Florida high school football games were postponed due to Hurricane Milton, which caused severe damage near Siesta Key, Florida, on Wednesday night. It also affected the central and northeastern parts of the state.
High school sports schedules were severely affected by the hurricane as winds topped 180 miles per hour. The Tampa Bay and St. Petersburg areas experienced landfalls. The high wind speeds meant that the storm was upgraded to a category 5 hurricane within a few hours.
Although many counties and districts decided to postpone their games this week, some areas will go ahead as planned and play their scheduled games, as per The Florida High School Athletic Association.
"With Hurricane Milton approaching, the FHSAA reminds all schools to be prepared to follow your local emergency management agencies," Executive Director of the FHSAA Craig Damon said, as per MaxPreps.
"After much conversation, the fall sports schedule will continue as planned and we will work to provide as much flexibility as possible in rescheduling contests. … All decisions remain tentative and remain contingent on post-storm outcomes."
Most of the Northeast area high school football games were postponed or rescheduled due to the hurricane.
Hurricane Milton is the second hurricane to hit Florida in three weeks
Florida experienced two of its worst hurricanes in three weeks as Hurricane Helen and Hurricane Milton caused huge damage to the state. Hurricane Helen affected the Big Bend area of Florida and also some parts of Georgia, North Carolina and the Tennessee Valley from Sept. 24-29.
It claimed more than 150 lives, and people are still dealing with its aftereffects. The hurricane also affected high school sports in Florida, as most games were postponed or rescheduled.
Hurricane Milton, meanwhile, came through Milton at speeds of up to 180 miles per hour, as per the National Hurricane Center, and caused huge damage to the Tampa Bay area. Both hurricanes have caused massive shifts in the Florida high school football schedule.
Duval County Public Schools and St. Johns County School District canceled their sports events in advance of Hurricane Milton. Moreover, the Putnam County School District, Nassau County and Clay County have also canceled school activities from Tuesday to Thursday.
However, they are yet to make any cancellations or postponements on the Friday events, including their football games on the day.