University officials said last week that campuses would be closed “through at least Tuesday, Sept. 3.”
Although Florida might’ve been spared by the worst of Hurricane Dorian, the tropics remain active at the peak of the Atlantic hurricane season.
Courtesy of the National Hurricane Center.
By Emily Wunderlich
The University of South Florida will reopen its campuses and classes will resume on Wednesday, Sept. 4, as the latest models for Hurricane Dorian continue to shift northeast.
“Based on the most recent forecast, impacts from the storm are expected to be minimal across our region,” the university said in a news release Tuesday.
The Tampa Bay area will remain at a high risk for rip currents until Wednesday evening, and a small craft advisory is in effect through Wednesday night.
After ravaging the Bahamas as an intense Category 5 storm, Hurricane Dorian weakened Tuesday to a Category 2, with maximum sustained winds of 110 mph, according to the National Hurricane Center.
At 5 p.m, the NHC reported Dorian was about 105 miles east of Vero Beach and moving northwest at 6 mph.
The storm is expected to turn north by Wednesday evening, followed by another north-northeast turn Thursday morning.
Florida’s east coast is under a hurricane warning extending from Sebastian Inlet to Ponte Vedra Beach, with hurricane and tropical storm watches in effect north of Ponte Vedra Beach to Savannah River.
“Students who left the region because of the storm and won’t be able to return in time for Wednesday’s classes should notify their instructors as soon as possible,” the university release said. “Employees who left the region because of the storm and won’t be able to return by Wednesday should notify their supervisors as soon as possible.
“Faculty members and supervisors are asked to be patient and understanding with their students and staff during these unique circumstances.”
With the Atlantic hurricane season still in effect until Nov. 30, the NHC is also monitoring three other tropical systems:
- Tropical Storm Ferdinand, off the east coast of Mexico
- Tropical Depression 8, in the far east Atlantic, with a
- An unnamed tropical disturbance in the western Atlantic, with a 50-percent chance of developing into a tropical depression in the next 48 hours
The university’s 2019 hurricane guide can be found here.
