PANAMA CITY — Authorities around the Panhandle on Tuesday were watching the weather and preparing for potentially dangerous conditions.
Florida Department of Transportation (DOT) and officials from several counties had trucks loaded with dry sand on standby, and law enforcement officials in areas expected to be hit hardest warned emergency response could be delayed.
“Emergency response could be delayed due to dangerous road conditions,” said Lynne Abel, Emergency Management Director for Washington County. “We’re urging citizens to use caution when traveling.”
Citizens should “travel only if necessary,” said Florida Highway Patrol spokesman Lt. Steve Preston. “If they do have to travel, be aware of the conditions.”
Preston said FHP officials have rearranged shifts to have more troopers on the roads monitoring conditions, with an emphasis on counties north of Bay County.
“We’ll be making adjustments if necessary based on weather and location,” Preston said.
Washington County Sheriff’s deputies will be “fully staffed but moving slower,” spokeswoman Andrea Gainey said.
All state highways were open as of early Tuesday afternoon, said DOT spokeswoman Donna Green.
“DOT is taking proactive measures,” Green said. “We are monitoring the roads and bridges, including the Hathaway.”
Additional crews could be dispatched as needed, Green said, and DOT would release information about any road closures to news outlets and post updates on Twitter and at www.fl511.com.
Only essential service men and women were required to post for duty Naval Support Activity Panama City and Tyndall Air Force Base, officials said.
“Everybody needs to check with their chain of command for their essential personnel status,” said NSAPC spokesman Steve Applegate.
The Panama City Veterans Affairs office will be closed Wednesday, as well.
The city of Lynn Haven announced trash collections scheduled for Wednesday would be delayed until Saturday.
Gulf Power officials warned sporadic outages were possible, and urged customers who lose power to turn off the heater while their power is out, and then wait about 15 minutes after service has been restored before turning the heater back on, said spokesman Jeff Rogers.
“We’re not expecting any widespread outages,” Rogers said. “As always, our guys are on standby to respond.”
Gulf Power customers who lose power can check www.mygulfpower.com on battery powered devices for maps and updates on the status of the outage, Rogers said.
Delta had canceled most of its flights in and out of Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport on Tuesday and early Wednesday; Southwest was operating as normal, said Parker McClellan, the airport’s executive director, although the airline was reporting delays Tuesday afternoon. Airport officials were monitoring the weather and updating www.iflybeaches.com/flights.
“We remind everybody to check the website before they come to the airport,” McClellan said.
The Bay County Government Center will be closed Wednesday. County Commission Chairman Guy Tunnell signed an emergency declaration to shut down the government building. All essential county personnel will work today, however, including emergency dispatch, firefighters, emergency medical staff, utilities and roads and bridges employees.
All Bay County libraries also will be closed Wednesday. Bay County is opening an emergency shelther at 6 p.m. Tuesday at Deane Bozeman High School. For more details on the shelter, call the Red Cross at 763-6587.
All courthouses in the 14th Judicial Circuit will be closed Wednesday. They are expected to reopen Thursday.
Also closing: the M.B. Miller County Pier, Harder’s Park and Bay County Animal Control.