On Wednesday afternoon, severe thunderstorms brought rain to much of the Tampa Bay area, stranding motorists and issuing flood warnings for areas including Hillsborough, Pinellas and Pasco County that ended at 7:45 p.m.
Tampa Bay is currently in the midst of its rainy season, with meteorologists expecting about two-thirds of the region’s annual rainfall to fall during this time.
This summer, the region has seen more rain than normal, in part due to Hurricane Debby. The storm, which passed Tampa Bay as a tropical storm, brought up to 14 inches of rain to parts of Pinellas County and as much as 10 inches to Hillsborough County. The deluge of rain made it difficult for the soil to absorb all of the water.
In Central Oak Park in St. Petersburg, residents took to the neighborhood association’s Facebook page to express a variation on a common refrain: “I’ve never seen it this bad.”
“I’ve lived here for 14 years and it’s never gotten past our porch. This time it actually came into our house through the front door,” one resident wrote in a post.
At the Interstate 275 southbound exit ramp to West Shore Boulevard, a Tampa Bay Times reporter observed several drivers making three U-turns after traffic had been at a standstill for 45 minutes.
Here are some scenes from the area on Wednesday.
Dozens of vehicles are stuck on the Selmon Expressway exit ramp at 21st Street due to severe flooding caused by afternoon thunderstorms. pic.twitter.com/UObEvRQeLL
—Luis Santana (@LuisSantana) 5 September 2024
Severe flooding in West Tampa. Town and Country, Florida. @FOXWeatherDesk @wxchanneldesk @JimCantore @NWSTampaBay pic.twitter.com/BcBGlRGZ3u
— Mike’s Weather Page (@tropicalupdate) 5 September 2024
Civil engineering at its finest. (and also the difficulties with running water when there is no elevation to work with) #Tampa #DavisIslands pic.twitter.com/D23CGsU52V
— Paul Dellegatto⚡️FOX (@PaulFox13) 5 September 2024
STREET FLOODING ⛈️: South Parker Street in front of the WFLA news station is flooded due to heavy rains in the Tampa Bay area.
“The worst thing I have seen outside our station,” @WFLAJB said.
Do you have weather photos you’d like to share? Submit them here: https://t.co/L9PC5gx8uu pic.twitter.com/ngW6BNcOqJ
— WFLA NEWS (@WFLA) 4 September 2024
Times writers Tony Marrero and Christopher Spata contributed to this report.