Current:Home > NewsWhat is Hurricane Idalia's Waffle House index?-LoTradeCoin
What is Hurricane Idalia's Waffle House index?
View Date:2024-12-24 21:57:01
There are a few ways to gauge the expected severity of a hurricane, but one of the more unusual is by the Waffle House index. If Waffle House locations in the path of a hurricane are open, that's a sign there is limited damage from the storm. If locations are closed — which is the case for some in Florida due to Hurricane Idalia — then conditions are unsafe.
The Waffle House index uses a green, yellow and red rating to measure how bad storms are: green means the full menu is being served and there is little storm damage; yellow means there is a limited menu because they are likely using a generator for power or they are low on supplies; red means the restaurant is closed because the storm is severe.
As of midday Wednesday, 15 Waffle House locations were without power – but some were in the yellow zone of the index, because they were open and operating with generators, a representative for the chain told CBS News via email. At least five locations were in the red zone of the index, because they were in the direct path of Idalia after it made landfall. Two others in St. Petersburg were closed due to storm surge.
Hurricane Idalia, which made landfall Wednesday on Florida's Gulf Coast, brought "catastrophic" storm surge and "damaging" winds to the area, the National Hurricane Center said. It was briefly a Category 4 storm before weakening to a Category 3.
Many of the 1,600 Waffle House locations are in hurricane-prone areas on the East and Gulf Coasts. Waffle House strives to be open when people are desperate – and the chain has proven to be reliable after devastating hurricanes.
"I hadn't had a hot meal in two days, and I knew they'd be open," Waffle House customer Nicole Gainey told the Wall Street Journal after Hurricane Irene devastated North Carolina in 2017. Despite the storm knocking out power, a local Waffle House in Weldon stayed open – a beacon of hope for people like Gainey.
- In:
- Waffle House
- Hurricane
Caitlin O'Kane is a digital content producer covering trending stories for CBS News and its good news brand, The Uplift.
veryGood! (13)
Related
- Wicked Director Jon M. Chu Reveals Name of Baby Daughter After Missing Film's LA Premiere for Her Birth
- Man arrested after trespassing twice in one day at Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s home in Los Angeles
- Driver in Malibu crash that killed 4 Pepperdine students pleads not guilty to murder
- Survivors of deadly Hurricane Otis grow desperate for food and aid amid slow government response
- Megan Fox Is Pregnant, Expecting Baby With Machine Gun Kelly
- Gunman opens fire on city of Buffalo vehicle, killing one employee and wounding two others
- Mia Talerico’s Good Luck Charlie Reunion Proves Time Flies
- Duran Duran reunites with Andy Taylor for best song in a decade on 'Danse Macabre' album
- Justice Department says jail conditions in Georgia’s Fulton County violate detainee rights
- Britney Spears' Ex Sam Asghari Reacts to Her Memoir Revelation About Their Marriage
Ranking
- Panel advises Illinois commemorate its role in helping slaves escape the South
- Week 9 college football expert picks: Top 25 game predictions led by Oregon-Utah
- Man arrested after trespassing twice in one day at Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s home in Los Angeles
- Farmington police release video from fatal shooting of armed man on Navajo reservation
- New Orleans marks with parade the 64th anniversary of 4 little girls integrating city schools
- A baseless claim about Putin’s health came from an unreliable Telegram account
- Pilot dead after small plane crashes in eastern Wisconsin
- Vanessa Hudgens’ Dark Vixen Bachelorette Party Is the Start of Something New With Fiancé Cole Tucker
Recommendation
-
Food prices worried most voters, but Trump’s plans likely won’t lower their grocery bills
-
Teachers’ advocates challenge private school voucher program in South Carolina
-
Patrick Dempsey Speaks Out on Mass Shooting in His Hometown of Lewiston, Maine
-
AP PHOTOS: Pan American Games bring together Olympic hopefuls from 41 nations
-
Voyager 2 is the only craft to visit Uranus. Its findings may have misled us for 40 years.
-
Wife of ex-Alaska Airlines pilot says she’s in shock after averted Horizon Air disaster
-
What happened during the Maine shootings last night? A timeline of the tragedy
-
Judge finds former Ohio lawmaker guilty of domestic violence in incident involving his wife