Andrea's Attack

From the Safety Harbor Patch.  Read more

Humane Society of Pinellas County's Roof Collapses

Andrea's wind and rain caused the animal shelter (about 3 miles from our house) to lose their roof (but no dogs or cats): 

Tropical Storm Warning Today in Tampa Bay

While we don't expect consistent wind, there have been some suspected tornadoes in the area including one that may have touched down south of Tampa Bay.   In the meantime our 1-day event will continue with a Tropical Storm WARNING and up to 60 mile an hour winds in this next band of rain coming through from the southwest to northeast:

Tropical Storm Andrea has formed

From USA Today:

Tropical Storm Andrea has formed in the Gulf of Mexico, the National Hurricane Center in Miami reported late this afternoon. It is the first named storm of the 2013 Atlantic hurricane season.

Andrea will bring heavy rain, gusty winds, rough surf and severe thunderstorms to much of Florida on Thursday, according to AccuWeather meteorologist Alex Sosnowski.

It is forecast to cross the Florida peninsula on Thursday before heading up the Eastern Seaboard on Friday and Saturday, delivering heavy rain and thunderstorms from the mid-Atlantic to New England.

Tampa Bay meteorologists are predicting a "rain event".   I've turned off my sprinklers.


Meanwhile, there's already trouble:

Swimmers rescued in Gulf Shores, Orange Beach as Tropical Storm Andrea formed in Gulf

Here we go again!

June 1st and the start of a new hurricane season.  This is my 9th year of blogging mostly about how we are affected here in Florida and specifically the Tampa Bay Area.  

Fortunately for us in Florida ..and I really mean that....the majority of my posts from the past 7 years have been about hurricanes hitting in other parts of the U.S., Florida preparations, and insurance rates going up.   Well , none of us care for the latter, but I'd rather post about that than storms hitting locally.  

I do feel for everyone in the Northeast, Midwest, and Gulfcoast states that have taken the brunt of Mother Nature over this time period. Included in this should also be those impacted by the devastating tornadoes that hit Oklahoma last month.  

So as another predicted active hurricane season starts up, we have to shake off our complacency, do our preparations, ask our weather forecasters to balance their enthusiasm when a storm forms and begins to set a path.   It's important to stay informed and not let down our guard, and I hope that if a storm does come our way, that everyone involved and potentially affected, does the right thing for themselves, their families, and their community.