Here's what's closed in South Florida ahead of Hurricane Milton
MIAMI — As Hurricane Milton approaches Florida, most schools, county offices and transportation services in South Florida will be closed.
K-12 schools
The school district in Miami-Dade closed campuses at 5 p.m. Tuesday for activities and adult education with all classes canceled and offices closed Wednesday. Thursday's campuses will be closed, the district announced Tuesday.
Broward's school district offices closed and after-school activities were canceled at 4 p.m. Tuesday. All campuses and offices will be closed Wednesday and Thursday.
Monroe County's school district will close all campuses and district offices Wednesday.
Palm Beach County's school district closed campuses from Tuesday through Thursday. Tuesday already was a Professional Development Day.
All Archdiocese of Miami Catholic schools in Miami-Dade, Broward and Monroe counties will be closed Wednesday and Thursday. Activities after 5 p.m. Tuesday have been canceled.
Palmer Trinity School canceled all after-school activities for Tuesday, and classes won't take place Wednesday and Thursday.
Universities, colleges
FIU closed beginning at 5 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday. All classes are canceled, including online ones. On-campus residents may remain in their buildings. FIU parking garages will be open to members of the university community who wish to protect their vehicles from debris and flooding.
FAU suspended operations and classes, including online ones, at 5 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday. Students residing on campus in Boca Raton and Jupiter are currently permitted to stay on campus. Residents are permitted to park their vehicles in Parking Garage I or II.
UM reverted to a remote format for classes on the Coral Gables and Marine campuses from 5 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday. All in-person meetings and campus events are canceled. UHealth clinical operations will continue on normal schedules, except for Bascom Palmer Eye Institute Naples and Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center Naples, which are closed Tuesday and Wednesday.
Nova Southeastern University closed its Fort Lauderdale/Davie, Kendall, Miramar, Oceanographic (Dania Beach) and West Palm Beach campuses from 5 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday. The Fort Meyers, Jacksonville, Orlando, Tampa Bay/Clearwater campuses also will be closed Friday and were closed Monday except for Fort Myers. NSU University School and NSU Art Museum Fort Lauderdale, NSU Health clinics across the tri-county area were closed 5 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday.
Miami Dade College's campuses suspend operations and classes starting at 5 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday.
Broward College's campuses suspend operations and classes, including online, for Wednesday and Thursday.
Palm Beach State College's campuses are closed Tuesday through Thursday.
UF's offices will be closed and classes canceled, including online ones, beginning at 12:01 a.m. Wednesday and continuing through Thursday in Alachua County. There are no plans to evacuate student residents of the Gainesville campus.
UCF in Orlando suspended operations on all campuses and online classes from Tuesday through. UCF Housing will remain open but campus services will be closed.
All USF in-person classes and offices are closed Monday through at least Thursday. Remote classes are planned for Friday. The residence halls on the Tampa campus closed at 8 a.m. Tuesday. Students who need a safe place to stay were transported to Jennings Middle School in Seffner on Tuesday morning. Residence halls in St. Petersburg and Sarasota-Manatee closed at noon Monday. Those needing a safe place to stay were transported to the Tampa campus and were transported to Jennings Middle School with the Tampa campus students.
Gulf Coast classes shifted to remote operations Monday, including classes. The campus in Lee County is closed Tuesday through Friday. Students who live in campus housing and choose to stay on campus will be sheltered in a private space within Alico Arena.
New College closed its Sarasota campus from Monday through Friday. All students living on campus were evacuated by noon Monday and for those with nowhere to go Sudakoff Conference Center will be available as a shelter.
NSU closed its Fort Lauderdale/Davie, Kendall, Miramar, Oceanographic (Dania Beach) and West Palm Beach campuses from 5 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday. Also, NSU University School and NSU Art Museum Fort Lauderdale, NSU Health clinics across the tri-county area were closed 5 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday.
Transportation
The South Florida Regional Transportation Authority will suspend Tri-Rail operations for Wednesday and Thursday. Crossing gates must be secured whenever sustained winds of 39 mph are forecasted. Once the crossing gates are secured railroad activity must be suspended, including Amtrak and CSXT freight. SFRTA hopes to resume regular service on Friday
Brightline will cease operations all day Wednesday and Thursday between West Palm Beach and Orlando. Service between all South Florida stations is expected to continue with 14 roundtrips both days. On Tuesday, Brightline's 7:45 p.m. northbound departure from Miami will terminate in West Palm Beach. All other Tuesday departures will operate as scheduled.
Palm Tran will be suspended at noon Wednesday for certain services.
Broward Transit, Metrorail and Metromover will run.
Government offices
Miami-Dade County's non-essential government offices, including the courts, will be closed Wednesday and Thursday.
Broward County courts will be closed on Wednesday and Thursday but government buildings won't close Tuesday. The county anticipates courts will resume normal operations on Friday.
Monroe County's on-essential government offices, including the courts, will be closed Wednesday.
Fort Laudedale's State of the City Address, originally scheduled for Wednesday, has been postponed until 7 p.m. Monday.
The Florida Department of Health in Miami-Dade County will close its offices Wednesday. .Staff is being deployed to work on emergency response. Offices will remain closed until further notice.
Entertainment
The Miami Heat's preseason game against the Atlanta Hawks at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at Kaseya Center has been postponed until Wednesday, October 16 at 7:30 p.m. All tickets for the originally scheduled date will be honored for the rescheduled date. Refunds will be available at the point of purchase for any fans unable to attend the rescheduled date.
The Florida Panthers announced Sunday "that out of an abundance of caution" Monday's Champions Ring Ceremony will not continue as planned. But opening night Tuesday against the Boston Bruins at Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise is still scheduled.
Zoo Miami is closed Tuesday through Thursday.
King + Country at Hard Rock Live in Hollywood originally scheduled for Thursday has been rescheduled for Tuesday, Nov. 5 at 7:30 p.m. All tickets for the show will remain valid for the rescheduled date. Guests who can no longer attend can get refunds at the point of purchase up to the newly scheduled date.
Roads
Bridges ware being locked down in Miami-Dade and Broward counties.
The Florida Department of Transportation and the U.S. Coast Guard announced Monday they are locking down bridges on the Miami River, the Intercoastal Waterway and Tamiami Bridge in Miami-Dade County. They will be closed to marine navigation once lockdowns are complete and will remain closed for the duration of severe weather and until the drawbridges and waterways can be assessed for damages. All mariners must seek safe harbor before noon Tuesday.
Also, starting at noon Tuesday FDOT will lock down the bridges at SE 17th Street, Las Olas Boulevard, Sunrise Boulevard, Oakland Boulevard, Commercial Boulevard and Davie Boulevard.
Florida East Coast Railway will lock down the New River Crossing at 10 a.m. Wednesday.
FDOT has also re-scheduled the commencement of the pedestrian bridge replacement project from this week to the week of Oct. 14. The bridge will cross State Road 90/US 41/SW Eighth Street just west of SW 109th Avenue in Miami-Dade County.
Roundtable at the Latino Summit
Tuesday's event with former President Donald Trump at Trump National Doral Miami was postponed due to severe weather forecasts.
