Winter Storm Monday Night Update

Escambia County Chairman Lumon May and City of Pensacola Mayor Ashton Hayward are working together to keep residents safe and informed during this Winter Storm.

Escambia County Public Safety is staffing the Emergency Operations Center a “Level 2” and will be monitoring local weather conditions through the night. A local state of emergency will begin at 12 a.m. Tuesday, January 28. At this time, residents should be preparing for the possibility of icy conditions on local roads and bridges.

The next Emergency Operations Center planning meeting with the National Weather Service will take place at 7 a.m. Tuesday, January 28. The EOC Media Room will be open to accredited members of the media beginning at 7:30 a.m. Tuesday.

Local residents are encouraged to stay home and off roadways through the duration of this weather event and should take the following precautionary steps before the severe weather arrives:

Review your disaster plan and prepaid for freezing temperatures

Prepare your disaster kit to include water, clothing, medications and other necessary items. 

For more tips, log onto www.bereadyescambia.com and be sure to follow Escambia County Emergency Management on Twitter @bereadyescambia.

The following closures have been announced for Tuesday, January 28, and Wednesday, January 29: 

• Escambia County Board of County Commissioners offices 
• Escambia County Clerk of Court and Comptroller, all Clerk locations 
• Escambia County Property Appraiser
• Escambia County School District
• Escambia County Tax Collector
• Escambia County Supervisor of Elections
• West Florida Public Libraries 
• Florida Department of Health, Escambia County
• City of Pensacola offices, excluding sanitation collections 
• Escambia and Santa Rosa County and Circuit Courts
• ARC Gateway
• United Cerebral Palsy of Northwest Florida, Capstone Academy Pensacola
• Autism Pensacola
• Big Brothers Big Sisters
• Boys and Girls Clubs of the Emerald Coast (seven clubs located in Escambia, Santa Rosa, Okaloosa and Walton Counties)
• Camp Fire/PSC Youth Development, Century and Milton Centers and all other afterschool and club programs
• Catholic Charities
• Children's Home Society
• The Community Action Program Head Start and All other Community Action Programs
• Community Drug and Alcohol Council, Inc (CDAC) Offices
• CDAC school programs in Escambia and Santa Rosa Counties
• The Epilepsy Resource Center (ERC)
• The Escambia County Healthy Start Coalition
• Escambia County Public Schools Foundation
• EscaRosa Coalition on the Homeless
• Families Count
• Health & Hope Clinics located in Pensacola and Century
• Manna Food Pantries
• Salvation Army
• United Cerebral Palsy of Northwest Florida Offices
• UCP's Capstone Academy Pensacola and Milton
• UCP's Children's Services Center and Milton Child Care Center
• USO Northwest Florida

 Partial Closures or unique operations are as follows:

• Bay Area Food Bank will suspend opening their office on Tuesday until Noon and will evaluate opening for the remainder of the day and Wednesday at that time.
• Be Ready Alliance Coordinating for Emergencies (BRACE) will be represented at the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) throughout the Level 1 activation and BRACE LLC staff will be onsite at Heritage Oaks, however, BRACE staff will work from their homes on Tuesday and Wednesday until weather conditions allow for safe travel to and from work.
• Though Gulf Coast Kid's House still will be open, they will not be taking clients or walk-ins January 28 or 29.
• United Ministries will evaluate for possible closure on Wednesday throughout the day on Tuesday
• United Way of Escambia County will suspend opening of the office until 10am on Tuesday, January 28. 2-1-1 information and referral agents will work from their homes for the duration of the winter event. Any cancellation of the office opening or work activity on Wednesday will be decided on January 28 based on the advancing weather conditions.

The YMCA will NOT provide school-aged child care on January 28 or 29. There will be no holiday camp. Branches will open as usual on the morning of January 28 and as the situation develops they will evaluate for other potential changes

The following scheduled meetings have been cancelled: 

• Natural Resources Damage Assessment (NRDA) meeting scheduled for the Bay Center at 6 p.m. on Tuesday
• Navy Boulevard Corridor Management Plan meeting scheduled for the Lexington Terrace Community Center at 6 p.m. on Tuesday.
• Development Review Committee meeting scheduled for Wednesday at Central Office Complex at 1 p.m. and has been rescheduled for Wednesday, February 5, at 1 p.m.
• The County Administrator interviews scheduled for Thursday, January 30
• The Special Board of County Commission Meeting to discuss County Administrator candidates on Friday, January 31
• Visit Pensacola meeting scheduled for Wednesday, January 29 has been rescheduled for Wednesday, February 5 at 3:00 p.m. in the Hagler/Mason room at City Hall.

The Pensacola International Airport will remain open and is conducting normal flight operations until airfield conditions necessitate closure. Airport personnel will be monitoring all airfield surfaces by utilizing specialized equipment that measures breaking efficiency. If runway conditions deteriorate due to ice or snow, airport staff will report field conditions to air traffic control and flight crews. If conditions fall to a poor breaking action, Pensacola International Airport will then close.

Airlines may decide to preemptively cancel flights at Pensacola International Airport out of concerns for people traveling on roads and bridges to get to the airport. Passengers should check the status of their flight at www.flypensacola.com for real-time flight information.

Additional information will be released as it becomes available.