Serious sign: Waffle House closes locations ahead of Hurricane Milton

Tampa, Fla. – A Southern restaurant chain known for its cheap breakfast offerings has earned a reputation as a sanctuary during extreme weather. However, sometimes a weather event is just too much for individual chains to handle, which close them to keep employees and patrons safe.

During Hurricane Helen's run in September, several Waffle House locations in the Florida Panhandle around Tallahassee were closed ahead of the hurricane's arrival, a similar scenario now unfolding in west-central Florida ahead of Milton.

Hurricane Milton promises to be a major hurricane when it makes landfall around the Tampa metro Thursday, closing dozens of popular restaurant locations from around New Port Richey south through Tampa and into the Port Charlotte area.

“Our goal is to keep our associates out of harm's way,” a Waffle House spokesperson told Fox Weather. We will close restaurants in advance with the aim of reopening.”

Why the Waffle House Index is important when assessing severe weather events

Many of the closures are in evacuation zones, where residents have spent the last few days closing windows and filling up gas tanks before heading toward Georgia and southeast Florida. Waffle House posted news of the closing on its social media accounts and received thousands of interactions.

One commenter wrote: “The best part is that Waffle House has a team of ninjas who, after the emergency is over, will go to the store with generators, food, equipment, etc., to open as soon as possible.” Another said: “Ultimate indicator of whether you should evacuate.”

The restaurant chain is so closely associated with weather that members of the Federal Emergency Management Agency have developed the “Waffle House Index” as a metric to gauge the severity of weather events.

The indicator highlights the severity of the impact, with a code 'green' indicating that a restaurant is offering its full menu and has capacity. Once a code 'yellow' is reached, a restaurant usually only has a limited menu, and a code 'red' means a Waffle House is closed entirely.

The Waffle House Index is an unofficial metric named after the Waffle House restaurant chain to determine the impact of storms and the potential level of aid needed for disaster recovery.

(Fox Weather)

Millions brace for Milton's fury as Category 5 hurricane barrels toward Florida

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp visited Waffle House headquarters Tuesday outside Atlanta.

Kemp said he visited the restaurant's storm center and thanked the team for their work during both Helen and Milton.

Waffle House gave no indication of how long its restaurants might remain offline but said some of its properties are likely to suffer significant damage.

The privately held company operates more than 1,900 locations across 25 states spanning from Ohio to the Florida Keys.