The outlook for those in the path of Hurricane Milton hasn’t improved very much. That includes Coffee County.
The National Weather Service has updated its forecast for the storm and Coffee County could receive winds in the 30-50 mile per hour range. Wednesday morning, Milton was a Category 4 storm with winds as high as 145 mph. The storm has the west coast of Florida in its sights and will bring catastrophic damage and life-threatening conditions to the state. Milton is expected to make landfall just after midnight Thursday and move across Florida before heading out into the Atlantic Ocean. Dangerous winds and flooding will result.
Locally, power crews, the Salvation Army, local churches and charities, state organizations, and many others are continuing the cleanup in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, which hit the community two weeks ago. Work will continue until sustained winds reach 35 mph. At that point, emergency services will stop; ambulances, fire trucks, etc., cannot sustain winds in excess of 35 mph.
There are still many trees in Coffee County that are leaning due to Hurricane Helene. Please take precautions around those trees and other obstacles that still pose a threat. The shelter at Central Square remains open. If you need to leave your home for safer housing, please do so before conditions deteriorate.