ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — School districts in the Tampa Bay area are preparing for Tropical Storm Nicole as it's expected to sweep across the state of Florida after making landfall on the east coast Wednesday.
Already, closures have been announced.
Check out our county-by-county list of school closures across the Tampa Bay area.
Citrus County
Schools in Citrus County will be closed Thursday, Nov. 10. After-school programs and extra-curricular activities are canceled Wednesday, Nov. 9, and Thursday, as well.
The district says this change means the last two half days before Christmas break — Dec. 21 and 22 — will be full days of school.
Hardee County
The Hardee County School District will be closed on Wednesday, Nov. 9, and Thursday, Nov. 10, the school system announced.
The school will later determine if schools will reopen Friday, Nov. 11, after Nicole passes.
Hernando County
The Hernando County School District will be closed Thursday, Nov. 10, district leaders said early Wednesday.
In an alert sent to parents Tuesday night, the district said leaders consulted with Hernando Emergency Management who said the development of Nicole indicates the county will "likely experience high winds and strong gusts on Thursday."
"School buses may not operate when sustained winds exceed 35 mph," the district said.
Highlands County
Schools will be closed Wednesday and Thursday in Highlands County because of anticipated impacts from Tropical Storm Nicole.
School operations are expected to return to normal Friday.
Hillsborough County
Hillsborough County Public Schools leaders said classes are canceled Thursday ahead of anticipated impacts from Nicole. Classes were already canceled Friday in observance of Veterans Day.
Hillsborough County Schools Superintendent Addison Davis says possible strong winds are worrying with students taking buses to school along with biking and walking. A makeup day is set for Jan. 9 which was originally a teacher day but will now be a full student day.
"As of right now, tomorrow there will be no school events at all," Davis explained. "Right now, we continue to protect and serve this community and this is the best decision that we can make in order to take precautionary measures."
Manatee County
All Manatee County schools, including Manatee Technical College, will be closed on Thursday, Nov. 10, "out of precaution for the safety of students and employees," the school district said Wednesday.
Schools will remain closed on Friday in honor of Veterans Day.
Pasco County
All Pasco County Schools will be closed on Thursday, Nov. 10, including before and after-school activities.
Wednesday will continue as normal, according to the school district.
Schools will reopen on Friday, Nov. 11, for Pasco County. At this time, the closed school day will not impact the one-week Thanksgiving break, school leaders say.
Pinellas County
Pinellas County Schools and district offices will be closed on Thursday, Nov. 10, and will reopen Friday, Nov. 1, ahead of expected impacts from Tropical Storm Nicole.
All after-school activities scheduled for Thursday will also be canceled.
Polk County
School will continue as normal on Wednesday, Nov. 9, but after-school activities for Wednesday are canceled, the school system announced. School is canceled altogether on Thursday.
Friday, Nov. 11, is a planned closed day in observance of Veterans Day.
Sarasota County
Sarasota County Schools plans on not holding school Thursday, Nov. 10, in preparation for Nicole. Normal school operations will start back up again on Friday, Nov. 11.
School leaders say additional updates will be sent out if needed.
"If your child attends a charter school, please reach out directly to your school for updates about scheduling changes and/or potential closures," school leaders wrote in a news release.
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As Nicole continues in its path toward Florida, Catholic school buildings in the Diocese of St. Petersburg have decided to close on Thursday, Nov. 10. This includes Catholic schools and Early Childhood Centers in Hillsborough, Pinellas, Pasco, Hernando and Citrus counties.
The principal of Espiritu Santo Catholic School says leaders anticipate that schools will open on Friday, Nov. 11.