Pasco Schools Make Friday Decision As Hurricane Matthew Approaches

LAND O’ LAKES, FL — Pasco County school kids hoping for a long weekend courtesy of Hurricane Matthew are in luck. The school district announced Thursday that classes are canceled on Friday, Oct. 7.

The closing announcement was prompted by the increasing likelihood that Dade City and Zephyrhills will experience sustained winds of 40 mph or more during the day on Friday. The closing also affects the PLACE child care program and all after-school activities on Friday, including homecoming football games.

Homecoming dances on Saturday are still on unless something changes, the county wrote in an email to media. So are after-school activities on Thursday since tropical-storm force winds aren’t expected until late Thursday night.

It is unclear at this time if students will have to make up the hurricane day. The district said it would notify parents and staff when the decision is made.

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“I didn’t want to have to make this decision, but in the interest of safety, I believe this is the right thing to do,” said Superintendent Kurt Browning.

State law requires school buses to be off roads if winds exceed 40 mph.

As of the National Hurricane Center’s 11 a.m. Oct. 6 update, Hurricane Matthew was positioned about 180 miles south east of West Palm Beach, Florida. The storm's sustained winds were 140 mph, a significant rise from the 125 mph winds reported earlier in the day.

“Matthew is a Category 4 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale,” the hurricane center’s report said. "Some additional strengthening is possible, and Matthew should remain a Category 4 hurricane while it approaches the Florida coast."

Hurricane-force winds extended out up to 60 miles Thursday morning. Tropical-storm force winds extended out 160 miles, forecasters said.

On its current projected path, Matthew could make landfall somewhere along Florida’s east coast as a major hurricane. While the storm's outer bands were arriving near Florida Thursday morning, forecasters do not expect it to clear the Sunshine State until Friday afternoon or evening.

The storm’s possible track shifted to the east, but much of the Sunshine State remained under a hurricane warning. In the Tampa Bay area and along most of the west coast, a tropical storm watch is in place. A warning means conditions are likely within a designated area, generally within 48 hours. A watch means conditions are possible within a designated area.

Tropical storm warnings had also gone up in from the Anclote River to the Suwanee River.

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