*This story will be continuously updated for Hurricane Milton coverage
Update Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2024
School District officials will open four shelters on Tuesday, and a fifth on Wednesday, before Hurricane Milton bears down on Florida’s Gulf Coast. Meteorologists said Milton, a Category 4 hurricane, will hit the western coast as a Category 3 storm on Wednesday evening and push eastbound.
The following shelters will open at 2 p.m. Tuesday:
- Freshman Learning Center (Also a Pet-Friendly shelter) – 1507 19th St. Vero Beach
-What to bring: Current shot records, collar, leash, crate/carrier, litter box, food and water, medications, and bedding for you and your pet.
- Sebastian River Middle School – 9400 County Rd. 512, Sebastian
- Oslo Middle School – 480 20th Ave. S.W., Vero Beach
- Fellsmere Elementary School – 50 N. Cypress St., Fellsmere
The following shelter will open at 8:30 a.m. Wednesday:
- Treasure Coast Elementary (Special Needs Shelter – must be registered) – 8955 85th St., Sebastian. For questions call 772-226-3900.
Earlier story:
INDIAN RIVER COUNTY — Classes at public schools, along with School District buildings, will close Tuesday as residents brace for impact from Hurricane Milton, which rapidly strengthened into a Category 5 hurricane Monday.
All afterschool and extended day activities scheduled for Monday will continue, School District of Indian River County officials said. School District officials said they plan to reopen campuses on Friday.
Milton, with 160-mph maximum sustained winds, was traveling east southeast at 9 mph, according to a Monday update from the National Hurricane Center. The Treasure Coast area was located in the cone of uncertainty forecast map.
Meteorologists said Milton was expected to weaken before making landfall as a Category 3 hurricane Wednesday night on Florida’s Gulf Coast. The storm will bring widespread showers, rainfall amounts up to 8 inches – and in some areas possibly up to 12 inches – and winds up to 73 mph, said Kole Fehling, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Melbourne.
“There’s a potential for a few tornadoes,” Fehling said.
