WARNER ROBINS, Ga. — When the Waffle House closes its doors, it is typically seen as not a good sign ahead of a severe weather event.
Ahead of Hurricane Helene, the City of Warner Robins is encouraging residents to be vigilant and weather aware after they say the city's Waffle Houses have closed.
"In all seriousness, if you haven’t taken Hurricane Helene seriously yet—this is your sign," the city said on Facebook. "Please make sure you’re prepared, stay informed, and most importantly, stay safe."
In a statement, Waffle House did not outright confirm the closures, but they say that they close restaurants ahead of storms in order to keep their employees safe
"Our mission remains to keep our Associates out of harm's way," Waffle House said in a statement. "Accordingly, in areas predicted to be hardest hit, we will preemptively close restaurants with a goal of reopening them as soon as it is safe to do so to serve the communities that have there for us over the years."
While no longer utilized, at one point an administrator for the Federal Emergency Management Agency used Waffle Houses as an informal indicator of a storm's seriousness, an indicator dubbed the "Waffle House Index."
If the full menu is utilized, that is a green light. If it's a reduced menu, that is a yellow light. But if the Waffle House is closed, that is a red light.
WMAZ also asked about whether additional Waffle Houses are closed across Central Georgia, but Waffle House did not confirm any closures when asked.
At this point, forecasts indicate that Hurricane Helene is likely to hit Central Georgia as a Category 2 hurricane. It is rare for a hurricane to reach this far inland since they lose energy fast over land, but because of the anticipated speed of the storm, it is still expected to be a hurricane when it arrives in town.
You can read Waffle Houses' full statement below:
"Our mission remains to keep our Associates out of harm's way. Accordingly, in areas predicted to be hardest hit, we will preemptively close restaurants with a goal of reopening them as soon as it is safe to do so to serve the communities that have there for us over the years.
Locations in areas predicted to be in the path of the storm and likely to suffer significant damage, or where mandatory evacuations have been ordered are places where preemptive closures are taking place as a safety precaution."
