Fresh Take Florida
The University of South Florida (USF) announced it would close all campuses ahead of Tropical Storm Helene, effective Wednesday.
All USF classes will be canceled until Monday. Residence halls will remain open on the Tampa and Sarasota-Manatee campuses but will be closed on the St. Petersburg campus. The school said students there without a place to stay will be picked up early Wednesday at the University Student Center and transported to Juniper-Poplar Hall on the Tampa campus.
Campus operations could resume as early as Saturday. The university said it will release an official announcement by Saturday.
The Tampa Bay area is under a storm watch and is preparing for winds of 74 mph or higher. The storm could reach Category 3 hurricane status by Thursday, with winds around 111 mph, according to forecasters.
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This story was produced by Fresh Take Florida, a news service of the University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications. The reporter can be reached at sophia.bailly@
