Flood warnings remain in effect for the Anclote River and Cypress Creek, and a flood watch has been extended through tomorrow evening for Hernando, Pasco, Pinellas, and Hillsborough counties.
Due to another round of thunderstorms, a flood advisory has also been issued for southwestern Pasco County until 11:15 p.m. tonight. This is for localized flooding in low-lying spots as the storms pass.
Once this dies down there will be a lull in the activity for a few hours overnight.
It's been raining on and off since Friday in west-central Florida, and showers and storms are again moving through. Flooding has been reported in Holiday.
The warning for Anclote River at Elfers, where mandatory home evacuations were ordered Sunday, goes until Friday. The warning for Cypress Creek at Worthington Gardens extends until Saturday morning.
Elfers is in southwest Pasco County, and Worthington Gardens is in south central Pasco.
“It’s pretty much just another day,” said Brian Vandam, who grew up in Elfers. “It was way worse, the waters gone way down. The water was on top of the porch there.”
Vandam said flooding is common but it hasn’t been this bad since 2012 during Tropical Storm Debby.
Fortunately his dad's home is elevated but many people around the area aren’t so lucky. Seeing fish and people with boats on streets has become the norm.
“It’s definitely frustrating, aggravating,” said Vandam.
Dozens if not hundreds of people have evacuated the Elfers and Trinity Oaks area. But not Al Clark, who has lived in Elfers for 35 years.
“People ask me, ‘why do you stay here?’ like I told them yesterday, I own the dirt, I own what's on the dirt,” said Clark.
But that’s not the only reason.
“If you leave, you’re afraid you might lose some of what you’ve got and then there’s just the dumb people out there that just like to tear stuff up,” said Clark.
The sheriff's office has been patrolling the wet area every few hours. So far the county says about 40 structures, mostly homes, have reported damage from flooding. It does expect those numbers to rise.
The evacuation order in the Elfers area is expected to be in effect until at least Wednesday.
The county says it has put nearly $5 million in projects to reduce flooding in the county since Tropical Storm Debby.
The widespread heavy rain has also caused the Little Manatee River at Wimauma and the Myakka River at Myakka State Park. Other areas have also flooded, including Masaryktown in Hernando County and parts of Trinity and New Port Richey in Pasco.
Scattered storms will move through the region tonight. Otherwise expect mostly cloudy skies with lows in the mid to upper 70s.
Anywhere the storms pass could produce localized flooding very quickly due to saturated grounds. A flood watch remains in effect.
Wednesday will feature slightly drier air in the atmosphere, but there will still be scattered showers and storms that develop through the day. Highs will be in the upper 80s.
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Due to more clouds and rain, high temperatures will be in the mid to upper 80s.
The area of low pressure will remain across the northeastern Gulf of Mexico and north-central Florida through the end of the week with the Atlantic ridge axis held south of the state.
Southwest to west winds between these features and high moisture in place will lead to numerous showers with some thunderstorms for the rest of the week.
Pasco County sand bag locations
Southwest Pasco County is one of the most flood-prone areas in the region, and the county is offering sand bags in the following locations:
- Fire Station #17, 2951 Seven Springs Blvd., New Port Richey
- West Pasco Government Center, 7536 State Street, New Port Richey
- J.W. Mitchell Park, 4025 Little Rd., New Port Richey
- Across from the Fleet Maintenance Building, 6420 Pine Hill Road, New Port Richey
- C- Barn on 30906 Warder Rd., San Antonio
Pasco officials are urging residents to visit the county's Emergency Management web page and monitor Pasco County main page for press releases at www.pascocountyfl.net.
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