Pasco County Schools Set Tuesday Status Ahead Of Irma

LAND O’ LAKES, FL — As Hurricane Irma’s threat to the Tampa Bay area grows, Pasco County has announced a decision about the status of its schools. Kids across the county are now getting an even longer weekend thanks to Irma. The district intends to close up shop through Tuesday at least.

The district updated it website with the extended closing on Saturday as Irma’s path shifted west, ominously closer to the Tampa Bay area. (For more hurricane news or local news from Florida, click here to sign up for real-time news alerts and newsletters from Land O’ Lakes Patch, and click here to find your local Florida Patch. If you have an iPhone, click here to get the free Patch iPhone app.)

By 11 a.m. Saturday, Irma, the behemoth that tore through the Caribbean, leaving at least 20 people dead in its wake, was packing maximum sustained winds of 125 mph. Irma was located about 175 miles southeast of Key West, moving west at 9 mph.

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The hurricane warning for the Florida Gulf Coast was extended Saturday morning to run from the tip of the state north to the Aucilla River Hurricane warnings mean that hurricane conditions are expected in the warning area within the next 36 hours. The storm surge warning for the west coast extended from the southern tip of the peninsula to Suwanee River. Storm surge warnings mean storm surges are anticipated within the warning area over the next 36 hours.

On its current projected path, Irma is expected to clear the northern Cuban coastline on Saturday and make landfall in Florida sometime Sunday. "The hurricane is expected to be near the southwest coast of Florida Sunday afternoon," the hurricane center wrote Saturday morning.

Although weakened somewhat, hurricane center forecasters warn that Irma remains a powerful storm. The current projections show Irma retaining major hurricane status after clearing the Tampa Bay area on Monday.

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