Editor’s Note: This is a developing story and the Trail will continue to update as needed.
The National Hurricane Center Atmospheric reported an Atlantic tropical cyclone that is likely to become Hurricane Helene. The storm is bound to hit Florida and is projected to hit Georgia on Thursday night, leading to inclement weather through Friday, Sept. 27.
On Tuesday, Sept. 24, Peachtree City Night Market posted to their website that Friday’s market was being rescheduled for Friday, Nov. 1.
Fox 5 Atlanta reported “as of 7 a.m. on Wednesday, Helene remained a tropical storm with sustained winds at 70 mph.”
The storm is expected to make a northerly trek, potentially making landfall as a major hurricane between Tallahassee and Tampa.
According to ABC News, “the storm will quickly push into Georgia with very heavy rain, gusty winds and possible flash flooding” which could very well have an impact on an array of upcoming sports events, particularly those set for this Friday.
As of Wednesday, Sept. 24, Governor Brian Kemp issued “a State of Emergency enabling emergency management teams to prepare in advance for the storm’s arrival,” Kemp wrote in a post on X.
As of 11 a.m. today, Fayette County Schools has yet to put out a statement on potential late starts or school closures and as of publication time, had not yet responded to requests for information.
POTENTIAL IMPACT ON SPORTS
Athletic Director Leon Hammond provided some clarity on the situation regarding sports likely to be impacted by the storm. Listed below are sports occurring on Thursday, Sept. 26, Friday, Sept. 27 and Saturday, Sept. 28. that may be impacted by the storm.
“Right now, really the primary sport that will be affected by this [is] football on Friday night at Northgate, but that’s kind of a joint decision, so obviously, if we cancel school and stuff like that, that comes from the district level, [in] regards to school and/or athletics, but also it’s contingent upon what happens in Coweta County. If they cancel school, then obviously we have to push our game,” Hammond said.
Hammond notes that Friday’s football game against Northgate is a regional game, so canceling the game would not be ideal.
“It would probably be pushed until Saturday, which the weather should be cleared through by Saturday. But we don’t know the after effects [of the storm]. We just know that I think it’s looking like [it will storm] Thursday into Friday,” Hammond said, “so again, [we] could potentially play Friday night, or if not, we’d have to play [the game] on Saturday, just because we’re in region, so we cannot just cancel the game,” Hammond said.
Another potentially impacted sport would be cross country, which has a meet scheduled for junior varsity on Saturday morning. However, conditions on Saturday, according to Hammond and The Weather Channel, should be clear.
“But really, again, whatever the [host] school is, because it’s not a local meet. [The school] will make that determination about going. And if they did make a determination, and we felt like it was unsafe to have kids travel, we would just not go about it,” Hammond said. “Though other schools may continue to go, we would make that decision not to go as a school district.”
Even with indoor sports like volleyball that may not be as directly impacted by the weather as the outdoor sports, there are also potential travel concerns to take into consideration.
“If there’s inclement weather or severe weather, which is going to have an effect with kids being on the bus and whatnot, then obviously, yes, we could go ahead and cancel it, but it wouldn’t really affect the indoors or the sport unless school lost power or something like that happened [that would] prevent us from playing indoors, but really it’s just contingent upon travel during the safety based on weather, having lights, but also, because we’re playing different school systems, what their policies are, [and] if they can [play],” Hammond said.
