As Hurricane Helene continued past the Florida Keys, into the Gulf of Mexico on a path toward northern Florida, Monroe County School District officials said they expect to reopen schools Friday, Sept. 27, but a formal decision was set to be made after a meeting with Florida Keys emergency management representatives late Thursday.
Monroe County School District Superintendent Theresa Axford made the announcement during Thursday morning’s emergency management meeting, which included Florida Keys officials.
Elsewhere, there was flooding in low-lying areas of Key West and the Florida Keys, but not much significant damage reported so far with Hurricane Helene, according to city and county officials, who said government agencies would resume normal business hours and services on Friday, Sept. 27.
The Florida Keys Electric Cooperative did report power outages in the area between Mile Marker 81 and Layton, Coop officials said.
Sustained winds in the Lower Keys were about 30 to 40 mph, gusting to 55 to 65 mph, according to Jon Rizzo, warning coordination meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Key West. The largest gust reported so far was 64 mph at Key West Naval Air Station Boca Chica at about 4:30 a.m. Thursday, Rizzo said.