These Central Florida schools are closed due to Eta

OCALA, Fla. – Several Central Florida school districts have canceled classes because of potential impacts from Tropical Storm Eta.

Districts in Lake, Marion, Polk and Sumter counties announced that schools will be closed Thursday, officials said.

[TRENDING: What’s the ‘dirty side’ of a storm? | CDC gives guidance on Thanksgiving | Astronauts prepare for Saturday launch]

Marion County said its schools are scheduled to reopen Friday.

Marion County and city of Ocala government offices will remain open, authorities said.

Ocala will continue garbage pickup as scheduled.

Meantime, the boat ramp in Dunnellon at the Rainbow River will be closed at 7 p.m. and will remain closed Thursday.

Lake County Public Schools, including Lake Virtual School, and district offices are closed Thursday.

Schools are expected to reopen on Friday.

Polk County also canceled classes, but its schools are expected to reopen Friday.

All after-school activities in Polk County are also canceled on Thursday, but are expected to resume on Friday.

The Sumter County School District said its schools will be closed Thursday but classes will resume Friday.

Sumter school officials said 250 employees are to report to work at 11 a.m. Thursday, if conditions allow.

Seminole County Public Schools and Flagler Schools, meanwhile, said its campuses will remain open Thursday.

“We continue to monitor Tropical Storm Eta with our partners at the Seminole County Office of Emergency Management, local meteorologists, and additional agencies. At this time, all SCPS schools and district facilities will remain open Thursday,” SCPS said in a news release. “As always, if the forecast changes or the weather condition deteriorates, we will keep you posted.”

Flagler also issued a statement about Eta.

“We do not currently anticipate any impact on our school day Thursday, November 12,” officials said. “However, there may be impacts on our after-school and extracurricular activities Thursday. We also ask our families who live in historically flood-prone areas to exercise extreme caution.”

The University of Central Florida will also be open Thursday.

Classes at the University of Florida were canceled Thursday and the campus will be closed, according to the university. The university will reopen Friday.

Eta regained hurricane strength Wednesday morning before weakening back to a tropical storm hours later. Eta made landfall early Thursday near Cedar Key.