Florida counties close schools as heavy rains leave roads impassable

Schools across three Central Florida counties will close Tuesday after heavy rainfall and flooding made key roads and bridges unusable. The closures affect students in Highlands, Hardee, and DeSoto counties, forcing districts to cancel classes and coordinate with local emergency management teams.

The School Board of Highlands County announced the closure after determining that several roads and bridges were impassable. Multiple neighborhoods in the county also lost power. The district stated that the shutdown includes classes held at South Florida State College and Highlands Virtual School. District teams are currently assessing bus routes to determine when it is safe to resume transportation. Officials are coordinating with Highlands County Emergency Management and will send updates to families via text messages, their Facebook page, app, and website.

Hardee County School District schools will also close for Tuesday. The district expects normal operations to resume on Wednesday unless families receive a different notification. DeSoto County announced on Monday that its public schools will close for both Tuesday and Wednesday. The district cited major flooding on roads throughout the county as the reason for the two-day shutdown. The closure applies to all schools and district offices. All after-school activities, athletics, and extracurricular events scheduled for both days have been canceled.

The DeSoto County Sheriff's Office reported flooding in specific areas, including NE Washington and NE Turner, as well as Highway 17 and NE Turner. Flooding was also reported in the southbound lane near the Brownsville Dollar General and Jerry's RV Park. Although rainfall had stopped at the time of the report, the sheriff's office warned that flooding could continue to rise. Deputies advised residents not to drive through flooded roads.

The DeSoto County School District plans to make a decision on Wednesday regarding whether schools will reopen on Thursday. Highlands and Hardee counties have not announced specific timelines beyond their initial Tuesday closures, relying on ongoing road assessments to guide their decisions.

The information for this report was gathered from announcements made by the School Board of Highlands County, the Hardee County School District, and the DeSoto County School District. Road safety alerts were provided by the DeSoto County Sheriff's Office.