Update: As of 2:15 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 26, FAU sent out a message saying all classes and operations will resume Friday morning, and the Harbor Branch location will re-open at noon.
Florida Atlantic University announced in a Wednesday, Sept. 25 weather advisory that classes and operations for all campuses will be suspended Thursday due to Hurricane Helene’s approach to Florida.
According to the advisory, sent after 10 p.m. EST, there is no information on whether the university will be open on Friday. The advisory notes the FAU community will be updated when new information becomes available.
“Hurricane Helene is expected to strengthen into a large and major hurricane as it tracks through the Gulf of Mexico over the next few days. Impacts to the Florida Atlantic service areas may include the potential threats of flooding rainfall and damaging winds throughout the remainder of the week,” reads FAU’s advisory statement.
FAU first announced the closure of the Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute, its Fort Pierce campus location, at 12:40 p.m. on Wednesday. The university decided to cease all campus operations after the Palm Beach County school district announced its closure around 4 p.m.
The school noted that Owl Family Weekend, which is planned to begin Friday, is currently still scheduled to hold its event this Saturday at 6 p.m. football game kickoff against Wagner University. Updates can be found on the Owls Family Weekend page.
Hurricane Helene was first tracked as a Tropical Storm and has since been upgraded to a Category 1. There is potential for the hurricane to be upgraded to a Category 3 or 4 by the time it makes contact with land, according to live updates by NBC News.
The City of Boca Raton website stated as of 5 p.m. on Wednesday that a tropical storm warning remains in effect for the area of Boca Raton, but is no longer a warning for a storm surge. They also stated that Hurricane Helene is not expected to make a “direct impact with the city” and should not affect city operations.
“A tropical storm warning is currently in effect for the full Florida Atlantic service area and a flood watch is in effect for Palm Beach and Broward counties. Isolated tornadoes and hazardous marine conditions also pose potential threats.”
The hurricane has counties along the west coast of Florida under evacuation orders, as the National Hurricane Center notes the danger of “life-threatening storm surge.”
Find some expert tips on hurricane safety from FAU experts here.
JD Delcastillo is the Managing Editor for the University Press. For information regarding this or other stories, email him at [email protected], DM on Instagram @jd.delcastillo or on X (Twitter) @jd_delcastillo.
