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Fay Stalls On Florida Coast, With Rain Measured In Feet

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By NEIL JOHNSON | The Tampa Tribune

Published: August 20, 2008

Updated: 08/20/2008 06:34 pm

TAMPA - The Tampa Bay area may see more rain from Tropical Storm Fay's second pass through the state than on Tuesday when the storm sloshed through Central Florida.

The storm's center nosed just off the east coast into the Atlantic Ocean late today.

Forecasters say Fay should ease back onto the east coast overnight or early Thursday morning and begin a slow, soggy trek northwest toward the Panhandle.

The National Hurricane Center said Fay will be moving about 4 mph across North Florida on Thursday and Friday. The winds won't be potent and should drop fairly quickly.

The Tampa Bay area should be on the weaker side of the storm, and most of Fay's wind and rain will be on the northern side of the track.

It should make its return over the coastline with winds of about 50 mph. Those should drop to just over 30 mph by early Friday morning if the storm follows the forecast.

As Fay moves to the north of Cedar Key, more of the feeder bands could begin moving off the Gulf of Mexico toward the Tampa Bay area, with a few stray bands arriving this evening.

The bands could be more plentiful and stronger to the north along Hernando and Citrus counties.

Winds might be about 20 mph along the coast of the Tampa Bay area, about the same as the highest sustained winds measured at Tampa International Airport on Tuesday.

Gusts in some of the rain bands might be a bit higher at 30 to 40 mph, gusts not uncommon in strong Florida thunderstorms, said Paul Close, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Ruskin.

There should be little threat of coastal flooding from Fay's second pass, with 1 to 2 feet of storm surge in the Tampa Bay area, Close said.

Any rain at TIA on Thursday would be more than Fay produced on Tuesday. The airport recorded only a trace of rain then, or less than one-hundredth of an inch.

A pocket of dry air over Hillsborough and Pinellas counties sapped any rain that tried to spin toward us.

Compare that with the almost biblical amounts of rain that drenched parts of Melbourne and Palm Bay on the east coast today.

The center of Fay spent much of today stalled just north of Melbourne, and a persistent squall fed by rain bands coming off the Atlantic Ocean dumped rain for hours.

The National Weather Service said spots in Melbourne received 25 inches of rain by late this afternoon, and an additional 3 to 6 inches are expected overnight.

The rainfall that the Melbourne weather service office termed historic and rain expected in North Florida prompted Gov. Charlie Crist to request a federal declaration of emergency from President Bush.

Fortunately, rain eased today over most of Highlands County, one of the Central Florida counties hardest hit by Fay.

Some of the worst flooding in Highlands County was at Kissimmee River Estates, a subdivision of mostly mobile homes near the Kissimmee River where up to 8 inches of water seeped into homes.

Flooding has closed roads, and at least two creeks have surpassed flood stage.

About 10 percent of a fishing resort near Arbuckle Creek, one of those above flood stage, was under water.

Information from Highlands Today and The Associated Press was used in this report. Reporter Neil Johnson can be reached at (813) 259-7731 or njohnson@tampatrib.com.

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