University campuses across northern Florida will close Wednesday as the state braces for an abnormal blast of sub-zero weather. The University of Florida will cancel classes, close offices and postpone on-campus activities from midnight Tuesday through 12:30 p.

Universities and colleges along the First Coast are starting to close in a domino effect in advance of the Winter storm that is hitting Florida Tuesday into Wednesday. By Tuesday afternoon, the area’s three most prominent universities and colleges had called it quits for some operations starting late Tuesday or Wednesday.

North Florida residents from Pensacola to Jacksonville are bracing for what is expected to be a historic, once-in-a-lifetime winter storm.

There were 18,000 Florida homes without power as of Wednesday afternoon, according to the Governor’s Office. Some 20,000 have already been restored after losing power across the state during the storm. “Extreme Cold Warnings” remain in effect for most of the Panhandle through Thursday morning.

As a winter storm moves through Northeast Florida and Southeast Georgia, some school districts are beginning to announce if classes will resume.