Storm Alert

Details

29 Aug

SITUATION: The Emergency Management Office is currently monitoring a Tropical Depression in the Gulf of Mexico that is anticipated to bring severe weather to the City of St. Petersburg in the next few days.

What's Happening: At 11am today, Tropical Depression 9 (TD9) was located over western Cuba. The depression is moving toward the west-northwest at near 7 mph. This track is forecast to shift slightly toward the northwest, then midweek turn sharply northeast toward the Big Bend area of Florida. Maximum sustained winds are near 35 mph with higher gusts. TD9 is forecast to intensify to a tropical storm later today. Pinellas County is now within the three-day cone of track forecast uncertainty. Current forecasts call for the system to make landfall as a mid-level tropical storm. There is high confidence in the storm track, but lower confidence in storm intensity. On the current forecast track, our area may start to feel impacts from the storm as rain starting Tuesday into Wednesday, with storm-related rain bands and tropical storm force winds possible early Thursday. There are NO watches or warnings for our area at this time.

Impact on St. Petersburg:

• If it continues on the current predicted track and at the predicted speed, TD9 could turn toward Tampa Bay by Wednesday.

• We could begin to feel the effects of the storm in the coming days with heavy rainfall.

• 6"-8" of rain may fall between this evening and Friday, September 2.

• Storm tides are expected to be 1'-3' above normal forecast levels. Since we are close to a new moon, normal tides will be unusually high. This may result in coastal flooding

• Rip Current concerns will increase as the storm approaches.

What St. Petersburg Is Doing: The Emergency Management Office is monitoring the storm closely and preparing for tropical storm formation. Please note the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) is not activated at this time. The following actions have taken place or are in motion:

• Sandbag operations are available today until 5pm today and tomorrow from noon until 8pm at the following locations:

• Northeast Park, 875 62nd Avenue NE. (located at the Cardinal Drive entrance to Mangrove Bay Golf Course)

• Bartlett Park (Frank W. Pierce Recreation Center), 22nd Avenue S. between Sixth and Seventh Streets

• Should the need arise, a shelter will be opened for citizens who may be affected by potential flooding. The shelter will be located at Northside Baptist Church, 6000 38th Avenue North. The decision to open such a shelter may not come until late Tuesday/ early Wednesday and will be decided by Pinellas County Emergency Management.

• The City's department leads for storm response met this morning to begin planning for the potential landfall of this storm.

• The City's Office of Emergency Management attended a conference call with the County Emergency Operations Center to discuss the storm's track and possible affects.

The City is planning to place signage at the following flood prone locations to warn about potential hazardous flood conditions:

• 100 block of 83rd Ave N

• 62nd Ave. N / 16th St NE (Shore Acres)

• 40th Ave NE / Shore Acres Blvd

• Coffee Pot Bridge

What To Expect:

• A meeting is scheduled with the County Emergency Operations Center tomorrow morning at 9am discuss this tropical system and further actions to be taken.

• The National Hurricane Center is issuing updates at the 11 and 5 o'clock hours, so we will not have an updated forecast until 5pm.

• EM will continue to monitor the situation and will send out another Sitrep as more information becomes available.

Recommended Actions:

• Any Emergency Critical personnel should begin taking appropriate actions to ready their preparedness plans and report for duty, should the need arise.

• http://www.pinellascounty.org/emergency/weather.htm

• http://weather.gov/tampabay

• http://spaghettimodels.com/ (tropical storms/hurricanes only)

• http://www.wunderground.com/radar/station.asp?ID=TBW19

• https://www.facebook.com/CityofStPetersburg

• https://twitter.com/StPeteFL

• https://www.facebook.com/PinellasCountyNews/

• https://mobile.twitter.com/pinellasem

• http://www.pinellascounty.org/social-networking.htm