Sand bags and monitoring by school district and emergency management continues as tropical storm watch issued for much of Florida

The school district made the decision to close because of the pending hurricane hitting Florida. Horry County is under a tropical storm warning.

As Helene, expected to make landfall in North Florida as a major hurricane, continues to churn off the state's coast, many schools are making the decision to cancel class at the end of the week.>> Track Helene: Latest maps and modelsSign up for our NewslettersUse the list below to see up-to-date school closures in Central Florida and other areas.

Power providers ask that residents report any outages they are experiencing. Report outages with Florida Power and Light Company here, or call 1-800-468-8243. To report a downed power line, call 1-800-4OUTAGE.

Hurricane Helene was barreling towards Florida's Big Bend region Thursday morning as a life-threatening storm. Follow power outages here.

The storm strengthened to a hurricane Wednesday and is expected to make landfall Thursday along Florida's Big Bend or Panhandle area.