HURLBURT FIELD, Fla. -- Air Force aircraft here have evacuated the area in order to protect the assets from any potential impacts of Hurricane Ian. This evacuation provides the men and women of the 1 SOW the opportunity to support any crisis or contingency unimpeded by weather.
Nearby city and county residents may see an uptick in military flights exiting Hurlburt Field as they move to Department of Defense installations outside of the potential storm track.
Hurlburt Field remains in Hurricane Condition 5 as Hurricane Ian has shifted toward central Florida.
Based on the current forecast, leadership has determined a personnel evacuation is not yet warranted. If conditions are analyzed to threaten the safety of personnel and warrant a personnel evacuation or mission-essential reporting, those instructions will be provided through all available communication sources.
Hurricane Ian, Category 3, is expected to make landfall over central Florida, Wednesday. Ian is expected to bring 6 to 12 inches of rain to central-west Florida, 4 to 8 inches to the rest of the peninsula and 4 to 6 inches to the Keys through Thursday. The National Hurricane Center and 1st Special Operations Support Squadron weather continue to closely monitor the storm.
All military and Department of Defense civilian members assigned to Hurlburt Field are advised to stay in contact with their command teams and monitor official websites as well as local radio and television weather reports. Normal duty hours are currently still in effect.
In the event of an emergency, Emergency Family Assistance Center toll-free number (1- 877-571-7209) and services will be available to base populace after “ALL CLEAR” is declared.
For more information, please visit the Hurricane Information section of the Hurlburt website at https://www.hurlburt.af.mil/Home/Helpful-Info/Hurricane-Info/. Personnel can also visit the Hurlburt Field and 1st SOW Commander Facebook pages for regular updates at www.facebook.com/hurlburtfieldofficial and www.facebook.com/1.sow.commander. Updates will be released to the official Facebook pages as the storm progresses.
HURCON 5 is a level of warning used by the Air Force to assist commanders in preparing their units for storm response actions. HURCON 5 is the arrival of sustained winds at 50 knots and is meant to focus the base’s attention on the storm and signal the start of active preparation.