Public Notice: City of Lakeland Hurricane Milton Update - October 7, 2024

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Hurricane Milton has increased intensity and is now a Category 5 Hurricane with sustained winds over 160mp.  The Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale is a 5-category rating system used to measure the strength of a hurricane and estimate the potential damage it may cause:

• Category 1: Winds of 74–95 mph, causing minimal damage
• Category 2: Winds of 96–110 mph, causing moderate damage
• Category 3: Winds of 111–129 mph, causing extensive damage
• Category 4: Winds of 130–156 mph, causing devastating damage
• Category 5: Winds of 157+ mph, causing catastrophic damage

Hurricanes that reach Category 3 or higher are considered major hurricanes and have the potential to cause significant loss of life and damage.

Forecasters with the National Hurricane Center predict the storm will strike Florida's western Gulf Coast as a major hurricane in the middle of the week, likely later Wednesday. At this point, forecasters anticipate the hurricane will have maximum sustained winds of 145 mph around noon Wednesday and 125 mph just before midnight, and landfall is slated to happen at some time in between.  Based on the current forecast models, Lakeland and Polk County will be heavily impacted by the storm with high winds, and heavy rainfall.

City facilities will be open for business as usual on Tuesday, October 8, 2024.  City officials will be monitoring Hurricane Milton very carefully.  Decisions regarding business hours for the remainder of the week will take place as the storm path become more clearly defined.

In anticipation of the storm, the City of Lakeland has opened a Lakeland sandbag location, adding to the list of Polk County sandbag sites. Residents can get up to 10 sandbags per home on a first come, first served basis while supplies last. Locations are open 8 a.m. – 5:30 p.m.

 

• Mulberry/South Lakeland – Loyce E. Harpe Park, 500 W. Carter Road
• Lakeland – 8970 N. Campbell Road
• Lakeland - 315 North Eastside Drive
• Fort Meade – 1061 NE 9th St.
• Frostproof – 350 County Road 630A
• Auburndale – 1701 Holt Road
• Dundee – 805 Dr. Martin Luther King St. SW
• Poinciana Park – 5109 Allegheny Road

Solid Waste will be impacted once winds get to 40 mph in the Lakeland area.  The Polk County landfill closes once winds get to 40 mph so that will hinder operations.  City of Lakeland solid waste is asking residents to not put yard waste curbside in anticipation that it will be picked up before the impacts of Hurricane Milton.  Solid Waste crews have over 100 residents on the list for bulk pick-up and with current staffing and regular garbage collection demands, yard waste will not be picked up before Hurricane Milton so please do not put it curbside and wait until after Hurricane Milton passes.

Polk County Public Schools has announced that schools will be closed Tuesday, October 8 through Thursday, October 10, 2024, ahead of Hurricane Milton making landfall.

Mutual Aid line crews will be arriving and staging at Tigertown in preparation for power restoration efforts. The City of Lakeland has already notified the large private debris haulers that are on contract to assist during restoration efforts once the storm has passed.

Lakeland Electric’s smart meter system lets us know the moment a home or business is out of power without needing to call. This helps in response times and gets customers back online as quickly and safely as possible.  Customers can view the outage map by visiting: https://lakelandelectric.com/storms-and-outages. If a customer is experiencing an outage not shown on the outage map, please call Lakeland Electric's dedicated automated system 863-834-4248. If you have provided Lakeland Electric your phone number, the automated system can recognize the number and match it to your address to help locate outages quickly.

Lakeland Electric customers are automatically enrolled to receive notifications if there is an outage in your area and notification when your power is restored. You can receive alerts by phone, text, or email to keep you informed and help make your life a little easier. Customers can view or change their registration by logging into their Lakeland Electric account. Go to www.lakelandelectric.com.

 

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