Hurricane Idalia formed Tuesday morning with winds of up to 90 mph as of 3 p.m. Tuesday afternoon. Landfall is forecast for the Big Bend part of the Gulf Coast in the morning hours of Wednesday, Aug. 30. It will then head inland toward Gainesville and Tallahassee with peak sustained winds of 125 mph and gusts up to 155 mph. Storm surge could top 15 feet by mid-morning Wednesday.
Orange County is under a tropical storm warning, and Orange County Public Schools and Valencia College have cancelled classes for Wednesday, Aug. 30. The University of Central Florida has also cancelled classes and suspended most campus operations for Wednesday, and Rollins College has cancelled Wednesday in-person classes and activities.
The Charles Hosmer Morse Museum of American Art, Winter Park Library and Winter Park History Museum have also suspended operations for Wednesday and will reopen as soon as it is safe to do so.
Transportation
SunRail service has been suspended until further notice. Check the SunRail website for updates. All LYNX services will be off the road at 11 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 29, with ACCESS LYNX operating only life sustaining trips on Wednesday, Aug. 30. Service will be reestablished when it is deemed safe to do so. Check the LYNX website for additional information.
City Hall and parks
Winter Park City Hall and all administrative offices will be closed Wednesday, Aug. 30, and will resume normal business hours on Thursday, Aug. 31. All advisory board meetings scheduled for Wednesday have also been cancelled.
City parks, indoor recreation facilities and outdoor venues will be closed Wednesday and will resume normal operations Thursday. Residents are advised that park crews will be conducting clean-up efforts after the storm.
Lakes
According to a notice from City Hall, all lakes that can be lowered to accommodate stormwater drainage have been lowered. Lake Mendsen at Martin Luther King, Jr. Park has been drained to handle excess stormwater. The Chain of Lakes cannot be lowered but are currently at normal levels.
Waste pick-up
There will be no yard waste pickup on Wednesday, Aug. 30. A make-up day has been scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 2 – this is for yard waste only. There will be garbage pickup on Thursday, Aug. 31.
Emergency information
Orange County shelters will be opened as deemed necessary. Residents are asked to call 311 if special needs sheltering or transportation is required. For more information, access ocfl.net/shelters.
The list of official City of Winter Park information resources is as follows:
- citEnews email service – cityofwinterpark.org/citEnews
- Facebook – facebook.com/WinterParkEmergencyInfo
- Twitter – twitter.com/WinterParkFla
- Nextdoor – sign up at nextdoor.com
- City’s emergency alert system – sign up at cityofwinterpark.org/outreach.
Other resources include:
- Non-emergency information line 407-599-3494 (live during Emergency Operation Center activation)
- Report electric utility power outages to 1-877-811-8700
- Report water & wastewater utilities outages to 407-599-3219