Hurricane Helene closings, delays

Columbia, SC (WOLO) — South Carolina is preparing for the possible impacts of Hurricane Helene as SC Governor Henry McMaster has issued a State of Emergency.

According to forecasters with the National Hurricane Center, Hurricane Helene is currently situated in the Gulf of Mexico and is anticipated to intensify before making landfall along the coast of Florida as a hurricane on Thursday, September 26.

Here is a look at area schools reporting cancellations, and or delays in anticipation of Hurricane Helene’s arrival Thursday night, Friday morning.

Fairfield County Schools:

Friday, September 27 – eLearning for students

Lexington-Richland School District Five: 

Thursday, September 26 – After school childcare programs, activities, and adult learning canceled

Friday, September 27 – All schools and offices, including virtual FIVE program will be an e-learning day

Teachers will post assignments to Google Classroom by 10:00 a.m. for asynchronous learning.

Lexington One Schools:

Friday, September 27 – All schools switching to eLearning day, and all extracurricular activities will be suspended until 3 p.m.

Lexington Two Schools:

Thursday, September 26 – All after-school activities will conclude no later than 5 p.m.

Friday, September 27 – Schools will have an eLearning day. All afternoon and evening activities are canceled including athletic events, extracurricular activities, after-school programs, and adult education classes.

Lexington Four Schools:

Friday, September 27 – All schools will transition to an eLearning day.

Students will need to complete their e-Learning assignments by next Friday, October 3, to be considered present for the eLearning day.

Newberry County Schools: 

Thursday, September 26- All after school activities canceled

Friday, September 27- eLearning for students; schools and offices closed to the public

Orangeburg County Schools: 

Thursday, September 26 – After school activities canceled.

Friday, September 27 – e-Learning Day for OCSD students and staff

Richland One Schools: 

Thursday, September 26 – All afterschool programs, events and activities canceled

Friday, September 27 – eLearning for students; all schools and administrative offices will be closed, Friday’s breakfast will be sent home with the students on Thursday.

Richland One’s varsity football games that were scheduled for Thursday, September 26 and Friday, September 27 have been rescheduled for Saturday, September 28.

The varsity football schedule for Saturday is as follows:

• Memorial Stadium
  Dreher vs. Camden – 11 a.m.
  A.C. Flora vs. York – 4:45 p.m.
• Stadium at W.J. Keenan
  Eau Claire vs. Pelion – 11 a.m.
• Bolden Stadium
  Columbia High vs. Swansea – 11 a.m.

Richland Two Schools: 

Thursday, September 26 – All school activities and events are canceled, but after school care and 21st century programs will operate on a regular schedule.

Friday, September 27 – e-learning day for all schools, buildings closed, and administrative offices closed

Assigned work must be completed and turned in by Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2024, for students to be counted present on Friday, Sept. 27, 2024.

Richland Library: 

Thursday, September 26 – Richland Library will close at 5:30 p.m. All library events and meeting room reservations will be canceled.

Friday, September 27 – All Richland Library locations will re-open at noon. Customers can still access the library’s resources and information online.

Richland County Government Offices:

Friday, September 27 – All Richland County Government offices will be closed.

Residents may still pay bills and access other government-related functions on the county’s website.

Saluda County Schools:

Thursday, September 26 – All after-school activities are canceled

Friday, September 27 – eLearning for students; all schools will be closed to students & staff

SC State University:

Friday, September 27 – School is closed & classes are canceled; only essential employees can come to the university

Clear Dot Charter School:

Thursday, September 26 – No aftercare or after school activities

Friday, September 27 – eLearning day

Sumter School District:

Thursday, September 26 – All after school activities canceled

Friday, September 27 – eLearning day

Kershaw County School District:

Friday, September 27 – eLearning day

School officials say weather conditions are expected to clear by Friday afternoon which will allow extracurricular activities to move forward as scheduled after 3 p.m. unless otherwise noted by the school.

Teachers will post assignments in Canvas (or will provide paper packets). Any students with power outages will have five school days to complete all assignments to be counted presented for Friday, Sept. 27.

Columbia College:

Thursday, September 26 – Columbia College will close at 2 p.m.

Friday, September 27 – The college will closed.

Morris College:

Thursday, September 26 – Morris College will be closing early at 3 p.m.

Calhoun County Public School:

Thursday, September 26 – No after school events

Friday, September 27 – All schools will be eLearning

Orangeburg-Calhoun Technical College:

Thursday, September 26 – Classes beginning at 5 p.m. or later are canceled.

Ben Lippen School:

Thursday, September 26 – All afterschool programs, events and activities canceled

Friday, September 27 – School will also be closed, and all practices canceled

Midlands Technical College:

All campuses will close Thurs, Sept. 26 at 4:30 p.m. and will remain closed Friday, Sept. 27.

Columbia International University:

Friday, September 27 – Campus will be closed

South Carolina State Museum:

Friday, September 27 – South Carolina State Museum will be closed

The museum expects to resume normal operational hours on Saturday, September 28.