“Waffle House Index” Predicts Hurricane Impact

Waffle House has more than one hundred restaurants in the state of Florida.

And these restaurants are known for toughing it out and staying open even when weather conditions are scary. They also reopen quickly after weather events.

Have you heard of the "Waffle House Index"? It's actually a way, albeit informal, that emergency officials measure a storm.

This methodology came about in 2004 while Hurricane Charley was rolling through by the (at the time) Florida Emergency Management Director, Craig Fugate.

Here's how it works: When a Waffle House closes before a hurricane, you better believe extremely severe weather is on the way, and it is time for folks in that area to get out.

Fugate explained the index to FOX Business. He said, "If it was open and had a full menu we probably weren't in the worst-hit areas yet."

Here are the three levels of the Waffle House Index:

GREEN: Full menu; the restaurant sustained little or no damage and has full power
YELLOW: Limited menu; the restaurant is running out of food or has limited power
RED: A completely closed Waffle House

Njeri Boss is the Vice President of Public Relations for Waffle House. He explained, "We actually have a storm playbook that every restaurant has. We revise it each year as needed. And it tells the management team what to do in the event of an emergency."

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