Rain showers and thunderstorms are ongoing as the Bay area remains under a flood watch until Wednesday night.
Showers and thunderstorms continued Tuesday, and additional storms in the Gulf of Mexico are expected continue through the area as the night goes on, according to Bay News 9 Meteorologist Juli Marquez.
The flood watch is in effect for the entire Bay area until 8 p.m. Wednesday.
"The flood watch remains in effect because we will have the high rain chances continuing for the next two days," Marquez said. "Some parts of the Bay area received as much as four inches of rain Monday. Any additional rain the next few days will aggravate the flooding problems we've seen."
Street flooding had already become a problem by early Monday afternoon. Parts of Pasco, Manatee, Pinellas and Sarasota counties reported problems on area roadways.
Officials warn drivers to avoid Anna Maria Island
Tuesday morning, Holmes Beach Police Chief William L. Tokajer warned drivers to avoid Anna Maria Island, saying the 6800 to 7200 blocks of Holmes Boulevard were flooded, along with the 3500 to 3600 block of Gulf Blvd. He also said the 2900 block of Avenue C was underwater.
It's not uncommon for the roads to flood on Anna Maria Island when it rains, but residents say they haven't seen it this bad in a long time.
Today's steady showers left many roads underwater and very difficult to get around. The rain came down all day long on the island turning roads into large bodies of water.
"It's terrible I guess I’m going to take the boat home," said Mike Sepesy, who works on the island.
A boat would have been more fitting than cars and trucks trying to make it through the flooded mess on Holmes Beach. Despite signs placed along Gulf Boulevard warning drivers to be careful, some still braved the roads and ended up getting stuck.
"If we're going to have rain for next couple of days we're going to have some flooding concerns and not to where it's getting to any homes yet but just the roads getting water," said Tokajer.
Other flooding concerns around the Bay area
Also, officials at Camper's Holiday Travel Park near Brooksville are keeping a close eye on rainfall totals for the next few days.
Residents feel fortunate there wasn't flooding today since many are still cleaning up from water damage in the August floods.
At least 80 were damaged and of those, more than 20 are now deemed unsafe.
"We’re a snow bird community so they're not here, but they're not allowed back in until the county comes out and looks at it and determines that it's safe to go in," said States.
Park President Norman States said a nearby lake covers 14 acres and fills fast with just regular run off. Combine that with what he says may be a nearby clogged canal and a culvert that diverts water right into the park, and it's a recipe for flooding.
States says the park will continue to monitor levels with any more rainfall.
The waves were big and choppy with strong winds off the coast of Manatee County, but that didn’t stop surfers and out of towners from enjoying the waves. However, Manatee County life guards are still saying the water is dangerous and that people stay out of the water due to the threat of rip currents.
The Sarasota-Bradenton Airport had a record three inches of rain on Monday. The old record was 2.67 inches in 1947. Tampa International Airport had .77 inches of rain, while two inches was recorded in Ruskin 2.00 and 1.12 inches were noted in St. Petersburg on Monday.
On Monday, Pasco County received a large amount of rainfall with St. Leo recording 5.20 inches. More than three inches of rain fell in Zephyrhills. Meanwhile, in Polk County, Haines City saw 3.29 inches of rainfall.
In Sarasota, standing water forced police to close U.S. 301 and 7th Street in both directions. At 12:15 p.m., the circle around St. Armands Circle was under water and officers were directing traffic away from the area.
Pasco County is making sand and sandbags available at the following locations:
- Pasco County Public Works Complex, 7530 State Street, New Port Richey
- C- Barn, 3908 Warder Road., San Antonio
- Citizens must bring their own shovel and are limited to 25 sand bags per household.
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