All Florida Schools, State Offices Ordered To Close As Hurricane Irma Nears

TALLAHASSEE, FL — As Hurricane Irma barrels toward Florida, Gov. Rick Scott has issued an order instructing all public schools, state colleges, state universities and state office to close their doors Friday through Monday.

“I am directing the closure of all public schools, state colleges, state universities and state offices for their normal activities effective Friday through Monday, to ensure we have every space available for sheltering and staging,” Scott said in a statement Thursday. “Floridians are facing a life-threatening storm in Hurricane Irma, and every family must prepare to evacuate.” (For more hurricane news or local news from Florida, click here to sign up for real-time news alerts and newsletters from Sarasota Patch, and click here to find your local Florida Patch. If you have an iPhone, click here to get the free Patch iPhone app.)

Scott explained that many public schools serve as community shelters and staging areas for hurricane recovery efforts.

Watch: New Track Has Irma Directly Hitting South Florida

“Closing public schools, state colleges, state universities and state offices will provide local and state emergency officials the flexibility necessary to support shelter and emergency response efforts,” he said.

On its current projected path, Hurricane Irma is expected to pass by Cuba on Friday and Saturday with the potential for landfall in south Florida on Sunday. As of the National Hurricane Center’s 5 p.m. Sept. 7 update, almost the entire peninsula of Florida remained in the storm’s possible path.

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Hurricane-force winds extended out from Irma by 70 miles Thursday. Tropical storm-force winds extended out 185 miles. Forecasters say, “some fluctuations in intensity are likely during the next day or two, but Irma is forecast to remain a powerful Category 4 or 5 hurricane during the next couple of days.” The storm has been blamed for at least 10 deaths in the Caribbean.

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