Showers and storms are again moving through the Tampa Bay area, and flood watches are in effect in several counties.
Flood watches for Hillsborough, Pinellas, Pasco have been extended through Thursday evening. They're are in addition to flood warnings are for the Anclote River at Elfers and Cypress Creek at Worthington Gardens.
Saturated soils and the potential for additional heavy rainfall will continue the threat of flooding.
Maria Hughes hasn't been home for more than a week. Flood waters have crept too close to her Elfers Parkway home that she shares with her mother, sister, and nephew. As soon as the weather got bad, Hughes knew they had to leave.
"We knew it was gonna end up flooding," she said. "As soon as it went down the street and started going across the street, we knew we had to get out of here."
The family has stayed in hotels and only came back home today to replenish their supplies. They loaded up all they could on their backs and trekked out into the water, which at times came up to their knees.
"It's very hard," Hughes said. "I don't feel right being out of a hotel. I just want to be home."
Though the water has receeded in some parts around the Anclote River, the water is still high where Hughes lives. She isn't sure when she will be able to go back home, but she hopes it's soon.
"I just want this all to be over with," she said.
7-day forecast | Temperatures | Dew point/humidity | Lightning Strikes | Rainfall Totals
The moisture content is remaining high in the atmosphere.
During a single hour this afternoon, Tampa International Airport received 1.74 inches of rain.
The scattered showers and storms will die down for a brief lull overnight for a few hours but you can expect some scattered storms to start coming right back in from the Gulf again Thursday morning.
Lows will be in the mid to upper 70s. Expect humidity to remain very high.
Thursday will feature some sunshine but expect another round of scattered storms to fill in quickly as the temperatures warm quickly.
Highs will be in the mid to upper 80s. The movement of all storms on Thursday will be southward. The storms will die down in the evening.
The rain won't let up anytime soon. In fact, the forecast calls for a very wet weekend, with the rain chance going to 70 percent Friday and 80 percent Saturday before coming back to 70 percent Sunday.
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.
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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