110 W. New York Ave., DeLand, FL
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Volusia schools to open one hour late Friday
By Pat Hatfield
posted Aug 21, 2008 - 11:57:26am
UPDATE 1:45 P.M. THURSDAY, AUG. 21: The National Weather Service just issued a special statement. The latest weather radar loop shows Tropical Storm Fay will make landfall between Ormond-by-the-Sea and Flagler Beach within the next hour.
Fay is finally starting to move to the west, working its way inland, moving at only 2 mph.
Fay was at latitude 29.4 north and longitude 81.0 west, not far from Flagler Beach, and still packing winds up to 60 mph.
A flood watch remains in effect until Friday afternoon, and a tropical storm-wind warning is in effect until 8 p.m. Friday.
The forecast for inland Volusia County now calls for northwest winds of 40-45 mph, with gusts around 60 mph later this afternoon and tonight. Tonight, look for locally heavy rainfall. After midnight, winds will come out of the south at 35-40 mph, with gusts to around 50 mph.
Schools set to open Friday, but one hour later
Meanwhile, Volusia County schools are set to reopen Friday, Aug. 22. All students will begin the day one hour later than their normal start time. Bus-stop pick-up times will also be adjusted one hour later.
The delayed start time will provide more daylight for students who are walking to school or bus stops. All students will be dismissed at the normal time. All school activities, events and extended day programs will resume their regular operation.
The staggered start schedule for kindergarteners has been canceled; all kindergarten students should report to school on Friday.
All employees, including teachers, are expected to report to work on Friday at their regular start time.
Note: If weather conditions deteriorate, a change to this plan may be required. Parents and staff are urged to monitor local news.
A Connect-ED phone message will be sent to notify all families and employees. A recorded message on the district’s main phone lines at (386) 734-7190, 255-6475, 427-5223 and 860-3322 will also have updated information, as will the district’s Web site, www.volusia.k12.fl.us.
UPDATE 11 a.m. Thursday, Aug. 21: Watch for fey Tropical Fay to start a turn inland sometime this afternoon or tonight.
Meanwhile, she's making wet and wild in West Volusia. City of DeLand Public Utlities reported 3.5 inches of rain in the 24-hour period ending at 10 a.m. this morning, and a total of 6.3 inches for the past three days.
Trees and tree limbs are beginning to fall victim to Fay.
Here's the latest from the Weather Service: A slow motion toward the west-northwest is forecast to begin later today and continue for the next couple of days. On this track, Fay is forecast to move slowly across the northern Florida Peninsula today, and be very near the Gulf Coast by early Saturday.
In West Volusia, winds of 25-30 mph are expected today and this evening, with gusts up to 45 mph. Fay is expected to drop 5-10 inches of rain across the northern part of the peninsula in the next 36 hours. A flood watch is in effect through Friday afternoon.
Fay is proving to be stubborn, as well as unpredictable. She made herself right at home in Central Florida, hardly budging for the past day, despite the lack of welcome extended to her. Feeder bands stretch around from West Palm Beach to the south, past St. Augustine to the north.
Tropical storm warnings are in effect for coastal counties from Ft. Pierce northward into Georgia.
In West Volusia, winds are expected to start diminishing after midnight.
At 11 a.m., Fay still has maximum sustained winds of 60 mph with gusts of 70 mph. This morning, the storm's center of circulation sits stationary at latitude 29.3 north and longitude 80.8 west, about 15 miles east-northeast of Daytona Beach.
In DeLand, sheets of rain spray across wet streets, sometimes blowing nearly sideways.
Decision to be made about school tomorrow
Volusia County public schools remain closed today. Spokeswoman Nancy Wait said Superintendent of Schools Dr. Margaret Smith will make a decision later today about opening tomorrow.
Volusia County Emergency Services spokeswoman Shelley Szafraniec reported on conditions around the county this morning:
• Daytona State College closed this morning. For information on re-opening, visit the college Web site at DaytonaState.edu, or call (386) 506-4357.
• Votran bus service was suspended this morning due to high winds. Route service will resume when weather conditions improve. Call Votran at (386) 761-7700 to get the latest information on service.
• Progress Energy reported 900 people were without power on the west side of Volusia County, in DeLeon Springs, DeLand, Orange City, Deltona and unincorporated Volusia County west of Deltona.
• Florida Power and Light reported approximately 7,400 people were without power this morning, primarily on the east side of the county. Overnight, outages peaked at 19,000.
• Two people stayed at the shelter at the Volusia County Fairgrounds. There were no pets at the shelter last night.
Click here to see slide show of images from Fay
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