GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The Week 6 football schedule in the Sunshine State is under possible threat of being upended by potential Hurricane Helene later this week.
We will be keeping this post updated through the entire week with game postponements and cancellations along with the latest updates from the National Hurricane Center in Miami.
This will be a LIVE BLOG with time stamps and the newest information included at the top just below the Week 6 Schedule Changes.
WEEK 6 SCHEDULE CHANGES
Mon. Sept. 23, 2023 – 6:37 PM EDT
NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER – 5 PM UPDATE
At 5 p.m. EDT, Potential Tropical Cyclone No. 9 was located at 18.1 N 82.2 W moving NNW at 7 m.p.h. with maximum sustained winds at 35 m.p.h.
Based on the forecast at this time the Florida Panhandle and Big Bend areas are where the forecast seems to be pinpointing to a major hurricane making landfall sometime on Thursday but a lot of the Florida Gulf Coast is not out of the woods in the cone of uncertainty.
Key messages from the National Hurricane Center in the 5 p.m. EDT advisory include:
1. The disturbance is forecast to intensify and be near hurricane strength when it reaches the far northwestern Caribbean Sea Tuesday night. Tropical storm conditions are expected over portions of western Cuba and the northeastern coast of the Yucatan Peninsula with hurricane conditions possible.
2. The system is expected to intensify into a major hurricane before it approaches the northeastern Gulf Coast on Thursday. While it is too soon to pinpoint the exact location and magnitude of impacts, the potential for life-threatening storm surge and damaging hurricane-force winds along the coast of the Florida Panhandle and the Florida west coast is increasing. Storm Surge and Hurricane Watches will likely be issued for a portion of that area tonight or Tuesday morning, and residents should ensure they have their hurricane plan in place.
3. Potential Tropical Cyclone Nine will bring heavy rain to portions of the western Caribbean which may lead to flooding and possible mudslides in western Cuba.
Also with the advisory update Tropical Storm Watches went up for portions of the Florida Keys including:
* Dry Tortugas
* Lower Keys south of the Seven Mile Bridge
A Tropical Storm Watch means that tropical storm conditions are possible within the watch area, generally within 48 hours.
MORE GAMES BEING RESCHEDULED AND SHUFFLED TO OTHER WEEKS
Per PGGridrion on Twitter (@CountyPolk) has indicated that the Winter Haven at Haines City game in District 7A-6 has been moved up to Wednesday at 7 p.m. while Davenport at Lake Minneola for their District 6A-6 contest is being moved up to Tuesday at 7 p.m.
Meanwhile, Vanguard’s game at Lecanto has been moved to Week 8 as both teams have the same bye Week making the reschedule easy on both the Knights and Panthers.
FLORIDA GOVERNOR RON DESANTIS DECLARES STATE OF EMERGENCY
Governor Ron DeSantis earlier this afternoon issued a State of Emergency declaring 41 of 67 counties under a State of Emergency through Executive Order 24-208.
The following counties have been included in the State of Emergency: Alachua, Bay, Bradford, Calhoun, Charlotte, Citrus, Collier, Columbia, Dixie, Escambia, Franklin, Gadsden, Gilchrist, Gulf, Hamilton, Hernando, Hillsborough, Holmes, Jackson, Jefferson, Lafayette, Lee, Leon, Levy, Liberty, Madison, Manatee, Marion, Monroe, Okaloosa, Pasco, Pinellas, Santa Rosa, Sarasota, Sumter, Suwannee, Taylor, Union, Wakulla, Walton, and Washington counties.
Mon. Sept. 23, 2023 – 3:23 PM EDT
ANOTHER GAME MOVED IN POLK COUNTY
George Jenkins (Lakeland) announced that their District 7A-6 opener against Ridge Community (Davenport) will now move from Friday to Wednesday at 7 p.m.
PINELLAS COUNTY SCHOOLS MONITORING SITUATION
Pinellas County Schools is monitoring the the situation in the Gulf, but has said schools and offices will be open for normal operations tomorrow with their next update coming by 11:00 AM tomorrow (Tuesday), per a post by @my_pcs on X.
Mon. Sept. 23, 2023 – 11:45 AM EDT
NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER INITIATES ADVISORIES
The National Hurricane Center has initiated advisories on Potential Tropical Cyclone No. 9 at 11:00 AM EDT. At 11 AM, the center of PTC No. 9 was located at 17.6 N 82.0 W moving North at 6 m.p.h. with sustained winds around 30 m.p.h.
As of now, no watches or warnings have been issued for Florida, but sources like Bryan Norcross and Mike’s Weather Page have indicated that Florida could see Hurricane and Storm Surge watches go up as early as tomorrow along the Gulf Coast.
On the 11 AM Forecast Discussion these were the key messages from the NHC:
1. The disturbance is forecast to strengthen and be near hurricane strength when it reaches the far northwestern Caribbean Sea Tuesday night. Tropical storm conditions are expected over portions of western Cuba and the northeastern coast of the Yucatan Peninsula with hurricane conditions possible.
2. The system is expected to intensify while it moves northward over the eastern Gulf of Mexico, and it could be a major hurricane when it reaches the northeastern Gulf Coast on Thursday. There is an increasing risk of life-threatening storm surge and damaging hurricane-force winds along portions of the northern and northeastern Gulf Coast, including the Florida Panhandle and portions of the Florida west coast. Although it is too soon to specify the exact location and magnitude of impacts, residents in these areas should monitor the latest forecast updates and ensure that they have their hurricane plan in place.
3. Potential Tropical Cyclone Nine will bring heavy rain to portions of the western Caribbean which may lead to flooding and possible mudslides in western Cuba.
FHSAA SENDS EMAIL TO MEMBERS SCHOOLS TO MONITOR
At 9:54 AM Monday, The Florida High School Athletic Association mass emailed member schools about Think Ahead, Have A Plan, Be Prepared as they are monitoring the situation regarding PTC No. 9.
In the email which was signed by Executive Director Craig Damon, the FHSAA asked schools to start thinking ahead and preparing a plan in case any athletic events will need postponement or cancellation to avoid as many future cancellations and/or postponements as possible.
The Florida High School Athletic Association is currently monitoring the Gulf and has received the latest update from the National Hurricane Center. The NHC has given the area in the Caribbean Sea/Gulf of Mexico a high chance of developing into a tropical depression and eventually a Hurricane in the next few days, and the state of Florida should monitor this system.
Therefore, in preparation for this week’s sporting events, it is recommended that your staff begin the process of thinking ahead and preparing a plan for the rescheduling of events that could potentially be impacted by weather. While we understand that weather is often unpredictable, we would like to avoid as many future cancellations and/or postponements as possible.
We will continue to monitor updates and provide additional support if the storm begins to strengthen and potentially impact our state. FHSAA asks that you use this time to communicate, plan accordingly, and be proactive about storm preparation. If you have any questions or need assistance, please feel free to contact us.
Thank you for your attention to this matter.
FIRST GAME CHANGE ANNOUNCED
Per Polkway’s Landlin May, via an article from Andy Villamarzo at High School on SI, the District 5A-6 open between Lakeland and Lake Gibson has been bumped up three days as both teams do not want to take a chance with potential Helene having a chance of impacting the Polk County area during the week. The game has been rescheduled to be played tomorrow, Tue. Sept. 24 with a 7:00 p.m. kickoff.
FLORIDAHSFOOTBALL.COM COVERAGE
- Here is what we will be doing in regards of coverage of the situation: – It is Week 6 for the FHSAA football calendar as well as the SSAA football calendar. This week is an important week on the calendar as it is open of district play for many schools. These games will have to get rescheduled if they are postponed.
- Our four Blitz Shows will air as schedule tonight (Monday) and tomorrow (Tuesday) night. We are wrapping up finalizing our guest for the Gulf Coast Blitz and we have guests set for the other shows as well. We will be pushing out our show previews in the next couple of hours for the Central Florida Blitz and Gulf Coast Blitz.
Stay tuned to FloridaHSFootball.com for continuing coverage. You can also download the FloridaHSFootball.com App on your mobile device and follow the updates there as well. Download for iOS or Android!
