Polk State College will be closed Thursday due to Tropical Storm Nicole

Posted on by Polk Newsroom

Polk State College and the collegiate high schools will be open Wednesday with all in-person classes taking place until 5 p.m. Online classes will take place through the evening on Wednesday. The College will be closed on Thursday due to Tropical Storm Nicole. This includes all operations including remote and online classes. All events on campus for Wednesday evening and all day Thursday, including the College Open House are canceled. The Open House event is expected to be rescheduled.

As of 7 a.m. Wednesday, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) reported that the center of Tropical Storm Nicole will approach the northwestern Bahamas this morning, move near or over those islands by midday, and approach the east coast of Florida tonight.  Nicole’s center is then expected to move across central and northern Florida into southern Georgia Thursday and Thursday night.

Polk County is under a Tropical Storm Warning, with tropical storm conditions expected Wednesday afternoon until Thursday afternoon.

The College’s Emergency Management Team will continue to meet daily to determine if closures need to be modified or extended. Updates will be provided on polk.edu and through local and social media.

Polk State urges everyone to sign up for AlertPolk and monitor messaging from Polk County Emergency Management, the Florida Division of Emergency Management, and the National Hurricane Center. Polk County residents are also encouraged to review information on the Polk County Emergency Management website regarding hurricane preparedness, emergency and special needs shelters, and more.

Students, faculty, and staff should also ensure contact information in Passport is up to date to receive emergency alerts from Polk State. Students should check under “My Details” and employees should check under “Personal” and “Change Contact Info.” Numbers entered in the “Cellular Number” field in the “Personal Information” section will be used for emergency voice and text messages.

Polk County sandbag site are open Wednesday from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the following locations:

  • Mulberry – 900 NE 5th St., Mulberry – 863.519.4734
  • Lakeland – 8970 N. Campbell Road, Lakeland – 863.815.6701
  • Fort Meade – 1061 NE 9th St., Fort Meade – 863.285.6588
  • Frostproof – 350 County Road 630A, Frostproof – 863.635.7879
  • Auburndale – 1701 Holt Road, Auburndale – 863.965.5524
  • Dundee – 805 Dr. Martin Luther King St. SW, Dundee – 863.421.3367
  • Poinciana Park – Corner of Lake Hatchineha Road and Marigold Ave.