SALISBURY — Because of the forecast for heavy wind and rain from Tropical Storm Ian, Rowan-Salisbury Schools will be closed for students Friday and officials canceled the annual Autumn Jubilee.

The fall festival that takes place every year at Dan Nicholas Park was called off after Gov. Roy Cooper declared a state of emergency.

Organizers said in a news release, “It is with heavy hearts that we announce the cancellation of the annual Autumn Jubilee festival that was scheduled to take place.”

There is no reschedule date; the festival will return next year. “Our hope is that we come back bigger and better next year,” the news release said.

If you have questions, comments, or concerns regarding Autumn Jubilee, call 704-216-7815.

School staff members will have an optional remote workday Friday and all afternoon activities are canceled. Staff members should refer to their email or supervisor’s guidelines for working options.

Steve Monday of rowanweather.com said the latest projections Thursday evening show the center of the storm is tracking toward passing over Rowan County as a tropical depression, with gusty winds and heavy rain downpours.

Catawba College’s football game against Emory & Henry in the Virginia highlands was moved up a day from Saturday to 3 p.m. on Friday.

Livingstone College’s Emergency Response Team will make an announcement  by 8 a.m. Friday regarding whether classes will be in-person or virtual. All evening and weekend classes on Saturday will be remote.

In case of power outages, students will be directed to remain in their residence halls.

The cafeteria will operate on a brunch schedule beginning Friday and until further notice.

Campus operations will be available on www.livingstone.edu and on the official social media pages on Facebook and Instagram.

Rowan and Cabarrus counties are under a tropical storm warning, which means that tropical storm winds are expected and could be 20-30 mph with gusts of 60 mph and 3-6 inches of rainfall.