TAMPA, Fla. — Ahead of Hurricane Idalia's arrival and its potential impacts, many colleges and schools across the Tampa Bay area will be closing.
The University of South Florida decided to follow that path, announcing Monday it will be canceling classes and shutting down campuses on Tuesday, Aug. 29, and Wednesday, Aug. 30.
Classes are expected to resume on Thursday, Aug. 31, but a final decision will be made on Wednesday, the university said in a news release.
Residence halls on the Tampa and St. Petersburg campuses are set to remain open, but USF will continue to asses evacuation orders for portions of Pinellas County and the possibility of evacuating dorms in St. Pete.
"If residence halls in St. Petersburg close, residential students from St. Petersburg who do not have alternative housing options would be relocated to the Tampa campus by the university," the news release reads.
Clinic facilities at USF will be open on Tuesday through the end of the work day but will shut down on Wednesday. They are expected to reopen on Thursday.
"Students, faculty and staff are urged to plan carefully, follow local weather reports and monitor updates from county and state emergency management officials," the university said in a statement.
Hurricane and storm surge warnings have been issued ahead of impacts from a strengthening Hurricane Idalia, which is forecast to be at least a major, Category 3 hurricane when it makes landfall by midweek somewhere along Florida's Gulf Coast.
A hurricane warning is in effect from the middle of Longboat Key northward to the Holocene River, including Tampa Bay. A storm surge warning is in effect for Englewood northward to the Ochlockonee River, including Tampa Bay.
Hurricane Idalia has maximum sustained winds of 75 mph and is located about 370 miles south-southwest of Tampa, according to the National Hurricane Center's latest advisory. Its movement is north at 14 mph.
Idalia is expected to become a "dangerous" major hurricane over the northeastern Gulf of Mexico by early Wednesday. The NHC says heavy rainfall is likely to impact a portion of the west coast of the state, the Panhandle and southeast region by the middle part of the week.
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