ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — A powerful Gulf storm that hit Florida like a tropical system brought torrential rainfall and some storm surge that contributed to a significant amount of flooding Sunday morning.
Gusty winds and heavy downpours brought in peak storm surge values around 3 feet tall across Tampa Bay counties, according to the National Weather Service.
Specifically in St. Petersburg's Shore Acres neighborhood, people woke up to flooded streets near and in front of their homes due to the overnight heavy rains. A video shows the water from the storm reaching as high as the tires of a vehicle and covering roads with homes near them.
One man told 10 Tampa Bay he woke up early on Sunday at his home in Venetian Isles to catch a flight home for the holidays. But when he tried to go through Shore Acres, he realized there was a problem.
“It wasn’t until we got to Shore Acres that we [realized] we can’t get out of this,” he said.
Shore Acres was one of the most hard-hit areas, but that can also be said for other cities across the local region.
Here's a breakdown of rainfall amounts across Tampa Bay:
- Brooksville: 3.29 feet
- Tampa: 3.02 feet
- Sarasota/Bradenton: 2.49 feet
- St. Petersburg: 1.84 feet
- Clearwater: 1.34 feet
As the potent area of low pressure moves away, it will remain windy with clearing skies throughout Sunday.
Previous coverage from 10 Tampa Bay contributed to this report.