Cedar Key is a beautiful place to live and visit — and it sits in the Gulf of Mexico at the end of one road. When the weather turns, this page is the island’s bookmark: the official alerts, the county’s own emergency office, and the handful of island facts that matter most when minutes count. Keep this page saved on your phone. Everything below is the real thing, straight from the folks whose job it is.
Live links
- AlertLevy signup: https://www.alertlevy.com
- Levy County Emergency Management: https://www.levydisaster.com
- National Weather Service — Tampa Bay (our forecast office): https://www.weather.gov/tbw/ — Cedar Key is in the Coastal Levy zone; this office issues our storm-surge watches and warnings.
- National Hurricane Center: https://www.nhc.noaa.gov
- Florida Division of Emergency Management: https://www.floridadisaster.org
- Know Your Zone: https://www.floridadisaster.org/knowyourzone
- Special Needs Registry: https://snr.flhealthresponse.com/
- City of Cedar Key: https://cityofcedarkey.org
- FEMA assistance: https://www.disasterassistance.gov — (800) 621-3362
1. Get the official word first
Sign up for AlertLevy — today, while the sky is blue. AlertLevy is Levy County’s official emergency notification system. It sends evacuation orders, severe-weather alerts, road closures, and other emergency notices to your phone, text, or email. It’s free, it takes two minutes, and it only works if you’re signed up before the storm. 👉 Sign up: AlertLevy.com
Levy County Emergency Management — the county’s emergency office: Website: LevyDisaster.com; Phone: (352) 486-5213; Emergency Operations Center: 7911 NE 90th Street, Bronson, FL 32621; During an active emergency, the county staffs information lines — most recently (352) 486-5155 and (352) 486-5576 — and posts them at LevyDisaster.com.
More ways to hear it: NOAA Weather Radio — the wake-you-up-at-2-a.m. backup every island home should have. Local radio: WSKY 97.3 FM and WKTK 98.5 FM are Levy County’s primary emergency stations. TV: WCJB TV20 (Gainesville). Levy County EM app — search “Levy County EM” in your phone’s app store for the county’s own app, with shelter lists, evacuation-zone lookup, and damage reporting. Emergencies: dial 911. Levy County Sheriff’s Office (non-emergency): (352) 486-5111.
2. The one fact that rules everything: one road out
Cedar Key is an island at the end of State Road 24 — the only road on or off the island. That road crosses roughly three miles of low causeway and bridges, including the No. 4 Bridge. In a storm, those bridges flood and close early — well before the worst weather arrives — and once they’re closed, nobody leaves and nobody gets in until the county says so.
- When Levy County orders an evacuation, Cedar Key goes first — and goes early. Don’t wait to watch the water. By the time SR-24 looks bad, it’s already too late to use it.
- Essentially all of Cedar Key is storm-surge country. The island is low, and forecasters have warned of double-digit surge inundation here in recent storms (10–15 feet above ground was the forecast potential near Cedar Key during Hurricane Helene in 2024). If officials say leave, leave.
- Know your zone before the season, not during it. Check your exact address at Florida’s official lookup: FloridaDisaster.org/KnowYourZone. It takes thirty seconds and it’s the address — not a guess — that decides whether you’re ordered out.
For visitors: if you’re in a rental or a hotel room when an evacuation is ordered, the order applies to you too. Ask your host or front desk where to go, keep the car gassed, and treat an evacuation order like a checkout time that isn’t negotiable.
3. Before the storm (hurricane season: June 1 – November 30)
- Sign up for AlertLevy (above) and make sure your phone accepts its alerts.
- Know your zone and decide now where you’d go — a friend or family inland beats a shelter every time. Shelters are a last resort, not a plan.
- Build the kit: water and food for at least 7 days, medications, flashlights and batteries, a phone charger bank, cash, important papers in a waterproof bag, and supplies for pets. The state’s full planning guide: FloridaDisaster.org
- Fuel up early. Stations on the island are few, and SR-24 traffic backs up fast once an evacuation starts.
- Bring in or tie down everything outside — boats, kayaks, traps, porch furniture. Secure your boat or get it hauled; a loose boat becomes everybody’s problem.
- Photograph your home and belongings for insurance, and know your policy’s hurricane deductible.
- Check on your neighbors — especially anyone elderly, living alone, or new to the island who hasn’t ridden one out before.
4. If you or someone you love needs help getting out: the Special Needs Registry
If you — or a neighbor or family member — would need help evacuating, transportation to a shelter, or assistance with medical equipment or oxygen during a storm, pre-register with the Florida Special Needs Registry. It’s free, it’s run by the Florida Department of Health with county emergency management, and registering is how the county knows you exist before the wind picks up. 👉 Register: snr.flhealthresponse.com — or call Levy County Emergency Management at (352) 486-5213 for help registering. Important: register now, in fair weather, and update it every year. Registration ahead of a storm closes as tropical-storm winds approach — this is not a thing that can be done at the last minute. Bronson Elementary School serves as Levy County’s special-needs shelter when shelters open.
5. Shelters — the last resort
Levy County opens shelters in Bronson and Williston as storms require (recent openings have included Bronson Middle High School for the general population, Bronson Elementary for special needs, Williston schools, and Levy County Animal Services for pets). Which shelters open changes with every storm — never drive to a shelter without confirming it’s open via AlertLevy or LevyDisaster.com first. If you go: bring your kit, medications, bedding, and patience. Pet shelters require your pet crated, with food and vaccination records.
6. During the storm
- Stay inside, away from windows. The calm in the middle is the eye — the wind comes back from the other direction.
- Never drive through flooded roads. On this island, surge water can cover SR-24 and the causeways and hide washed-out pavement. Turn around, don’t drown is not a slogan here; it’s local history.
- Run generators outside only, well away from windows — carbon monoxide kills more people after storms than the storms do.
- Treat every downed line as live.
7. After the storm
- Wait for the all-clear and the county’s re-entry word. The bridges get inspected before anyone comes home; re-entry rules (who comes back first, ID checks) are posted by the county and the City of Cedar Key — follow them, even when it’s hard to wait.
- Expect boil-water notices after flooding or pressure loss; follow the county’s notice until it’s lifted.
- Watch for disaster recovery help: FEMA assistance applications open at DisasterAssistance.gov or (800) 621-3362 when a federal declaration covers Levy County.
- Report damage through the Levy County EM app or LevyDisaster.com — those reports drive the county’s recovery requests.