{
  "id": "2024-10-07-saint-leo-university-hurricane-milton",
  "slug": "saint-leo-university-hurricane-milton-2024-10-07",
  "institution": {
    "name": "Saint Leo University",
    "shortName": "Saint Leo",
    "state": "FL",
    "type": "private-r2",
    "alertSystemName": "Saint Leo Alert",
    "enrollment": 11500
  },
  "incident": {
    "date": "2024-10-07",
    "endDate": "2024-10-19",
    "type": "hurricane",
    "cleryCategory": "emergency-notification",
    "headline": "Mandatory evacuation precedes a twelve-day hurricane closure",
    "headlinePublic": "Mandatory evacuation precedes a twelve-day hurricane closure",
    "summary": "Saint Leo University ordered all on-campus residential students to evacuate by noon on Monday, October 7, 2024 as Hurricane Milton approached the Tampa Bay region as a Category 5 storm. The university initially announced closures [October 7-10](https://naturecoaster.com/saint-leo-university-closes-locations-oct-7-10/), then [extended through Friday, October 11](https://lakerlutznews.com/saint-leo-university-announces-closures-ahead-of-tropical-storm-milton/), and did not issue an 'all clear' until Saturday, October 19, a 12-day closure of the University Campus, Tampa Education Center, and Center for Adult Learning.",
    "outcome": "All residential students evacuated by noon October 7. Three Saint Leo locations closed October 7 through October 18. All-clear effective Saturday, October 19. No reported student deaths.",
    "resolution": "confirmed-threat"
  },
  "alerts": [
    {
      "sequence": 1,
      "type": "initial",
      "channel": "email",
      "timestampApprox": "Sunday, October 6, 2024, as Hurricane Milton intensified to Category 5 over the eastern Gulf",
      "verbatimText": "",
      "isVerbatimConfirmed": false,
      "sourceUrl": "https://naturecoaster.com/saint-leo-university-closes-locations-oct-7-10/",
      "sourceDescription": "NatureCoaster.com reporting on Saint Leo announcement",
      "annotations": []
    },
    {
      "sequence": 2,
      "type": "update",
      "channel": "email",
      "timestampApprox": "Wednesday, October 9, 2024, as Milton made landfall near Siesta Key",
      "verbatimText": "",
      "isVerbatimConfirmed": false,
      "sourceUrl": "https://lakerlutznews.com/saint-leo-university-announces-closures-ahead-of-tropical-storm-milton/",
      "sourceDescription": "Laker/Lutz News reporting on extended closure",
      "annotations": []
    },
    {
      "sequence": 3,
      "type": "all-clear",
      "channel": "email",
      "timestampApprox": "Friday, October 18, 2024, after a damage assessment cleared the campus for return",
      "verbatimText": "",
      "isVerbatimConfirmed": false,
      "sourceDescription": "Reconstructed from Saint Leo University communications reported by NatureCoaster and Laker/Lutz News",
      "annotations": []
    },
    {
      "sequence": 4,
      "type": "all-clear",
      "timestampApprox": "Tuesday, October 15, 2024, 2 p.m., Saint Leo weather-advisory all-clear effective Saturday October 19",
      "channel": "email",
      "verbatimText": "Tuesday, October 15 | 2 p.m.\n\nSaint Leo University issues “all clear” following Hurricane Milton\n\nSaint Leo University is issuing an “all clear” effective Saturday, October 19, for its University Campus, Tampa Education Center, and Center for Adult Learning locations following Hurricane Milton.\n\nThis means that students, faculty, and staff may return to these locations and that classes and university operations will be running as scheduled on this date.\n\nStudents who live in the Villa should be able to return Saturday, October 19. Barring any unforeseen issues, students who live in Marmion-Snyder should be able to return to Marmion-Snyder after 2 p.m. on Sunday, October 20.  We ask that Marmion-Snyder students who must return prior to that time contact Residence Life at residence.life@saintleo.edu before returning for an assignment in a temporary location or shelter. Students living in those residence halls will be contacted via email regarding their status.\n\nA restoration company with expertise in water intrusion continues their work on these locations this week. In addition, the Wellness Center will continue to be closed until its status as a shelter is ascertained.\n\nStudents and employees who are facing hardships following the storm and are in need of academic or work flexibility should work with their instructors or supervisors to develop a plan for moving forward.",
      "isVerbatimConfirmed": true,
      "sourceUrl": "https://www.saintleo.edu/weather-advisory",
      "sourceDescription": "Saint Leo University weather-advisory: Tuesday, October 15 | 2 p.m. all-clear following Hurricane Milton",
      "annotations": [
        "2026-09-13 catch-up b21 P2 .edu. Dual HTML extract of the dated Oct 15 2 p.m. all-clear block on saintleo.edu/weather-advisory. Independent second-blind sha agreement. Seq 1-3 reconstructed Saint Leo Alert emails stay unconfirmed. First burst not newly confirmed: no 25-pass."
      ],
      "characterCount": 1391
    }
  ],
  "context": "Hurricane Milton underwent extreme rapid intensification in the Gulf of Mexico in early October 2024, briefly reaching Category 5 strength with [180 mph sustained winds](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurricane_Milton), among the strongest Atlantic hurricanes on record. The storm made landfall near Siesta Key, Florida on the evening of October 9 as a Category 3, after which it crossed the peninsula and exited near Cape Canaveral. Saint Leo University's main campus sits 30 miles northeast of Tampa in the small town of St. Leo, Pasco County, near forecast cone center. The university ordered [mandatory evacuation of all residential students by noon on Monday, October 7](https://naturecoaster.com/saint-leo-university-closes-locations-oct-7-10/) (about 48 hours before landfall) and extended its closure twice as damage assessment dragged through the following week. The university also closed its [Tampa Education Center and Center for Adult Learning](https://lakerlutznews.com/saint-leo-university-announces-closures-ahead-of-tropical-storm-milton/) at Pasco-Hernando State College. The full closure ran from October 7 through October 18 (12 calendar days) and athletics schedules were [significantly disrupted into mid-October](https://saintleolions.com/news/2024/10/11/general-saint-leo-university-athletics-announces-schedule-updates-post-hurricane-milton.aspx).",
  "keyFindings": [
    "Saint Leo issued a mandatory evacuation order for all on-campus housing by noon October 7, 48 hours before landfall",
    "The closure was extended twice, ultimately spanning 12 calendar days (October 7-18)",
    "Three university locations closed simultaneously: University Campus, Tampa Education Center, and Center for Adult Learning",
    "Saint Leo coordinated all-clear messaging explicitly rather than letting students return based on assumptions"
  ],
  "sources": [
    {
      "title": "Saint Leo University Closes Locations Oct. 7-10 - NatureCoaster.com",
      "url": "https://naturecoaster.com/saint-leo-university-closes-locations-oct-7-10/",
      "type": "local-media",
      "accessDate": "2026-05-14"
    },
    {
      "title": "Saint Leo University announces closures ahead of Tropical Storm Milton - Laker/Lutz News",
      "url": "https://lakerlutznews.com/saint-leo-university-announces-closures-ahead-of-tropical-storm-milton/",
      "type": "local-media",
      "accessDate": "2026-05-14"
    },
    {
      "title": "Saint Leo University Athletics Announces Schedule Updates Post Hurricane Milton",
      "url": "https://saintleolions.com/news/2024/10/11/general-saint-leo-university-athletics-announces-schedule-updates-post-hurricane-milton.aspx",
      "type": "official-archive",
      "accessDate": "2026-05-14"
    },
    {
      "title": "Weather Advisory - Saint Leo University",
      "url": "https://www.saintleo.edu/weather-advisory",
      "type": "official-archive",
      "accessDate": "2026-05-14"
    }
  ],
  "confidence": "medium",
  "tags": [
    "hurricane",
    "milton",
    "mandatory-evacuation",
    "tampa-bay",
    "pasco-county",
    "campus-closure",
    "twelve-day-closure",
    "florida"
  ],
  "dateAdded": "2026-05-14",
  "lastUpdated": "2026-09-27",
  "addedBy": "ingestion"
}