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Emergency Operations Center (EOC) Activation Information

EOC building

Beginning at 9 a.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025, the EOC will be at a level 2 partial activation with Emergency Management Staff monitoring storm conditions. Below is the latest information, the most recent posted toward the top.

Read Governor Desantis' EO 25-13, State of Emergency for the State of Florida >>

 

ROAD INFO

There are multiple ways to receive alerts for the most up-to-date road closure information.

โšซ๏ธ>>>๐๐ˆ๐—๐‹๐„: For any road closure updates, text your zip code to 888777 to receive Nixle alerts. 

โšซ๏ธ>>> ๐…๐‹๐Ÿ“๐Ÿ๐Ÿ.๐œ๐จ๐ฆ >> https://fl511.com/

 

CURRENT ROAD CONDITIONS ( Info gathered from OCSO Nixle Alerts)

 

  • Per Crestview PD, both east and westbound ramps to I-10 are closed.
  • Per FHP Brooks Bridge hs reopened after a brief closing.
  • The overpass over the railroad tracks at Chestnut Ave. in Crestview on SR 85 is now closed, both south and northbound lanes.
  • Per FDOT: Westbound lanes of Interstate-10 from mile marker 56 to 0 are closed.
  • All of Eglin Parkway is down to 2 lanes only due to low visibility.
  • Both northbound and southbound lanes of SR 85 in Crestview shutdown between John King Road and Mirage Rd. due to road conditions.
  • Shoal River Bridge on US Hyw 90 in Crestview is impassable.
  • OCSO:I-10 overpass on Antioch Road is iced over and impassable
  • OCSO: Wilkerson Bluff Rd. overpass over I-10 is iced over and impassable.
  • OCSO: Hwy 2 , Peaden, and Sherman Kennedy Bridges are being closed due to being completely iced over.

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Update: Posted Tues. Jan. 21, 2025 - 1:30 p.m.

Our Public Safety staff works around the clock to keep us safe and informed. As the winter weather descends upon us, our Public Safety Director Patrick Maddox wanted to share his thoughts as staff monitors the storm.

๐บ๐‘Ÿ๐‘’๐‘’๐‘ก๐‘–๐‘›๐‘”๐‘  ๐‘Ž๐‘™๐‘™, ๐ด๐‘  ๐‘ค๐‘’ ๐‘๐‘’โ„Ž๐‘œ๐‘™๐‘‘ ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘’ ๐‘›๐‘Ž๐‘ก๐‘ข๐‘Ÿ๐‘Ž๐‘™ ๐‘ค๐‘œ๐‘›๐‘‘๐‘’๐‘Ÿ ๐‘ข๐‘›๐‘“๐‘œ๐‘™๐‘‘๐‘–๐‘›๐‘” ๐‘๐‘’๐‘“๐‘œ๐‘Ÿ๐‘’ ๐‘ข๐‘ , ๐‘ค๐‘’ ๐‘Ž๐‘Ÿ๐‘’ ๐‘“๐‘œ๐‘Ÿ๐‘๐‘’๐‘‘ ๐‘ก๐‘œ ๐‘Ÿ๐‘’๐‘š๐‘–๐‘›๐‘‘ ๐‘’๐‘ฃ๐‘’๐‘Ÿ๐‘ฆ๐‘œ๐‘›๐‘’ ๐‘œ๐‘“ ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘’ โ„Ž๐‘Ž๐‘ง๐‘Ž๐‘Ÿ๐‘‘๐‘  ๐‘๐‘Ÿ๐‘’๐‘Ž๐‘ก๐‘’๐‘‘ ๐‘๐‘ฆ ๐‘ ๐‘ข๐‘โ„Ž ๐‘Ž ๐‘š๐‘–๐‘Ÿ๐‘Ž๐‘๐‘™๐‘’- ๐‘ ๐‘๐‘’๐‘๐‘–๐‘“๐‘–๐‘๐‘Ž๐‘™๐‘™๐‘ฆ ๐‘Ÿ๐‘œ๐‘Ž๐‘‘๐‘ค๐‘Ž๐‘ฆ๐‘ . ๐ถ๐‘œ๐‘›๐‘‘๐‘–๐‘ก๐‘–๐‘œ๐‘›๐‘  ๐‘Ž๐‘Ÿ๐‘’ ๐‘ž๐‘ข๐‘–๐‘๐‘˜๐‘™๐‘ฆ ๐‘‘๐‘’๐‘ก๐‘’๐‘Ÿ๐‘–๐‘œ๐‘Ÿ๐‘Ž๐‘ก๐‘–๐‘›๐‘” ๐‘Ž๐‘›๐‘‘ ๐‘๐‘œ๐‘ข๐‘›๐‘ก๐‘ฆ/๐‘š๐‘ข๐‘›๐‘–๐‘๐‘–๐‘๐‘Ž๐‘™ ๐‘๐‘Ÿ๐‘–๐‘‘๐‘”๐‘’๐‘  ๐‘Ž๐‘Ÿ๐‘’ ๐‘ž๐‘ข๐‘–๐‘๐‘˜๐‘™๐‘ฆ ๐‘–๐‘๐‘–๐‘›๐‘” ๐‘œ๐‘ฃ๐‘’๐‘Ÿ. ๐น๐ท๐‘‚๐‘‡ โ„Ž๐‘Ž๐‘  ๐‘’๐‘›๐‘”๐‘Ž๐‘”๐‘’๐‘‘ ๐‘–๐‘› ๐‘Ÿ๐‘œ๐‘๐‘ข๐‘ ๐‘ก ๐‘‘๐‘’-๐‘–๐‘๐‘–๐‘›๐‘” ๐‘’๐‘“๐‘“๐‘œ๐‘Ÿ๐‘ก๐‘  ๐‘คโ„Ž๐‘–๐‘โ„Ž ๐‘š๐‘Ž๐‘ฆ ๐‘๐‘’ ๐‘’๐‘๐‘™๐‘–๐‘๐‘ ๐‘’๐‘‘ ๐‘๐‘ฆ ๐‘ ๐‘ข๐‘โ„Ž โ„Ž๐‘’๐‘Ž๐‘ฃ๐‘ฆ ๐‘ ๐‘›๐‘œ๐‘ค๐‘“๐‘Ž๐‘™๐‘™. ๐‘Š๐‘’ ๐‘š๐‘Ž๐‘ฆ ๐‘›๐‘œ๐‘ก ๐‘๐‘’ ๐‘Ž๐‘๐‘™๐‘’ ๐‘ก๐‘œ ๐‘ข๐‘๐‘‘๐‘Ž๐‘ก๐‘’ ๐‘’๐‘Ž๐‘โ„Ž ๐‘ ๐‘š๐‘Ž๐‘™๐‘™ ๐‘๐‘Ÿ๐‘–๐‘‘๐‘”๐‘’ ๐‘คโ„Ž๐‘–๐‘โ„Ž ๐‘๐‘™๐‘œ๐‘ ๐‘’๐‘  ๐‘–๐‘› ๐‘Ÿ๐‘’๐‘Ž๐‘™-๐‘ก๐‘–๐‘š๐‘’ ๐‘Ž๐‘  ๐‘ค๐‘’ ๐‘๐‘Ÿ๐‘–๐‘›๐‘” ๐‘œ๐‘ข๐‘Ÿ ๐‘๐‘Ÿ๐‘’๐‘ค๐‘  ๐‘–๐‘› ๐‘“๐‘œ๐‘Ÿ ๐‘ ๐‘Ž๐‘“๐‘’๐‘ก๐‘ฆ, ๐‘๐‘ข๐‘ก ๐น๐ฟ511.๐‘๐‘œ๐‘š ๐‘–๐‘  ๐‘Ž๐‘› ๐‘’๐‘ฅ๐‘๐‘’๐‘™๐‘™๐‘’๐‘›๐‘ก ๐‘ ๐‘œ๐‘ข๐‘Ÿ๐‘๐‘’ ๐‘“๐‘œ๐‘Ÿ ๐‘ข๐‘๐‘‘๐‘Ž๐‘ก๐‘’๐‘‘ ๐‘๐‘™๐‘œ๐‘ ๐‘ข๐‘Ÿ๐‘’๐‘  ๐‘œ๐‘“ ๐‘ ๐‘ก๐‘Ž๐‘ก๐‘’ ๐‘Ÿ๐‘œ๐‘Ž๐‘‘๐‘  ๐‘Ž๐‘›๐‘‘ ๐‘๐‘Ÿ๐‘–๐‘‘๐‘”๐‘’๐‘ . ๐ผ๐‘“ ๐‘ฆ๐‘œ๐‘ข ๐‘‘๐‘œ๐‘›’๐‘ก โ„Ž๐‘Ž๐‘ฃ๐‘’ ๐‘ก๐‘œ ๐‘‘๐‘Ÿ๐‘–๐‘ฃ๐‘’- ๐‘‘๐‘œ๐‘›’๐‘ก. ๐‘Š๐‘’’๐‘™๐‘™ ๐‘”๐‘’๐‘ก ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘Ÿ๐‘œ๐‘ข๐‘”โ„Ž ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘–๐‘  ๐‘ก๐‘œ๐‘”๐‘’๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘’๐‘Ÿ- ๐‘ ๐‘ก๐‘Ž๐‘ฆ ๐‘ค๐‘Ž๐‘Ÿ๐‘š, ๐‘Ž๐‘›๐‘‘ ๐‘Ÿ๐‘’๐‘๐‘œ๐‘Ÿ๐‘ก ๐‘Ž๐‘™๐‘™ ๐‘ข๐‘›๐‘ ๐‘Ž๐‘“๐‘’ ๐‘๐‘œ๐‘›๐‘‘๐‘–๐‘ก๐‘–๐‘œ๐‘›๐‘  ๐‘ก๐‘œ ๐‘™๐‘œ๐‘๐‘Ž๐‘™ ๐‘Ž๐‘ข๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘œ๐‘Ÿ๐‘–๐‘ก๐‘–๐‘’๐‘ . - Patrick Maddox, Director of Okaloosa County Public Safety.

Want the most up-to-date road info? There are multiple ways to receive alerts for the most up-to-date road closure information.

โšซ๏ธ>>>๐๐ˆ๐—๐‹๐„: For any road closure updates, text your zip code to 888777 to receive Nixle alerts. Stay safe!
โšซ๏ธ>>> ๐…๐‹๐Ÿ“๐Ÿ๐Ÿ.๐œ๐จ๐ฆ >> https://fl511.com/
 
 
 
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Update posted Tues. Jan. 21, 2025 at 11:00 a.m.
The National Weather Service has updated the expected snowfall amounts. Travel is strongly discouraged throughout the day.
 
Update posted Tues., Jan. 21, 2025 at 8 a.m.
WHAT'S NEW: No significant changes since yesterday afternoon's briefing. Snow totals have been adjusted slightly. 
Key Messages: 

· A potentially historic snow event is possible across the southern half of the area, especially for areas along the coast. 

· Major impacts are expected across the entire area, even across locations that receive minor accumulations. 

· This event is expected to be primarily snow; however, there could be some sleet that tries to mix in across the FL Panhandle. 

· Patchy light snow may start by 6am across southwest Alabama and southeast Mississippi and as early as 9am further east across south central AL and the NW FL Panhandle. The heaviest accumulations are expected late morning through the afternoon. 

· Temperatures will drop into the teens and low 20s Tuesday night/Wednesday morning. 

· Highs Wednesday will only reach the mid to upper 30s, so it is likely snow/ice on roads and bridges will still be a concern for Wednesday night/Thursday morning. 

Mostly clear skies on Wednesday may help to melt some of the snow/ice on area roadways, but any residual moisture will refreeze at night. 

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โ„๏ธโ„๏ธโ„๏ธWinter Weather Closures/Info: Latest Info as of Monday, Jan. 20, 2025, 3:30 p.m.โ„๏ธโ„๏ธโ„๏ธ
Winter Storm Weather Information Roundup - Closures/info
Okaloosa County Public Safety staff is continuously monitoring the incoming winter storm and is in regular communication with all pertinent County departments and agencies. Please monitor official news and official agency communications. We have compiled information from other agencies and stakeholders in Okaloosa County. If you have questions beyond what is listed, please reach out to that specific agency.
๐Ž๐Š๐€๐‹๐Ž๐Ž๐’๐€ ๐‚๐Ž๐”๐๐“๐˜ ๐†๐Ž๐•๐„๐‘๐๐Œ๐„๐๐“ - https://myokaloosa.com/ - email: OCPIO@myokaloosa.com
- Okaloosa County Administration offices will be closed, Jan. 21-22 along with operations involving non-essential personnel due to the risk of road conditions.
- Regularly Scheduled Board of County Commissioners Meeting- The Board meeting scheduled for Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025 has been cancelled.
- Okaloosa County Water & Sewer customer service office is closed Mon-Wed due to MLK Holiday and the winter storm. They will reopen Thursday at 8:30am. For emergencies, the public can call 850-651-7174.
๐‘๐Ž๐€๐ƒ๐’ - https://www.facebook.com/MyFDOTNWFL
- Florida Department of Transportation pre-treatment and de-icing agents have been loaded to be deployed based on identified need. Plows are being mounted to truck for potential use, FODT Road Rangers have begun overnight patrolling of I-10. FDOT is also coordinating with Florida Highway Patrol for enhanced bridge monitoring and traffic control. Okaloosa County Public Works crews will use sand on County maintained roads if necessary. There are currently no road or bridge closures planned ahead of the storm. Conditions will be monitored. Stay tuned to official sources for updated information.
๐€๐๐ˆ๐Œ๐€๐‹ ๐‚๐Ž๐๐“๐‘๐Ž๐‹ - https://www.paws-shelter.org/
Panhandle Animal Welfare Society (PAWS) will be closed Tuesday, Jan. 21-22. Animal Control Officers will be on call for emergencies and available to help residents find lost animals. 850-243-1525 ext. 106 - animalcontrol@paws-shelter.org
๐‚๐Ž๐‹๐ƒ ๐–๐„๐€๐“๐‡๐„๐‘ ๐’๐‡๐„๐‹๐“๐„๐‘๐’
South County: Open through Saturday Night (Sunday, January 19th through January 25th).
850-586-7879
1564 Percy L. Coleman Rd, Fort Walton Beach, FL 32547
Pickup location is located at 205 Shell Ave, starting shuttle service at 3:15 pm ONE trip will be made. Returning transportation will be the following morning at 8:00 am.
*Note: backpacks are allowed, however, no wagons, bikes or suitcases are allowed on the bus.
North County: Open through Saturday Night (January 19th-January 25th)
Crestview Area Shelter for the Homeless. - https://www.facebook.com/sleepinabed
850-398-5670
120 Duggan Ave, Crestview, FL.
๐Ž๐Š๐€๐‹๐Ž๐Ž๐’๐€ ๐‚๐Ž๐”๐๐“๐˜ ๐’๐”๐๐„๐‘๐•๐ˆ๐’๐Ž๐‘ ๐Ž๐… ๐„๐‹๐„๐‚๐“๐ˆ๐Ž๐๐’ - https://www.govote-okaloosa.com/
Supervisor of Elections office and Early Voting will be closed both Tuesday, January 21st and Wednesday, January 22nd. Office hours and Early Voting are currently scheduled to resume at 7am, Thursday, January 23rd.
OKALOOSA COUNTY CLERK OF COURT - https://okaloosaclerk.com/
Okaloosa County Clerk's office will be CLOSED on Tuesday & Wednesday, January 21 & 22. At this time, they are scheduled to re-open on Thursday, January 23rd.
๐’๐‚๐‡๐Ž๐Ž๐‹๐’ – ๐Ž๐ค๐š๐ฅ๐จ๐จ๐ฌ๐š ๐‚๐จ๐ฎ๐ง๐ญ๐ฒ ๐’๐œ๐ก๐จ๐จ๐ฅ ๐ƒ๐ข๐ฌ๐ญ๐ซ๐ข๐œ๐ญ https://www.facebook.com/OkaloosaCountySchoolDistrict
School and extracurricular activities are canceled on Tuesday, January 21st and Wednesday, January 22nd. According to OCSD they expect school to resume on Thursday, January 23rd.
๐Ž๐Š๐€๐‹๐Ž๐Ž๐’๐€ ๐“๐€๐— ๐‚๐Ž๐‹๐‹๐„๐‚๐“๐Ž๐‘ - ๐Ž๐ค๐š๐ฅ๐จ๐จ๐ฌ๐š๐“๐š๐ฑ.๐œ๐จ๐ฆ
All locations will be closed Tuesday, Jan. 21st and Wednesday, Jan. 22nd. Normal business hours will resume on Thursday, Jan. 23rd.
๐“๐‘๐€๐’๐‡ ๐€๐๐ƒ ๐‘๐„๐‚๐˜๐‚๐‹๐ˆ๐๐†
Here is the latest trash/recycling/household hazardous waste/landfill information:
๐–๐Œ
***All scenarios are contingent upon weather, road and bridge conditions and transfer station availability.***
WM residential service is scheduled to begin routes early Tuesday morning to get ahead of the winter storm. Wednesday service is currently scheduled for a late start. This is based on today’s forecast but could change. In the event our trucks can’t run, make up service for residential customers with once-per-week garbage will be pushed one day. For twice-per-week garbage customers, service will resume on their next service day.
๐‹๐š๐ง๐๐Ÿ๐ข๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฌ ๐š๐ง๐ ๐‡๐จ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ž๐ก๐จ๐ฅ๐ ๐‡๐š๐ณ๐š๐ซ๐๐จ๐ฎ๐ฌ ๐–๐š๐ฌ๐ญ๐ž
• Wright Landfill will be closed Tuesday and Wednesday and reopen Thursday
• Household Hazardous Waste will be closed Tuesday and Wednesday and reopen Thursday https://myokaloosa.com/pw/trash-recycling
๐Ÿ๐’๐“ ๐‰๐”๐ƒ๐ˆ๐‚๐ˆ๐€๐‹ ๐‚๐ˆ๐‘๐‚๐”๐ˆ๐“ ๐Ž๐… ๐…๐‹๐Ž๐‘๐ˆ๐ƒ๐€ - https://www.firstjudicialcircuit.org/
The Courts will be closed Tuesday, January 21 and Wednesday, January 22 in Escambia, Santa Rosa, and Okaloosa Counties. Walton County Courts will be open until noon on Tuesday, and will be closed Tuesday afternoon and Wednesday, January 22. More information will be posted when available at firstjudicialcircuit.org.

 

 

 

โ„๏ธโ„๏ธWinter Storm Update - Mon. Jan. 20, 2025 - 4:45 p.mโ„๏ธโ„๏ธ
From NWS and Okaloosa Public Safety.
OVERVIEW/WHAT'S NEW: There are no significant changes to the impacts and messaging we provided on this morning's webinar. There have been adjustments to the snow totals to bring higher totals all the way to the coast - 2-4” all the way to the coast with 5” possible in the heaviest band. Here are the key points we would like to reiterate:
• A potentially historic snow event is possible across the southern half of the area, especially for areas along the coast.
• Major impacts are expected across the entire area, even across locations that receive minor accumulations.
• We are looking at a primarily snow event. There could be some sleet that tries to mix in across the FL Panhandle, but even there it appears snow is most likely.
• Patchy light snow may start by 6am across southwest Alabama and southeast Mississippi and as early as 9am further east across south-central AL and the NW FL Panhandle. The heaviest accumulations are expected late morning through the afternoon.
• Temperatures will drop into the teens and low 20s Tuesday night/Wednesday morning with highs Wednesday only reaching the mid to upper 30s, so it is likely snow/ice on roads and bridges will still be a concern for Wednesday night/Thursday morning.

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