It's raining again in the Tampa Bay area.

After three days of showers, storms and, in some areas, heavy downpours, rain began moving into west-central Florida from the Gulf of Mexico early Monday afternoon. More rain is in the forecast for Tuesday.

"With the tropical moisture passing through we’ll have more scattered showers and storms into Tuesday," said Bay News 9 Meteorologist Brian McClure. "The movement of all showers will be eastward.  Otherwise you can expect mostly cloudy to partly sunny skies with highs in the low to mid 80s."

In Manatee County, overflowing rivers and saturated low-level grounds have caused street flooding. Parts of Pinellas, Pasco and Hillsborough counties also have experienced street flooding.

Officials have closed seven nature preserves in Hillsborough County as a result of the flooding. Those preserves are:

  • Alafia River Corridor Preserve, 931 Old Welcome Road in Lithia
  • Brooker Creek Headwaters Preserve, 18102 Ramblewood Road in Lutz
  • Cypress Creek Preserve, 3298 Robertson Trail in Lutz
  • Lake Frances and Dan Preserve, 11009 Tarpon Springs Road in Odessa
  • Pam Callahan Preserve, 5750 Memorial Highway in Tampa
  • Rock Creek Coastal Preserve, 5120 Troydale Road in Tampa
  • Town N Country Preserve, 8304 Montague St. in Tampa

There's even more rain in the forecast for Tuesday, but with October fast approaching, drier air will soon arrive. A cold front this weekend is expected to not only bring cooler air, but also drop temperatures a few degrees.

"Slightly drier air will lower the rain chance for Wednesday," said McClure. "If you’re excited about the first cold front of the season make sure to check out our 7Day forecast for the inside scoop on when it will arrive.

But residents in Manatee County have to first deal with the present.

Standing water forced officials to temporarily close portions of Taylor Road and Upper Manatee River Road in unincorporated parts of the county and Mulholland Road in Parrish. Sunshine this morning helped the waters recede, and the roads have been reopened, but motorists are being advised to use caution.

Other parts of the Tampa Bay area have also been impacted by the heavy rain, including northwest St. Petersburg, where a sewage line break has spilled more than half a million gallons of wastewater into Joe's Creek.

The heavy rains have contributed to nine-plus inches of rainfall this month, which is three inches above normal.

Flood warnings continue for the Alafia River in Lithia, the Little Manatee River in Wimauma and the Manatee River at Myakka Head and at the Rye Bridge.

"We have high water and water over the road situations at about five or six areas of the county, where we’ve placed caution signage," said Public Works Director Ron Schulhofer. "If drivers see standing water anywhere, we strongly advise avoiding those areas and finding an alternate route to your destination."

All of the rainfall have led Manatee County officials to release water from the Lake Manatee dam to lower the lake's levels, which is something they do every time the area sees heavy downpours. Officials said this is not responsible for any of the flooding over the weekend.

More flooding could be possible tonight, as the ground is saturated. If the area sees more rains, the roads could flood again.

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