Photo by: tampabay
Heavy overnight rain flooded low-lying and coastal areas around Tampa Bay on Sunday morning, leading to closed roads and comparisons to Hurricane Idalia.
Videos posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, show cars stranded on flooded roads in St. Pete Beach, Maderia Beach and Gulfport.
4:15 p.m.: No tropical storm-force winds recorded in Tampa Bay
The highest wind gust recorded in Pinellas County was 53 miles per hour, which was logged just before 4:30 a.m. Sunday at Albert Whitted Airport in St. Petersburg, according to Paul Close, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service’s Tampa Bay office.
About an hour later, Hillsborough County saw its highest wind gust of 47 miles per hour at Tampa International Airport, according to weather service data.
Throughout the Tampa Bay region, wind speeds never reached tropical storm strength, which is a sustained wind — not a gust — of 39 miles per hour, Close told the Tampa Bay Times.
No tornadoes touched down in the bay area, and a there was only one tornado warning, in the Port Charlotte area north of Fort Myers, which went out around 3 a.m. Sunday, according to Close.
As for rain, most of the Tampa Bay region saw between 2.5 and 3.5 inches of rainfall as of Sunday afternoon, Close said. Northwest Hillsborough County saw up to 3.5 inches, while areas further inland, like Lakeland, received about 2 inches.
”This was kind of a washout. We don’t have many of these each year,” Close said. “With an El Nino, we’ll likely see more of these systems come from the Gulf.”
— Max Chesnes
3:30 p.m.: Already soaked from Idalia, Shore Acres residents face more flooding
Eric Desonie floated in his kayak beside the RV he has called home since Hurricane Idalia sent a half-foot of water into his living room.
On Sunday, a little more than three months since the storm that gutted his Shore Acres house in St. Petersburg, Desonie was facing another flood.
This one was less damaging, but no less bothersome.
“I accepted this fact when I moved into this neighborhood,” Desonie said, referring to the neighborhood’s flood risk. “But it still sucks.”
The deja vu Shore Acres residents got from this weekend’s storms, which brought a downpour not seen since Idalia in August, was especially strong.
1:45 p.m.: High winds bring choppy surf in Clearwater Beach
High winds coming in from the Gulf of Mexico sent waves crashing ashore in Clearwater Beach on Sunday and left an industrial crane spinning slowly over a hotel construction site on S Gulfview Boulevard.
1:12 p.m.: Snell Isle reopens; city seeks reports of damage
The city of St. Petersburg has reopened access to flooded Snell Isle, though access to Riviera Bay and Shore Acres remains restricted.
The city is also seeking resident reports of flood damage to homes and neighborhoods. Residents are asked to send photos of home damage to floodplain@stpete.org and include your address and a measurement above floor level.
12:15 p.m. Police reopen roads along Bayshore in Tampa
Tampa Police have reopened roadways along and near Bayshore Boulevard, according to a news release from the city. Other areas that have seen flooded roadways include the Courtney Campbell Causeway at Rocky Point Boulevard. Drivers are encouraged to avoid all low-lying areas until flood waters recede.
11:20 a.m.: Nearly 7,000 customers without power in Tampa Bay
About 5,000 Duke Energy customers in Pinellas County and 1,900 Tampa Electric Co. customers, mostly in Hillsborough County, were still without power by 11:20 a.m. The numbers have fluctuated throughout the morning, with Duke’s outages dropping from 5,000 to 1,000 by 10 a.m., then rising back up an hour later.
10:22 a.m. Apartments flooded in Madeira Beach
Angela Robbins, of Madeira Beach, thought the worst of the storms were over by 11:30 pm on Saturday night. Most of the storms had passed, it was quiet, and there was no water at the door of her small triplex apartment as she settled into bed at 121 140th Ave E.
But by 3:30 a.m., things had changed. As Robbins stepped out of bed to use the restroom, she found herself standing in a three-foot-deep storm surge.
“It was up to my hip, and I began to cry,” Robbins said as she scooped dozens of waterlogged shoes into trash bags to add to the pile of personal belongings outside her front door. “Now I am afraid of the mildew and mold.”
Robbins’ four-door Volvo was also flooded and reeked of an electrical smell outside her front door, which remained parked near bags of clothes, comforters, carpets, and pillows. By mid-morning, Robbins was still working to clear the spaces and dry them.
Robbins’ neighbor, Anthony McCabe at 699 Pruitt Drive, was trying to figure out how to remove water from his laundry room, bedroom, and living room, all of which were inundated by storm surge overnight, “similar to how it flooded in Idalia,” McCabe said.
10:18 a.m.: Power outages rising in Hillsborough County
By 10:15 a.m., Duke Energy was reporting just under 1,000 power outages in Pinellas County, down from about 5,000 earlier this morning. In Hillsborough County, however, outages had gone from about 800 at 9 a.m. to about 1,900 at 10:15 a.m., according to Tampa Electric Co.
10:17 a.m.: Gulfport streets beginning to clear
By 9:30 a.m. the water in Gulfport had receded enough that vehicles, including a transit bus, were able to pass through on Shore Boulevard. Meanwhile, the line of small businesses along the block of Beach Boulevard was populated with the loud whirring of Shop Vacs and the smell of bleach as businesses cleaned up the mess.
— Chris Tisch, Times staff writer
10:15 a.m.: Bayshore Boulevard in Tampa remains flooded
By mid-morning, sections of Tampa’s Bayshore Boulevard were flooded and impassable, according to the city’s flood map, which showed water from S Howard Avenue to W Brorein Street.
10:18 a.m.: Power outages rising in Hillsborough County
By 10:15 a.m., Duke Energy was reporting just under 1,000 power outages in Pinellas County, down from about 5,000 earlier this morning. In Hillsborough County, however, outages had gone from about 800 at 9 a.m. to about 1,900 at 10:15 a.m., according to Tampa Electric Co.
10:17 a.m.: Gulfport streets beginning to clear
By 9:30 a.m. the water in Gulfport had receded enough that vehicles, including a transit bus, were able to pass through on Shore Boulevard. Meanwhile, the line of small businesses along the block of Beach Boulevard was populated with the loud whirring of Shop Vacs and the smell of bleach as businesses cleaned up the mess.
— Chris Tisch, Times staff writer
10:15 a.m.: Bayshore Boulevard in Tampa remains flooded
By mid-morning, sections of Tampa’s Bayshore Boulevard were flooded and impassable, according to the city’s flood map, which showed water from S Howard Avenue to W Brorein Street.
9:33 a.m.: Streets flooded in St. Petersburg’s Shore Acres
Shore Acres, the northeast St. Petersburg neighborhood hard-hit by flooding after Hurricane Idalia, is once again seeing saturated streets and damage from this weekend’s storm.
At 9:18 a.m, a duo of firefighters with St. Pete Fire Rescue trudged through knee-deep water on the corner of Shore Acres Blvd NE and 46th Ave NE.
Aaron Bruckler, a firefighter, was called to respond to an electrical house fire in Shore Acres. The roads were impassable, Bruckler said, so the duo was forced to launch a skiff to check on the house.
”We got sent out here for a house fire,” yelled Bruckler as he waded through dirty floodwaters. “They called 911 saying their house was on fire.”
Bruckler said he had to hike about a mile into the inundated neighborhood when traveling by boat became impossible.
— Max Chesnes, Times staff writer
9 a.m. Power outages around Tampa Bay
Duke Energy was reporting about 5,000 customers without power in Pinellas County as of about 9 a.m. Sunday. The biggest chunks appeared to be in Gulfport and in nearby areas of St. Petersburg. TECO was reporting about 800 outages. — Chris Tisch, Times staff writer
8:45 a.m. Gulfport streets flooded, shops took some water
In Gulfport, Shore Boulevard was under water and at least one car appeared to be stalled out in high water near the Casino. People at businesses on Beach Boulevard were using big brooms to push out water that had gotten into their buildings, which they said is not uncommon. Will Childers, manager of Paw Paws pet boutique, said the flooding wasn’t as bad as Hurricane Idalia earlier this year, when at least an inch of water seeped inside. He said the flooding this time was less than a half-inch. Still, he said the flooding was unexpected. “It surprised us all,” he said, “because they said it was not going to be as bad as this.” — Chris Tisch, Times staff writer
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Source: tampabay
