Weather in Tampa: Strong storms sweep through Bay Area on Wednesday
TAMPA, Fla. - A line of strong storms moved through the Bay Area on Wednesday ahead of a cold front.
Several Bay Area counties were under a tornado watch earlier in the day, but that watch has since been canceled. FOX 13 Chief Meteorologist Paul Dellegatto said it was not a long-lasting rain event and noted that any type of rain is good this time of year.
Dellegatto described the storms as a classic winter squall line. He added that the hail threat and tornado threat are small.
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He says the main impact was strong winds with gusts reaching 50–55 miles per hour in Hudson and 50 miles an hour in Brooksville.
According to Dellegatto, the storms should clear the southern part of the Bay Area by 7 p.m.
By 4 p.m., the rain had ended in counties located in the northern part of the Bay Area, and the heaviest rain was in Manatee County near the Sunshine Skyway Bridge.
Wednesday's wet weather will give way to cooler temperatures on Thursday morning, beginning a long stretch of sunny, warm, dry days and cool nights.
Wednesday's storms also disrupted flights at Tampa International Airport, leading to a ground stop in the afternoon. While the groundstop has since been lifted, departures from TPA are still being slowed to account for the heavy air traffic resulting from the delays.
What's closed due to the storm?
Several Bay Area counties have canceled after-school activities and/or events on Wednesday due to the storm:
Hillsborough County: Hillsborough County Schools is asking families to monitor their emails and students’ social media platforms for updates about dismissals and after-school activities as officials continue to monitor the storms.
Hernando County: All after-school activities and athletic events are canceled. Afterschool care providers will operate as usual. Schools will follow ‘Rainy Day" procedures for afternoon dismissal. Parents of bus riders are encouraged to monitor "WheresTheBus" for information regarding delays.
Pasco County: Pasco County Schools is monitoring the storms, and after-school activities will be held on a school-by-school basis. As of 2 p.m., all dismissals are on as scheduled.
Polk County: Polk County Schools has canceled all of its afterschool and sports activities for Wednesday, April 3.
Sarasota County: North Port Parks and Rec has canceled the ‘Dog-Gone Egg Hunt’ that was scheduled for Wednesday evening.
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