What’s the Waffle House Index for what could be Hurricane Milton’s Florida landfall?
With Hurricane Milton tracking toward Florida’s Gulf Coast, there are many ways to gauge whether or not to evacuate Florida’s Gulf Coast.
National Hurricane Center updates show Milton’s path and county leaders have ordered evacuations for low-lying areas. There’s even a devoted Facebook group, “Tracking Jim Cantore,” that people use to find the whereabouts of famed Weather Channel meteorologist Jim Cantore, who is often reporting in the middle of a catastrophic storm.
But one of the popular barometers for evacuation is a southern staple: the Waffle House Index.
The chain is known for its 24/7 restaurants where you can fill up on waffles, eggs, greasy-cheesy hash browns and coffee. But it’s also known as a hurricane gauge. When your Waffle House boards up and locks its doors, you know it’s about to get really bad outside.
So, what is this Waffle House Index all about?
The index uses a three-color coded system — green, yellow and red — to determine whether the breakfast restaurant is open, has a limited menu or is closed.
Green indicates the restaurant is open with a full menu.
Yellow means the restaurant is open with a limited menu. It also means its likely using a generator and has low food supplies.
Red means the restaurant is closed, with severe damage or unsafe conditions for the area.
Waffle House, which first opened in 1955 in Georgia, posted a status map image to social media website X. It shows all the Manatee and Sarasota locations are closed.
“Our #whindex status maps reflect our closures as of 2 p.m. (Tuesday) in advance of #HurricaneMilton,” Waffle House wrote on X. “More updates to come. Please stay safe. **Due to the potential for variations in Milton’s path, this information is subject to change without notice. Please follow local guidance.”
Here’s a sampling of comments on the post:
“The ultimate indicator of whether you should be evacuating or not.”
“Okay, now I’m officially scared.”
“If Waffle House is closing, it’s time to get out of there.”
In 2017, a Waffle House in Bradenton shut its doors before Hurricane Irma hit, worrying locals. And in Davie, a Waffle House had to close for repairs after Hurricane Irma blew out a window.
The “Waffle House Index” is an unofficial metric from the former head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Craig Fugate.
Said Fugate back in 2011: “If you get there and the Waffle House is closed? That’s really bad.”
This story was originally published October 9, 2024 at 11:16 AM.
