It's not a myth: Waffle House closes Daytona- area restaurants ahead of Hurricane Milton

Waffle House recently took to X, formerly Twitter, to announce a slew of alarming restaurant closures ahead of Hurricane Milton , and its Volusia County locations are among those closing.

The ultra-casual breakfast chain holds over 1,900 locations, primarily along the Gulf Coast and Southern U.S., and has served as a reliable haven for hot meals around the clock in even the most intense of weather conditions for nearly seven decades.

More: These Volusia-Flagler restaurants are closing ahead of Hurricane Milton

Customers of the popular chain, which rarely closes shop unless conditions are severe enough, have been known to rely on the “Waffle House Index” to determine how damaging impending storms are likely to be.

Yes, the “Waffle House Index” is real and was created by Craig Fugate, former administrator of the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency. The index uses a color-coded to map to determine the intensity of storm impacts on designated areas, based on the status of local Waffle House locations.

Green signals that the Waffle House is open and serving its full menu, thus indicating little area damage, while yellow means the restaurant is operating with limited service or a limited menu, thus supplies may be limited and water or electricity disrupted. Red indicates the Waffle House location is closed, a sign of severe damage to the area or that the restaurant is unable to operate as normal under current circumstances.

Locally, the Waffle House operates more than a half-dozen locations across Volusia County from Ormond Beach to Deltona, all of which appeared red, or closed, on the Waffle House's latest location map, posted to X Wednesday afternoon.

Find the full list of local Waffle House locations below.

• 1570 U.S. 1, Ormond Beach; 386-672-8484.
• 1633 Taylor Road, Port Orange; 386-214-9557.
• 3740 S. Nova Road, Port Orange; 386-214-6480.
• 2587 W. International Speedway Blvd., Daytona Beach; 386-255-8219.
• 329 Seabreeze Blvd., Daytona Beach; 386-682-9659.
• 3200 S. Atlantic Ave., Daytona Beach Shores; 386-405-0530.
• 1120 N. Woodland Blvd., DeLand; 386-748-9990.
• 414 Deltona Blvd., Deltona; 386-574-0848.

“These updated #whindex status maps reflect our closures as of 2 p.m. this afternoon in advance of #HurricaneMilton. Please stay safe,” the X post reads. “Due to the potential for variations in Milton’s path, this information is subject to change without notice. Please follow local guidance.”

Hurricane Milton, a Category 4 hurricane as of Wednesday afternoon, is predicted to make landfall late Wednesday night on Florida's Gulf Coast. Intense flooding with upward of 15 inches of rainfall as well as hurricane force wind gusts are forecasted for the Volusia-Flagler region.

Ahead of the storm, dozens of restaurants across both counties have closed shop , boarded their windows and spent the last several days preparing to the best of their ability.

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: It's not a myth: Waffle House closes Daytona- area restaurants ahead of Hurricane Milton