Campus Alert Archive
FSU

Closed Through September 15: FSU's Week-Long Hurricane Irma Shutdown Across All Campuses

FLhurricaneemergency notificationmedium confidence
Confirmed Threat

On Thursday, September 7, 2017, Florida State University announced its main Tallahassee campus and all branch campuses would be closed Friday, September 8 through Friday, September 15 — a week-long closure — in response to Hurricane Irma. Governor Rick Scott had ordered all state universities to close ahead of the storm to ensure shelter capacity. FSU's closure extended beyond the gubernatorial mandate due to concerns about post-storm power outages, fallen trees, and continuing wind impact in the Tallahassee area, as warned on the FSU ALERT system at alerts.fsu.edu.

Alerts
3
Response
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Killed
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Injured
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Institution
Florida State University
Public R1 · FL
~41,700 studentsFSU ALERT
Confirmed Timeline

Alert Sequence

3 messages in sequence

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
Approximate reconstructionReconstructed from FSU News September 7, 2017 update on Hurricane Irma closure430 chars
FSU ALERT: In compliance with Governor Rick Scott's directive that all Florida state universities close due to Hurricane Irma, Florida State University will be closed Friday, September 8 through Monday, September 11 at all campus locations. All classes are canceled. All events are canceled. Only essential personnel are required to report to work. Updates will be posted to alerts.fsu.edu and pushed through the FSU ALERT system.

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

Issued in compliance with Governor Scott's statewide directive — FSU was one of 12 State University System institutions closing simultaneously, plus 28 Florida College System schools, public K-12, and state offices
The FSU ALERT system @FSUAlert on X (Twitter) and alerts.fsu.edu are the named delivery channels; FSU was an early adopter of paired text/email/social emergency notification
The initial Friday-through-Monday window matched the gubernatorial directive; the subsequent extension through Friday September 15 was an FSU-specific decision driven by Tallahassee tree damage and power outage risk
UPDATEEmail+4d
Approximate reconstructionReconstructed from FSU News and WCTV coverage of the September 11 extension through September 15447 chars
FSU ALERT: Florida State University will extend its campus closure through Friday, September 15. All FSU campuses — Tallahassee, Panama City, and the FSU Real Estate Center in Sarasota — remain closed. The extension is due to ongoing tropical-storm-force winds, the risk of falling trees, and potential long-term power outages in the Tallahassee area. Travel to the east and south is strongly discouraged. Classes will resume Monday, September 18.

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

The FSU-specific extension through September 15 — five days beyond the gubernatorial directive — is one of the longest campus closures in modern FSU history, exceeded only by the COVID-19 closure in 2020
Tallahassee experienced its strongest sustained winds Monday night September 11 as Irma passed approximately 100 miles to the east as a tropical storm
The 'travel to the east and south strongly discouraged' language reflects that Tallahassee is in the Florida Panhandle and Irma's track took it up through the peninsula — students returning from evacuation routes had to navigate damaged areas
ALL CLEAREmail+8d
Approximate reconstructionReconstructed from FSU News reopening announcement issued Friday September 15, 2017321 chars
FSU ALERT: Florida State University will resume normal operations on Monday, September 18. All FSU campuses will reopen. Classes resume Monday on the regular schedule. Damage assessment is ongoing; faculty and staff are asked to be flexible with students whose travel or housing was affected. Thank you for your patience.

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

Monday September 18 reopening — 10 days after initial closure on Friday September 8 — represents one of the longest hurricane-related campus closures FSU has experienced
The 'faculty flexibility' closing language matches the parallel UF Alert closing language for the same hurricane, suggesting cross-institutional template harmonization
The FSU/FAMU Classic football game scheduled for September 9 had been canceled the week prior under a separate FSU Athletics announcement
Context

Background

Florida State University operates the FSU ALERT emergency notification system, delivering messages by text, email, and the @FSUAlert X/Twitter handle. Hurricane Irma — a Category 5 Atlantic hurricane that made first U.S. landfall in the Florida Keys as Category 4 (130 mph) at 9:10 AM EDT on September 10, 2017, and second landfall at Marco Island as Category 3 (115 mph) at 3:35 PM EDT the same day — prompted Governor Rick Scott to direct all Florida state universities, state colleges, and public K-12 schools to close from Friday September 8 through Monday September 11. FSU's initial closure matched that gubernatorial directive. As Irma's track shifted west and the storm tracked up the Florida peninsula as a tropical storm, Tallahassee — in the Panhandle, approximately 100 miles west of the eventual storm track — experienced sustained tropical-storm-force winds, widespread tree damage, and prolonged power outages. FSU extended its closure through Friday, September 15 — five days beyond the gubernatorial mandate. All FSU campuses — Tallahassee, Panama City, and the FSU Real Estate Center in Sarasota — were closed; the FSU/FAMU football Classic scheduled for September 9 was canceled. Classes resumed Monday, September 18, 2017. The week-long closure is one of the longest hurricane-related FSU shutdowns in modern history, exceeded only by the COVID-19 closure of 2020. The Irma response established the FSU ALERT template later used for Hurricane Michael in 2018 — which devastated the FSU Panama City branch — and for the 2024 Helene/Milton sequence.
Analysis

Key Findings

FSU closed all campuses Friday September 8 through Friday September 15, 2017 — a 10-calendar-day closure that is one of the longest hurricane-related FSU shutdowns in modern history
The initial Friday-through-Monday closure matched Governor Rick Scott's directive to all Florida state universities; FSU extended five additional days based on Tallahassee tree damage and power-outage risk
All FSU campuses — Tallahassee, Panama City, and the FSU Real Estate Center in Sarasota — were included; the FSU/FAMU football Classic on September 9 was canceled
Tallahassee experienced its strongest sustained winds Monday night September 11 as Irma passed approximately 100 miles to the east as a tropical storm
Classes resumed Monday, September 18, 2017 — 10 days after initial closure
The Irma response established the FSU ALERT template later used for Hurricane Michael (2018) — which devastated the FSU Panama City branch — and for the 2024 Helene/Milton sequence
Provenance

Sources

  1. Official
    UPDATE: Hurricane Irma - Florida State University News
    news.fsu.edu
  2. Official
    FSU Alert
    alerts.fsu.edu
  3. social media
    FSU Alert (@FSUAlert) on X
    x.com
  4. Official
    About the FSU ALERT Emergency Notification & Warning System
    emergency.fsu.edu
  5. News
    FAMU, FSU keeping a close eye on Hurricane Irma (WCTV)
    wctv.tv
  6. encyclopedia
    Hurricane Irma (Wikipedia)
    en.wikipedia.org
Tags
hurricanehurricane-irmacampus-closurefloridatallahasseefsu-alert2017-hurricane-seasonpublic-r1gubernatorial-directive
Added May 2026Updated May 2026Via ingestion