Heavy wind and rain pummeled Tampa Bay overnight, while Lakeland saw record rainfall.
Heavy wind and rain pummeled Central Florida overnight, breaking records and flooding streets across the Sunshine State.
The Tampa Bay area — which was under tornado, severe thunderstorm, and special marine warnings overnight — saw winds around 45 mph across the region and exceeding 50 mph in St. Petersburg, Belleair and Clearwater Beach, according to the National Weather Service.
The area received as much as 3 inches of rain Saturday, according to WUSF.
Madeira Beach resident Angela Robbins told the Tampa Bay Times how she got out of bed to use the bathroom around 3:30 a.m. and was met with 3 feet of water.
“It was up to my hip, and I began to cry,” she told the newspaper.
Social media users Brandon Copic and Bruce Sobut shared images of washed-out roads and cars trapped in floodwaters on Broadway Street in Longboat Key and Coffee Pot Boulevard in St. Petersburg, respectively. Reporter Sarah Metts posted a picture of flooding in Punta Gorda, near ShorePoint Health. In Clearwater, a large tree was uprooted on a local golf course.
Snell Isle, Shore Acres and Riviera Bay were closed to non-local traffic mid-day Sunday in St. Petersburg, and although roads reopened Sunday morning in Sarasota, police urged drivers to proceed with caution.
Pinellas, coastal Hillsborough and coastal Manatee counties were under a high surf advisory with a rip current risk until 7 a.m. Monday.
“Rip currents can sweep even the best swimmers away from shore into deeper water,” according to a statement from the National Weather Service. “Inexperienced swimmers should remain out of the water due to dangerous surf conditions.”
There was record-setting rainfall in and around Lakeland. The city received 2.33 inches as of Sunday morning, more than doubling a previous record of 1.08 inches.
Wind gusts of up 60 mph are forecast for Tallahassee on Sunday afternoon, according to NPR, and the storm is forecast to move north along the coast toward New England.
The forecast across Central Florida is much calmer in the coming days. The weather is expected to be cloudy overnight around Tampa Bay and sunny and clear Monday, the National Weather Service reported. In Lakeland, there is a slight chance of showers Sunday afternoon followed by predicted cloudy conditions Sunday and sunny conditions Monday.