Weather

With only a few weeks left in the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season, tropical activity is heating up once again. 

The 36th Tarpon Springs Seafood Festival kicked off on Friday and runs through Sunday, but residents and business owners said after Hurricanes Helene and Milton, this year’s festival means so much more.

Treasure Island residents working to rebuild said to return home their contractors need permits from the city, but a backlog of permits means many can't get started. Some neighbors said red tape and confusion at City Hall is contributing to the slow process.

Powerful Hurricane Rafael has strengthened in the Gulf of Mexico after slamming into Cuba as a major hurricane on Wednesday and continues to crawl westward slowly.

Thousands of families across the Tampa Bay area were forced to rip out their drywall before mold grew after back-to-back hurricanes, and now they're waiting for permits and contractors. But, there is something homeowners can do while they wait that will save them from future storms. 

Close to 250 volunteers came out to Clearwater Beach on Friday morning to kick off the Big Cleanup Clearwater.

Since the storms, there have been a lot of signs in the roadway medians advertising contractor services, but many are taking advantage of people during their most desperate times, so law enforcement officials set up an unlicensed contractor sting in Pinellas County that led to the arrests of nearly 40 people over two days.  

In the fishing village of Cortez in Manatee County, Star Fish Company has been serving freshly caught fish for generations until Hurricanes Milton and Helene threatened everything. 

Hurricane Rafael is turning to the west over the southern Gulf of Mexico as the storm continues to impact Cuba on Thursday, according to the National Hurricane Center.

So many lives were forever changed after Hurricanes Helene and Milton, and that includes many pets. Now, one place in St. Petersburg serves as a lifeline for pet owners.