Weatherscore 572·6 metrosupdated 3h ago

The Waffle House Index: A Unique Metric for Storm Severity in the South

The Waffle House Index serves as an informal gauge of storm severity, helping Southerners and FEMA assess disaster impact. A closed Waffle House indicates potential devastation, while an open one suggests lesser damage, providing critical information for communities during hurricanes.

Where it's breaking

Local coverage

Sources cited

Original outlets that filed on this story across the contributing metros. Click through for the underlying coverage.

What this is

A national rollup is a story Executive Producer detected breaking in multiple US metros at once. Each contributing market has its own deduplicated cluster from local broadcast, print, government, and community sources — this page links them together so a journalist can see the full national footprint. We are a pointer, not a publisher.Every linked headline goes back to the local cluster and from there to the original outlet — that's the URL to cite. A lead, not the law.