tropical Storm Helene, emergency officials say residents should remain weather aware.
Helene is expected to make landfall as a major hurricane east of Escambia County on Thursday evening, Sept. 26, according to the U.S. National Weather Service.
>>> Check for FPREN weather updates
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The National Weather Service in Mobile, Alabama is projecting tropical storm-force winds potentially as early as Thursday morning. Hazardous marine conditions, coastal flooding, dangerous surf, and rip currents are expected to begin on Wednesday.
Earlier Tuesday, Gov. Ron DeSantis issued an executive order increasing the number of counties in the state of Florida under a state of emergency to 61, including Escambia, ahead of the storm.
Sandbags
Escambia County is offering sand on a first-come, first-served basis. Locations are open 24 hours a day. Residents must bring their own sandbags and shovels.
- Baars Field Athletic Park - 13001 Sorrento Road, Pensacola
- Brent Athletic Park - 4711 N. W St., Pensacola
- Don Sutton Park - 2320 Crabtree Church Road, Molino
- Equestrian Center - 7750 Mobile Highway, Pensacola
- Escambia County Road Department - 601 Highway 297-A, Pensacola
- Ferry Pass Middle School - 8355 Yancey Lane, Pensacola (sand will be on the northwest corner of school property on Parazine Street)
- John R. Jones Jr. Athletic Park - 555 E. Nine Mile Road, Pensacola
- Travis M. Nelson Park - 4541 County Road 4, Pensacola
Santa Rosa County's public works department has sand available on a first-come, first-served basis at the following locations:
- The corner of Leisure St. and Citrus Dr. in Navarre
- Tiger Point Park in Gulf Breeze (1370 Tiger Park Ln.)
- Pace Fire-Rescue in Pace (4773 Pace Patriot Blvd.)
- The corner of Pine Forest Rd. and Carroll Rd. in Milton
Residents must provide their own sandbags and shovel.
Okaloosa County has sandbags available at these locations:
- Stillwell Park, 710 Essex Rd., Ft. Walton Beach, FL. 32547
- Public Works North, 1759 S Ferdon Blvd., Crestview, FL 32536 Enter on Goodwin Avenue side.
Closures
Okaloosa County courthouses will be closed beginning at noon tomorrow, Thursday, September 26. All afternoon court proceedings will be rescheduled; however, pretrial detention hearings before Judge Gontarek set for tomorrow, Thursday, September 26 at 12:30 p.m. will proceed as scheduled.
Naval Air Station (NAS) Pensacola will close for public visitation Sept. 26.
The Navarre Beach Pier will close at 7 p.m. today, Sept. 25, and will remain closed on Thur., Sept. 26, due to expected hazardous weather conditions. It's expected to open 8 a.m. Friday, Sept. 27.
Due to Hurricane Helene, the courts in Walton County will be closed tomorrow, Thursday, September 26. Normal operations are expected to resume on Friday, September 27. At this time, the courts in Okaloosa, Santa Rosa, and Escambia Counties are expected to remain open.
Gulf Islands National Seashore (GUIS) will close the Fort Pickens and Okaloosa Areas to day use beginning at 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday, September 24 in preparation for Tropical Storm Helene.
The Fort Pickens area, including the campground, will be closed effective 12 p.m. on Wednesday, September 25. Reservations will be canceled through and including Friday, September 27.
Pensacola Bay City Ferry has canceled the Thursday, September 26 Sunset Cruise and the Friday, September 27 Ferry Service, returning Friday in time for the 5:30 p.m. Sunset Cruise.
Oklooosa and Walton County schools will be closed Thursday, Sept. 27. Santa Rosa and Escambia County schools will be open. All UWF locations remain open at this time.