Another round of heavy rain and storms has caused flooding around the Tampa Bay area.

Street flooding has been reported throughout the Tampa Bay area, but Tampa was hit particularly hard this time. Viewers posted or sent in countless photos shooting street flooding in Tampa.

City of Tampa makes sandbags available to residents

The City of Tampa is providing sandbags to city residents at two locations from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Residents may pick-up sandbags at the following locations:

  • Jackson Heights Playground, 3310 E. Lake Avenue
  • City of Tampa Solid Waste at 4010 W. Spruce Street

Tampa residents interested in receiving sandbags must show identification verifying residence within the city limits. A valid driver's license, utility bill, or electric bill will serve as appropriate identification.  There is a ten bag limit.

"So far Saturday, we have seen four to five rounds of torrential, gusty downpours - especially across Pinellas and Hillsborough," Bay News 9 meteorologist Diane Kacmarik said around 4 p.m., adding that wind gusts have been 40 to 50 mph. "Visibility has gone to zero when these rains came through."

The hardest hit areas were downtown Tampa and South Tampa to Davis Islands. Radar estimates that five to nine inches of rain fell within a few hours this afternoon. A rain guage on Davis Islands near Peter O. Knight Airport recorded 8.87 inches of rain. Tampa International Airport recorded 3.27 inches of rain through 4 p.m, a record for Aug. 1.

Tampa Fire Rescue officials say more than 100 calls came in from motorists stranded on the flooded streets.

A higher than normal tide has "aggravated the drainage situation in low areas," Kacmarik said.

And there was more bad news for residents near the Anclote River in southern Pasco County. A flood warning was issued for the river at Elfers.

Additional heavy rain over an already saturated river basin has caused the water levels to rise again. The level was expected to rise back above the flood stage Saturday night and minor flooding is expected to continue into the first half of next week.

A flood warning for Hillsborough County was in effect until 7:30 p.m., and while the rain at 5 p.m. was light, more showers and storms were moving in from the Gulf of Mexico.

Flood advisories were issued early this afternoon for Pinellas, Hillsborogh and southeast Pasco County, where grounds are already saturated from almost daily rains. Flood watches were already in place for Hernando and Citrus counties, where storms have been lining up along the coast.

"The ground is very saturated from all the rain we've had over the last week or two, so it it doesn't take much to cause flooding problems," Bay News 9 meteorologist Josh Linker said. "That's what we have taking place right now."

The rain chance will remain high over the next couple of days. Some slightly drier air and a wind flow shift by Tuesday will lead to a more typical summer pattern by the middle of next week, with late day showers and thunderstorms along the sea breeze front.

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