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Disney World joins theme park closures ahead of Hurricane Milton
Walt Disney is joining other theme parks including SeaWorld and Universal that are battening down the hatches and readying to close before Hurricane Milton hits Florida.
Walt Disney parks in Orlando are slated to start shutting down in phases beginning at 1 p.m. Wednesday, with its resorts likely to remain shuttered on Thursday, according to the company. A water park, miniature golf facilities and campgrounds will also be closed.
The Magic Kingdom’s announcement came after United Parks and Resorts said it would close its Florida theme parks, including SeaWorld Orlando, on Wednesday and Thursday. Busch Gardens Tampa was closed as of Tuesday and will remain so through Thursday, United Parks said.
The Orlando area is the most visited destination in the United States due to Disney World, Universal Orlando Resort and other theme parks, attracting 74 million tourists last year alone. October is also among the busier times for theme parks because of Halloween-related celebrations, which have become major money generators over the past couple decades
Among those tourists are Nicole and Zeb Downs, who arrived on Monday after a 21-hour drive from Arkansas, expecting a 12-day Florida vacation with their three young sons. By Tuesday afternoon, they were contemplating packing up their car and heading back.
“We are disappointed but it’s kind of out of our hands at this point,” said Zeb Downs as he strolled with his family along a still-bustling Disney Springs shopping and restaurant district at the park resort.
United Parks said it would rely on safety protocols to keep its animals safe during Hurricane Milton.
“A dedicated team of animal care experts, including veterinarians, will remain onsite 24/7 to monitor the animals, safely housed in buildings designed to withstand Category 5 hurricanes,” a United Parks spokesperson stated in an email. “Once weather conditions improve, our recovery team will ensure the habitats are safe for the animals to return.”
Universal Orlando Resort said it would close Universal Studios Florida and other locations.
Florida cruise ships and travel disruptions
The storm is disrupting many other Florida industries and travel, including cruise ship operations, with the port in Tampa already closed and the Jacksonville port set to close as of Wednesday. The storm’s track means some ships will extend their calls in Mexico and other locations, while other voyages will not depart on schedule.
The port in Miami is currently open but will likely close as conditions worsen.
Airports in Tampa halted operations on Tuesday while airports in Clearwater, Fort Meyers, Orlando and Sarasota are scheduled to cease operations on Wednesday.
contributed to this report.
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The northern lights made an incredible display over much of the United States on Thursday — and might make a return appearance Friday night.
The aurora borealis was visible as far south as Florida on Thursday. Photos show the sky lit up in red and purple, even in some brightly-lit areas like New York City and Chicago.
The strong geomagnetic storm that created such a show has subsided, according the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, but some parts of the U.S. may again see the northern lights tonight. Here’s what to know.
Roy Rochlin / Getty Images
Where will the northern lights be visible tonight?
The northern lights will be visible for parts of the northern U.S., according to the NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center’s aurora forecast. The aurora will be visible over much of Canada and Alaska, but the northern lights can also be seen from as far as 620 miles away if the conditions are right, NOAA says.
Parts of Idaho, South Dakota, Minnesota and Wisconsin may be able to see the lights Friday night. On the East Coast, the aurora might be visible in northern New York and parts of Vermont and New Hampshire. Areas of Maine may also see the northern lights.
The lights will appear to the north when it’s dark outside. If you can’t see them with the naked eye, they may be visible through a phone camera or other device.
NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center
What time will the northern lights be most visible?
The northern lights are most visible just after sunset or just before sunrise, NOAA said. The aurora is not visible during the day. Dark, cloudless skies with little artificial light provide the best viewing experience.
Ross Harried/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Why have the northern lights been so visible lately?
Over the last several months the sun has been incredibly active, unleashing a series of coronal mass ejections from its surface, CBS Boston reported. That’s resulted in multiple visible aurora shows.
The geomagnetic storm responsible for Thursday’s stunning skies is now subsiding, CBS Boston reported. That means there will be less chance of seeing the aurora on Friday, but there may be more opportunities in the future.
Shawn Dahl, a forecast coordinator with the Space Weather Prediction Center, told CBS Boston that the northern lights have been so intense lately because of where the sun is in its 11-year solar cycle. Dahl said that “we are in the midst of solar maximum.”
Heather Kepple
“What that means is the sun is now this twisted-up mass of strong magnetic fields, and some of these are so localized and intense they reveal themselves as these sunspot groups,” Dahl said. “That’s the source of a bunch of the space weather storms that we’re looking for and predict.”
What causes the northern lights?
The northern lights are caused by interactions between the sun’s solar winds and the Earth’s protective magnetic field, according to NOAA. Those two phenomenons result in geomagnetic storms and increased geomagnetic activity.
The higher the geomagnetic activity is, the better your odds are of seeing the aurora. Increased geomagnetic activity means the aurora will become brighter, more active and visible farther from the poles of the planet, NOAA said.
Even moderate solar wind creates the aurora, NOAA said, so there is usually a weak aurora visible from somewhere on Earth. The best places to see these weaker auroras is close to the planet’s poles, like in Greenland or southern Argentina. If you see the aurora near the North Pole, it’s nicknamed the northern lights. The same phenomenon near the South Pole is called the southern lights.