Update: First Judicial Circuit Court System Reopening
January 24, 2025
Here is updated court information from the First Judicial Circuit.
Escambia County Courts will open with a delayed start time on Friday, January 24. All proceedings scheduled to begin before 10 a.m. will begin at 10:30 a.m. Other proceedings will continue as scheduled
Okaloosa County Courts will be open Friday, January 24 for regular business hours.
Santa Rosa County Courts will be open with a delayed start time on Friday, January 24. The Santa Rosa County Courthouse will open to the public at 10:30 a.m. with proceedings previously scheduled to start at 9 a.m. moved to 11 a.m. Individuals summonsed for Jury Selection at 1 p.m. should report as scheduled.
Judge Drake’s final pleas will start at 11 a.m.
Judge Warrick’s delinquency docket will start at 11 a.m.
Judge Hilliard’s video arraignments will be moved to Monday, January 27, and will be conducted with first appearances that day.
Judge Stevens’ family law hearings via Zoom will be conducted at the regularly scheduled time.
File photo.
Highway 4 Closed At Escambia River Bridge
January 23, 2025
Update: At 8 p.m., FHP still shows this to be closed.
Low Around 20 Tonight
January 23, 2025
Here is your official North Escambia area forecast:
Tonight: Mostly clear, with a low around 20. Calm wind.
Friday: Sunny, with a high near 46. Wind chill values between 20 and 30 early. Calm wind becoming west around 5 mph.
Friday Night: Clear, with a low around 23. Calm wind becoming northeast around 5 mph.
Saturday: Sunny, with a high near 49. Wind chill values between 20 and 30 early. Northeast wind around 5 mph becoming southeast in the afternoon.
Saturday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 32. Calm wind becoming east around 5 mph after midnight.
Sunday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 59. Southeast wind around 5 mph.
Sunday Night: A 40 percent chance of showers, mainly after midnight. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 42. Southeast wind around 5 mph becoming calm.
Monday: A 40 percent chance of showers, mainly before noon. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 59. Southeast wind around 5 mph becoming southwest in the afternoon.
Monday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 46. Southwest wind around 5 mph becoming calm.
Tuesday: Partly sunny, with a high near 64.
Tuesday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 47.
Wednesday: Partly sunny, with a high near 67.
Wednesday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 50.
Thursday: A 20 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 66.
EREC Still Asking Members To Conserve Electricity
January 23, 2025
Escambia River Electric Cooperative is still asking members to conserve electricity, not only to conserve electricity, but also to avoid potentially higher costs down the road.
EREC says members should keep energy usage minimal until at least 9 a.m. tomorrow. That keeps the peak demand as low as possible.
EREC is asking to lower their thermostats to 68 degrees or lower. Load can be reduced by turning off all unneeded lights, TVs, etc. and postponing the use of electric appliances such as dishwashers, clothes dryers, and ovens.
Just over 700 EREC members in Escambia and Santa Rosa County were without power early Tuesday morning, but almost all were restored by midday.
Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Early Voting Closed Again Today
January 23, 2025
All early votings sites in Escambia County will be closed through at least today due to the winter weather.
Decisions regarding early voting on Friday, January 24 will be made late Thursday afternoon, once conditions can be assessed. For the safety of the public and the election workers decisions will be made on a daily basis.
Early voting sites are:
- Escambia County Extension Services, 3740 Stefani Road, Cantonment
- Molino Community Center, 6450 Highway 95A North, Molino
- Bellview Library, 6425 Mobile Highway, Pensacola
- Asbury Place at Cokesbury, 750 College Blvd, Pensacola
- Supervisor of Elections Office, 213 Palafox Place, Second Floor, Pensacola
- Main Library, 239 N. Spring Street, Pensacola
- Southwest Library, 12248 Gulf Beach Highway, Pensacola
Eligible voters may choose any one of the seven available locations, each of which is also equipped with a ballot marking device.
Three Early Vote locations that were open during the 2024 Election Cycle will not be open for the 2025 Special Primary Election. Those three locations are:
- Billy G. Ward Courthouse in Century
- UWF Center for Fine and Performing Arts in Pensacola
- Brownsville Community Center
The 2025 Special Primary Election is for Republican voters only. The State of Florida holds closed primary elections, meaning only registered Republicans will be eligible for the 2025 Special Primary Election.
Pictured: Early voting at the Molino Community Center during the 2024 election cycle. NorthEscambia.com photo, click to enlarge
EREC Members Asked To Conserve Electricity To Avoid Outages
January 22, 2025
Escambia River Electric Cooperative is urgently asking members to conserve electricity to avoid outages due to an extreme strain on the system due to the extreme cold.
“Please make every effort (Wednesday) morning to reduce load,” EREC said. “Load can be reduced by turning off all unneeded lights, TVs, etc. and postponing the use of electric appliances such as dishwashers, clothes dryers, and ovens. In addition to conserving, we need you to help us get this important message out by sharing this post. Small reductions by many can make all the difference.”
“The member-owned cooperative said that they are “thanking every crew who has been out working in this cold weather. PowerSouth and EREC have done everything there is to do to try and prevent outage. We also want to thank every member who has prayed for our crews and offered words of encouragement.”
Pictured: EREC Crews work in the snow to restore an outage on Tuesday. Photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
About 10 Degrees Wednesday Night
January 22, 2025
Here is the complete North Escambia area forecast
Tonight: Mostly clear, with a low around 10. Calm wind.
Thursday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 33. Wind chill values between 10 and 20. Calm wind becoming northwest around 5 mph.
Thursday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 20. Calm wind becoming northwest around 5 mph.
Friday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 44. Wind chill values between 15 and 25. Northwest wind around 5 mph.
Friday Night: Clear, with a low around 20. Calm wind.
Saturday: Sunny, with a high near 48. Calm wind becoming east around 5 mph.
Saturday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 30. East wind around 5 mph.
Sunday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 55. Southeast wind around 5 mph.
Sunday Night: A 40 percent chance of showers, mainly after midnight. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 39. East wind around 5 mph.
Monday: A 30 percent chance of showers before noon. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 57.
Monday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 42.
Tuesday: Partly sunny, with a high near 60.
Tuesday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 44.
Wednesday: A 20 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 66.
ECUA Further Delays Some Collections, Some Routes Canceled Altogether
January 22, 2025
ECUA has updated their collection schedule based upon winter conditions, no pick up this week for some locations.
Sanitation collection services will resume on Friday, January 24. Due to the impact of the recent winter weather, road conditions, and limited landfill operations, collection schedules have been adjusted as follows:
- Wednesday collections will resume on Friday.
- Thursday collections will take place on Saturday.
- Friday collections will take place on Sunday.
- Monday’s and Tuesday’s collections will resume as normal next week. Tuesday’s route, which covers a predominantly rural area, is deferred for safety reasons until next week as many roads in the northern portion of the county may still be impassable.
Pictured: ECUA cans await pickup on Tuesday on North Highway 99 in Bratt. NorthEscambia.com photo, click to enlarge.
Life Threatening Cold And Travel Conditions Continue; All Local Roads Closed
January 21, 2025
The National Weather Service said Tuesday night that life threatening travel conditions are coupling with life threatening cold temperatures to create a danger situation.
Temperatures are expected to plummet into the teens and even some isolated single digits tonight with wind chills well into the single digits and possibly dipping below zero.
All roadways in Escambia County, Florida; Escambia County, Alabama; and Santa Rosa County, Florida are considered closed and impassable.
Numerous motorists have been stranded in their vehicles, especially along Highway 29 south of Century.
The road closures will continue through at least Wednesday.
Pictured: Highway 97 at South Highway 99 in Walnut Hill Tuesday afternoon. NorthEscambia.com photo, click to enlarge.
Major Winter Storm Tuesday With Several Inches Of Snow, Extreme Cold
January 21, 2025
WINTER STORM WARNING
- A MAJOR winter storm is becoming increasingly likely across the area
- This has the potential to be an HISTORIC winter storm for the southern half of the area
- Winter Storm WARNING is in effect for the area through 6 a.m. Wednesday
- The timing of accumulating snow begins late Tuesday morning and continues into the evening.
- Heaviest accumulations are expected midday Tuesday through the late afternoon.
- Most likely snow amounts are between 2-4 inches, although locally up to 5 inches of snow is possible (highest totals to the south)
- Major impacts are likely across much of the area
- Even areas along the coastline are likely to remain mostly snow. There is still a small possibility of sleet mixing in along the coast
- Extreme temperatures around 15 degrees are expected Tuesday night
- Wind chills remain below freezing tonight through midday Wednesday
- Strong wind gusts, especially near the coast, could reduce visibilities to less than a mile at times in the snow
- Many locations may not see temperatures rise above freezing on Tuesday as the snow moves into the area
DETAILED FORECAST
Tuesday: Snow, mainly after noon. High near 31. Wind chill values between 15 and 20. North wind 10 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph. Chance of precipitation is 90%. New snow accumulation of 2 to 4 inches possible.
Tuesday Night: A 40 percent chance of snow before midnight. Cloudy during the early evening, then gradual clearing, with a low around 15. Wind chill values between 5 and 10. North wind around 10 mph. New snow accumulation of less than a half inch possible.
Wednesday: Sunny, with a high near 35. Wind chill values between 5 and 15. North wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the afternoon.
Wednesday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 18. Calm wind.
Thursday: Partly sunny, with a high near 44. Calm wind becoming north around 5 mph.
Thursday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 23. Calm wind becoming northwest around 5 mph.
Friday: Sunny, with a high near 47. Northwest wind around 5 mph.
Friday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 24. Calm wind becoming northeast around 5 mph.
Saturday: Sunny, with a high near 52.
Saturday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 34.
Sunday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 62.
Sunday Night: A 30 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 45.
Monday: A 30 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 64.