A Tornado Watch continues for Pinellas, Polk, Hillsborough, Manatee and Sarasota Counties until 9 a.m. Monday.
As squall lines roll through the Bay area, Bay News 9 Meteorologist Diane Kacmarik said southeast wind gusts of 20 to 40 mph are possible until Tropical Storm Isaac gets farther into the Gulf of Mexico. As a result of the squalls, the threat of tornadoes remains.
There is also a threat of flooding from a lot of rain in a limited amount of time, but coastal flooding is unlikely to be more than 1 foot above normal.
This is a Bay News 9 BREAKING alert. Refresh your page for updates.
Tropical Storm Isaac is in the Gulf of Mexico and becoming better organized, but the storm's actual severe weather threat for the Bay area has just begun early Monday morning. The National Hurricane Center's 2 a.m. advisory placed the storm 110 miles southwest of Key West, moving west-northwest at 14 mph.
Isaac's path continues to toward the New Orleans area, but the Bay area is not out of the woods for severe weather through at least Monday, according to Bay News 9 Meteorologist Brian McClure. In the Bay area, a Tropical Storm Warning remains in effect from Anclote Key in the Pasco County area and south. The Tropical Storm Warning to the north was canceled at 5 p.m. McClure said the center of Isaac has begun to move into the Gulf and away from Florida, but we are not out of the woods into Monday.
Bay News 9 Chief Meteorologist Mike Clay stressed the system is very large and the region will still likely see nasty weather through Monday. According to Clay, although the storm is expected to pass well west of the Bay area, its far-reaching bands are expected to impact local weather for the next two days. Radar in the Bay area has shown fast-moving squalls coming into; a gust of 50 mph was reported with a band of rain in Polk County earlier Sunday.
Computer models for Isaac's path have begun to come into agreement that the system will develop into a strong Category 2 hurricane before moving onto the Gulf Coast between Louisiana and Florida.
Speaking exclusively on Bay News 9's Political Connections at 8 p.m., Florida Gov. Rick Scott said he has spoken with the governors of Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana to offer support as Isaac looms. Those states joined Florida on Sunday in declaring states of emergency to prepare for Isaac's potential impact; a Hurricane Warning is in effect from Morgan City, La. to Destin, including the city of New Orleans.
In his 6 p.m. Sunday news conference, Gov. Rick Scott said the Florida Panhandle, already saturated by Tropical Storms Beryl and Debby, can expect 18 inches of rain as Isaac moves into the area. "Eighteen inches of rain is a significant problem," Scott said.
Six out of seven counties in the Bay News 9 viewing area have canceled school and many have canceled governmental services.
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"Because it's not really a tight core or well-developed hurricane -- it's just kind of a sloppy system -- we're seeing effects well away from the center," Clay said. "It has a lot of organizing to do before it becomes a hurricane." Tropical force winds extend 200 miles from the storm's center. As result, the area could get gusts to tropical storm force through Monday.
"With an offshore wind and the system moving away from us toward Louisiana, we don’t expect any storm surge flooding here," Clay said. "However, there might be elevated water levels along the coast if the system strengthens in the Gulf.
"Since the system is moving rather fast, we don’t expect major flooding problems from rain. But many areas are completely saturated from a wet summer and an additional two to four inches of rain could cause more flooding problems."
With the continued shift west on the spaghetti plot, it appears landfall in the Florida Panhandle is unlikely.
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- BN9 Klystron 9: Key West radar
- First day of RNC effectively canceled as Isaac looms
- Gov. Scott withdraws from RNC activities ahead of Isaac
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Gov. Rick Scott declared a statewide state of emergency, and Pasco, Manatee, Hernando, Hillsborough, Pinellas and Sarasota Counties have also declared local states of emergency.
Forecasters say Isaac could become a Category 2 hurricane at some point before making landfall.
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A Hurricane Warning is in effect for:
- Florida Keys, including the Dry Tortugas
- West coast of Florida, from Bonita Beach southward to Ocean Reef
- Florida Bay
A Hurricane Warning is in effect for:
- East of Morgan City, La. -- including New Orleans and Lake Pontchartrain -- to Destin
A Hurricane Watch is in effect for:
- East of Destin to Indian Pass
A Tropical Storm Warning is in effect for:
- Pasco Co. line and south through the Bay area
- Jupiter Inlet and south, around to Tarpon Springs area
- Florida Keys, Dry Tortugas, Florida Bay
- Lake Okeechobee
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In the event that Tropical Storm Isaac hits the Tampa Bay area, you will be able to get information from Bay News 9 meteorologists on the radio through one of Bay News 9's partner radio stations. These stations include the following: