The University of Central Florida announced it will make critical decisions Sunday regarding Tropical Storm Erika that is currently moving toward Florida.


Watch the KnightNews.com UCF hurricane guide:


UCF sent out a release informing that National Hurricane Center forecasters said Tropical Storm Erika can strengthen into a hurricane and make landfall on Florida’s east coast early next week if the storm continues on its path.

If the weather becomes a serious safety issue, the university could cancel classes or close campuses.

“We’re going to be monitoring it through the weekend and making some critical decisions Sunday,” said Jeffery Morgan, director of the UCF Emergency Operations Center, according to the release.

“We don’t have any plans in place to shut down or anything like that right now. We’re really going to monitor the storm the next few days and take it from there,” UCF spokesperson Courtney Gilmartin stated.

“We have an office of emergency management that is fully staffed to support any sort of weather emergency,” Gilmartin informed. She explained that UCF is monitoring updates on the storm’s development and listening to the National Weather Service.

Morgan said his office updated its emergency contact lists to include the new campus residents in order to be prepared to send out information about how students should prepare their rooms, where to find safe shelter if necessary, what to bring and other safety precautions, according to the release.

Latest Erika forecast track.

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