MILTON HURRICANE UPATE: Brevard Public Schools to Close All Schools and Offices on Friday

By  //  October 8, 2024

BPS OFFICIALS: All after-school activities will be canceled

WATCH: Live Hurricane Milton update and information with Sheriff Wayne Ivey and Emergency Management Director John Scott.

WATCH: Hurricane Milton report from Laurie Wilson Park in Cocoa Beach by The Friday Night Locker Room’s Orville Susong and Steve Wilson. The latest forecast from the National Hurricane Center projects Brevard County could see 6 to 10 inches of rain, and sustained winds of 50 to 70 mph, with higher wind gusts of 80 mph. Space Coast residents should have their final preparations for Hurricane Milton made by Tuesday.

HURRICANE MILTON UPDATE: Brevard Emergency Officials Predict Peak Winds Will Be 55-75 MPH, Gusts to  85 MPH on Space CoastRelated Story:
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BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA – Brevard Public Schools officials announced on Tuesday that classes will be closed on Friday.

“Due to the latest projected track of Hurricane Milton, and a slowdown of the storm’s arrival in Brevard County, all BPS schools/offices will remain closed on Friday,” said Brevard Public Schools officials.

All after-school activities will be canceled for Tuesday, October 8. Aftercare will be held for families who need it but will finish at 5:00 p.m., on Tuesday, October 8.

All schools and offices will be closed on Wednesday and Thursday.

The district will continue to work collaboratively with Brevard County Emergency Operations and other local agencies to monitor the storm’s progress and determine the best course of action for the safety of our students, staff, and families.

“We work with the Brevard County EOC to make the best/most informed decisions,” said BPS officials.

“A more precise understanding of where the storm is projected to make landfall will make a significant difference in the impacts for our county. As stated, we will continue to monitor the situation and adjust accordingly.”

Hurricane Milton continues to barrel towards Florida as a Category 5 Hurricane carrying 180 max sustained winds while it churns towards the Florida Gulf Coast, according to the latest report by the National Hurricane Center on Monday.

This is an extremely dangerous hurricane that needs to be taken seriously by everyone in its direct path.

WATCH: Update from sandbag distribution location at Eastern Florida State College’s Palm Bay campus in preparation for Hurricane Milton.

WATCH: Space Coast Daily’s Zach Clark is live from Mitchell Ellington Park in Merritt Island as Brevard Public Works Provides Free Sandbags Today in preparation of Hurricane Milton.

In anticipation of the potential impacts from Hurricane Milton, Brevard County will offer free sandbags for residents beginning 8 a.m. Monday. National Hurricane Center officials said its hurricane hunters discovered Milton is rapidly intensifying and is expected to become a major Category 4 or 5 hurricane on Monday in the central Gulf of Mexico.
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For historical context, Hurricane Wilma is the strongest Atlantic hurricane ever recorded, after reaching an intensity of 882 mbar in October 2005; at the time, this also made Wilma the strongest tropical cyclone worldwide outside of the West Pacific, where seven tropical cyclones have been recorded to intensify to lower pressures.

However, this was later superseded by Hurricane Patricia in 2015 in the east Pacific, which had a pressure reading of 872 mbar.

Preceding Wilma is Hurricane Gilbert, which had also held the record for most intense Atlantic hurricane for 17 years.

The 1935 Labor Day hurricane, with a pressure of 892 mbar, is the third strongest Atlantic hurricane and the strongest documented tropical cyclone prior to 1950. Since the measurements taken during Wilma and Gilbert were documented using dropsonde, this pressure remains the lowest measured over land.

A storm surge will raise water levels by as much as 4 to 6 feet above ground level along the northern coast of the Yucatan Peninsula in areas of onshore winds.

Near the coast, the surge will be accompanied by large and destructive waves.

The combination of a dangerous storm surge and the tide will cause normally dry areas near the coast to be flooded by rising waters moving inland from the shoreline.

The water could reach the following heights above ground somewhere in the indicated areas if the peak surge occurs at the time of high tide…

Anclote River, FL to Englewood, FL…8-12 ft
Tampa Bay…8-12 ft
Yankeetown, FL to Anclote River, FL...5-10 ft
Englewood, FL to Bonita Beach, FL…5-10 ft
Charlotte Harbor…5-10 ft
Bonita Beach, FL to Chokoloskee, FL…4-7 ft
Suwannee River, FL to Yankeetown, FL…3-5 ft

The deepest water will occur along the immediate coast near and to the south of the landfall location, where the surge will be accompanied by large and dangerous waves.

Surge-related flooding depends on the relative timing of the surge and the tidal cycle, and can vary greatly over short distances.

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