ORLANDO, Fla. – Floridians have special signals that a hurricane is going to be bad: Disney World closing. Sen. Rick Scott dons his “Navy” hat. The Waffle House is closed.
It takes a lot to close a Waffle House, so when the 24-hour diner announces it’s closing locations, Floridians know they need to get prepared.
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On Tuesday afternoon, Waffle House announced that 33 of its locations along the Gulf Coast, from Hudson in Pasco County to Cape Coral, were closed because of Hurricane Milton.
“Our #whindex status maps reflect our closures as of 2pm today in advance of #HurricaneMilton. More updates to come. Please stay safe,” the company posted on X.com.
Our #whindex status maps reflect our closures as of 2pm today in advance of #HurricaneMilton. More updates to come. Please stay safe.
— Waffle House (@WaffleHouse) October 8, 2024
**Due to the potential for variations in Milton's path, this information is subject to change without notice. Please follow local guidance. pic.twitter.com/AWig09L8bP
The Waffle House account has posted similar updates for Hurricane Helene.
The Waffle House Index is an unofficial scale for understanding how bad a natural disaster hit a community. It was first created by Craig Fugate, the former FEMA director and former Florida Emergency Management director.
- An area is in the green if the Waffle Houses are open, have full power, and are serving a full menu.
- An area is in the yellow if the Waffle Houses are open, but the menu is limited. There may also be a loss of power.
- An area is in the red if the Waffle Houses are closed.
Waffle House has a reputation for being open when customers need them, so after Hurricane Katrina in 2005 the company created a manual for opening after a disaster, added portable generators, and created special teams to help get stores up and running after a storm.
During Hurricane Ian in 2022, 40 Waffle Houses were closed at the height of the storm. A couple of days later, only six Waffle Houses were closed in the southwest Florida areas where the storm made landfall.
A Waffle House spokesperson told News 6 that the maps would only be available on X.com, so customers should look for updates there. The information is not available on the Waffle House website.
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