Campus Alert Archive
FSU

Five Days Dark: Hurricane Helene Shutters Florida State From Wednesday Morning Through Sunday Night

FLhurricaneemergency notificationmedium confidence
Confirmed Threat

Florida State University closed its Tallahassee campus at 7:00 AM on Wednesday, September 25, 2024, in advance of Hurricane Helene and did not reopen until midnight on Monday, September 30. Classes were canceled Wednesday through Friday as the Category 4 hurricane made landfall in the Big Bend region. All 12 State University System of Florida institutions reopened within one week of landfall.

Alerts
3
Response
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Killed
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Injured
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Institution
Florida State University
Public R1 · FL
~45,000 studentsEverbridgeFSU Alert
Confirmed Timeline

Alert Sequence

3 messages in sequence · 1 verified verbatim

Some alert texts below are approximate reconstructions from news coverage, not confirmed verbatim transcripts. Reconstructed texts are shown in italic with a dashed border. Verified verbatim texts have a solid border and are marked accordingly.

INITIAL ALERTEmail
Verified verbatimFSU News — 'A Message from President McCullough: Hurricane Helene' (the email that paired with the 7:00 AM closure)802 chars
Dear FSU Family, As Hurricane Helene approaches, I want to emphasize that the safety of every member of our campus community is my top priority. Florida State University officials have been closely monitoring conditions for several days, and we have taken every precaution to prepare for what is expected to be a major storm. Teams across campus have been working diligently to secure our facilities and provide essential services for our students in campus residence halls. Please make sure you have a plan to shelter in place throughout the storm and prepare for potential power outages. Stay informed by regularly refreshing alerts.fsu.edu for the latest updates and instructions. We will navigate this storm together, and our strength as a community will see us through. Take care and stay safe.
Full verbatim text of President Richard McCullough's September 25, 2024 message, distributed via email and posted on FSU News at the same time the Tallahassee campus closed at 7:00 AM EDT
Notable for explicitly directing the community to 'shelter in place throughout the storm' rather than evacuate — a function of FSU's main campus sitting outside Tallahassee's storm-surge zones
Names alerts.fsu.edu rather than the FSU Alert SMS system as the canonical source of further updates — consistent with FSU's policy of treating that web archive as the system of record
UPDATEEmail
Approximate reconstruction282 chars
FSU ALERT UPDATE: Hurricane Helene is expected to make landfall tonight as a major hurricane. The Tallahassee campus remains closed through Sunday, September 29. Campus housing and essential operations continue. Shelter in place if you are on campus. Check alerts.fsu.edu regularly.

This text has been reconstructed from news coverage and may not reflect the exact original wording.

Reconstructed from FSU's ongoing hurricane communications
Hurricane Helene made landfall in the Big Bend region of Florida late on September 26 as a Category 4 hurricane
The main Tallahassee campus is not located within an evacuation zone for storm surge
ALL CLEAREmail
Approximate reconstruction249 chars
FSU ALERT: Florida State University will resume normal business operations at 12:00 AM Monday, September 30. All classes resume on Monday. Thank you for your patience during Hurricane Helene. Continue to check alerts.fsu.edu for any further updates.

This text has been reconstructed from news coverage and may not reflect the exact original wording.

Reconstructed from the university's announced reopening timeline
All 12 State University System of Florida institutions reopened within one week of Hurricane Helene's landfall
The campus was closed for approximately five days total from September 25 through September 29
Context

Background

As Hurricane Helene approached the Florida Gulf Coast in late September 2024, Florida State University was among the first major universities to announce a campus closure. President McCullough issued a message on September 25 stating that the safety of every campus community member was the top priority. The Tallahassee campus closed at 7:00 AM on Wednesday, September 25, and classes were canceled through Friday. Hurricane Helene made landfall late on September 26 in Florida's Big Bend region as a Category 4 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 140 mph. While the main Tallahassee campus is not located within a storm surge evacuation zone, the FSU Panama City campus sits within a Category 3 storm surge zone. Teams across campus worked to secure facilities and provide essential services for students in campus residence halls. The university reopened at midnight on September 30, and all 12 State University System of Florida institutions were operational within one week of landfall.
Analysis

Key Findings

FSU closed its Tallahassee campus for nearly five full days, from Wednesday morning through Sunday night
Essential operations and campus housing continued throughout the closure
The main campus is not in a storm surge evacuation zone, but the Panama City campus is in a Category 3 zone
All 12 State University System of Florida institutions reopened within one week of landfall
Outcome
The campus remained closed for nearly five days. Essential business operations and housing services continued throughout the closure. The university resumed normal operations at 12:00 AM on Monday, September 30, 2024. No significant structural damage to the main Tallahassee campus was reported.
Provenance

Sources

  1. Official
    A Message from President McCullough: Hurricane Helene (FSU News)
    news.fsu.edu
  2. Source
    All 12 State Universities Open Less Than One Week After Hurricane Helene (State University System of Florida)
    flbog.edu
  3. News
    FSU closes campus as Hurricane Helene approaches (Tomahawk Nation)
    tomahawknation.com
  4. Official
    FSU Alert (official alert page)
    alerts.fsu.edu
Tags
hurricanecampus-closurefloridahurricane-helenemulti-day-eventclass-cancellationessential-operations
Added May 2026Updated May 2026Via ingestion