TALLAHASSEE, FL (WTXL) - The City of Tallahassee's Emergency Management Team is closely monitoring the current weather situation.
Tropical Storm Hermine is expected to move through Tallahassee this evening through tomorrow, Sept. 2. The main threat from the system is heavy rainfall and high winds, which could cause area flooding, downed trees and power outages.
Currently, the National Weather Service forecast called for the storm to reach Category 1 hurricane strength prior to landfall. Storm conditions are expected to reach Leon County today after 5 p.m. and clear through the area by mid-morning tomorrow.
The following is an update regarding City services and related response efforts:
Administrative
City administrative offices will close at 2 p.m. today and remain closed on Friday, Sept. 2.
Electric Utility
Response crews are on standby and ready to be deployed, with extra staffing on call as needed. Outages can be reported from the homepage of Talgov.com and through the DigiTally and e+ Mobile apps. The outage reporting page on Talgov.com, DigiTally and e+ Mobile features a map that shows reported outages. Customers are encouraged to limit phones calls to 891-4YOU (4968) reserving it primarily for reporting dangerous conditions, such as downed power lines.
Garbage Collection
Commercial and residential service will be suspended on Friday, Sept. 2, and is scheduled to resume on Saturday, Sept. 3. Customers with garbage collection scheduled for Friday should expect collection on Saturday instead. Due to heavy winds, customers are encouraged to roll their containers back toward their dwellings, not leaving them near the road, tonight. Customers anticipating a Saturday pick-up should place their garbage cans near the road Friday night.
StarMetro
The transit agency will suspend its night service today, ending its daytime operation at 6 p.m. StarMetro customers are encouraged to seek alternative transportation options.
Parks and Recreation
All Parks and Recreation facilities, with the exception of the Parks Division Office and Main Administration Building, will be closed to the general public today. This includes all community centers, tennis facilities, aquatics facilities, Palmer Munroe Teen Center, Tallahassee Senior Center, Dorothy B. Oven Park and Trousdell Gymnastics Center. In addition, all youth and adult athletic practices and registrations are cancelled.
Tallahassee International Airport
Normal operations continue at the Tallahassee International Airport (TLH). Some commercial flight cancellations have occurred as a result of Tropical Storm Hermine. As with any severe weather event, customers are encouraged to verify the status of their commercial flight(s) with their airline prior to heading to the airport.
Sandbags
Staff will continue to replenish the sandbag locations until 4 p.m. today. For additional information on sandbags, including sandbag locations, please visit Talgov.com.
To monitor Tropical Storm Hermine, visit the National Weather Service’s Tallahassee forecast at weather.gov/Tallahassee. If you have a phone that can receive Wireless Emergency Alerts, the National Weather Service advises that you enable that function.
Today through Friday evening, citizens are encouraged to avoid driving, staying off roads whenever possible. Heavy rainfall and strong winds will make driving dangerous. Even after the storm passes, citizens should avoid unnecessary travel to allow first responders and road clearing crews to quickly respond to emergency needs.
For information on the changing weather conditions and their impacts, including road closures and power outages, please follow Twitter.com/COTNews. To report power outages, click here or use the DigiTally and e+ Mobile apps or call 891-4YOU (4968). A live outage report map is also available via the outage reporting page on Talgov, DigiTally and e+ Mobile.
