NEW HANOVER COUNTY — As Hurricane Helene picks up steam ahead of making landfall in Florida Thursday evening, locally a schools district is preparing for delays.
The hurricane is expected to be a Category 4 as it approaches Big Bend and travel north northwest. While it’s projects the mountains of North Carolina will receive direct impacts, peripheral conditions will be felt along the coast, as tropical storm-force winds and rainfall are extending 345 miles from the hurricane’s center.
The potential for flash flooding, strong winds, and hazardous road conditions prompted New Hanover Schools District to issue a two-hour delay for students and staff on Friday, Sept. 27.
“We realize that many of our communities are still working to resolve the impacts of our previous storm,” the district noted, referring to last week’s potential tropical cyclone eight which flooded Carolina Beach and left students and teachers having to be ferried home by a high water vehicle due to rising water on the island. “We encourage you to stay informed through local weather updates.”
The district continues to monitor the storm and will provide an update by Friday at 7 a.m. Athletics will follow normal inclement weather procedures for Thursday and Friday.
Below is the rundown:
- Traditional calendar Schools and restart year-Round schools (Freeman and Snipes): 2-hour delay
- Specialty high schools (WECHS, SEA-Tech, and Isaac Bear): Remote day, 2-hour delay for staff
- Pre-K Centers: Johnson Pre-K, CRA Mosley Pre-K, College Road Early Childhood Education Center (CRECC), and Howe Pre-K: Closed for students, 2-hour delay for staff
- Pre-K students in our Pre-K-5 Schools (Castle Hayne, Blair, Murrayville, and Wrightsboro) will follow the same schedules as K-5 schools: 2-hour delay
More information can be found here.
Want to read more from PCD? Subscribe now and then sign up for our morning newsletter, Wilmington Wire, and get the headlines delivered to your inbox every morning.
