Hurricane Sally struck the Alabama Gulf Coast as a Category 2 storm, bringing with it widespread flooding and damage that grounded the Baldwin County Public Schools bus fleet and canceled class for the remainder of the week.
The district closed school Tuesday in anticipation of the storm, which made landfall early Wednesday morning at Gulf Shores, Alabama, which is located in Baldwin County.
Anthony Pollard, the district’s transportation supervisor, relayed to School Transportation News that as of 11 a.m. local time on Wednesday, the school system had yet to assess all damage, but most roads were closed and power was out.
By by the afternoon, Superintendent Eddie Tyler wrote on Facebook that school was canceled for the remainder of the week, as Sally turned out to be a “very destructive storm.”
“We are evaluating our campuses and our transportation routes. Many are without power and crews expect it will be the weekend before most are restored,” he added.
Related: Update: Laura Leaves Gulf Coast Under State of Emergency, Flood Waters
Related: (STN Podcast E22) Weathering the Storms: School Bus Operations Commence Amid COVID-19
Related: Above-Normal Hurricane Activity Predicted This Season
Meanwhile, Montgomery Public Schools located about 90 miles south of Birmingham, closed school and all afterschool activities on Wednesday. At this report, the district had yet to publish a decision on reopening Thursday.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration forecast that the downgraded tropical storm will move into Georgia by around 8 a.m. Eastern on Thursday and later that day heading into South Carolina before entering North Carolina on Friday morning.
