Flooding recedes, but stormy summer looms

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Roads were drying out in St. Petersburg on Tuesday after Tropical Storm Colin caused major flooding, but neighbors are nervous this is a hint of what's to come this summer.

Some folks first had to deal with another round of flooding Tuesday morning after several bands of heavy rain moved through.

"It was better yesterday. It didn't flood like this at all, but it rained all night long. I mean, it rained all night long and again this morning," said Ned Finnegan, who lives in Northmore Avenue and told FOX 13 this kind of flooding happens every year. "There's nothing I can do. You can try sand bags and everything. You can't do anything; you just got to wait it out. What are you going to do?"

Several roads had to be closed in different sections, including Martin Luther King Street, 8th Avenue, and Coffee Pot Boulevard.

Water poured in through the roof St. Petersburg High School, which still remained open.

In Shore Acres, who often floods during storms, several streets stayed closed into the afternoon. Flooding wasn't the only issue; a tree came down on a house on Venetian Bouevard a few hours before a woman closed on the house next door.

"We're familiar with all the flooding that goes on because we don't live far from here, but seeing the tree on their house is scary," said Cheryl Wilson-Jensen. "It could have fallen toward our house, which would have been pretty bad on our closing day."

Late in the afternoon, St. Petersburg joined other communities in facing wastewater challenges; Public Works Administrator Claude Tankersley said in a news release the city will be discharging partially treated wastewater into Tampa Bay to help with the sewer system.