Times staff
Saturday, April 21, 2012
TAMPA — The rain is here.
Storms began rolling in from the Gulf of Mexico this afternoon, the first band soaking the Tampa Bay area in nearly an inch of rain in some areas, said Bay News 9 meteorologist Brian McClure.
Several inches of rain could fall, though most areas had accumulated less than an inch by late Saturday afternoon, McClure said.
Flooding may be a problem in areas with low-lying streets and poor drainage as well as some at streams and creeks, said meteorologist Diane Kacmarik. But so far, the overall dry conditions have not produced any flooding.
As the black clouds appeared on the western side of St. Petersburg around 2:15 p.m., Fifth Avenue NE turned into a parking lot as people who had been at the Mainsail Arts Festival in Vinoy Park tried to beat the raindrops. Despite the weather, the annual outdoor arts festival was scheduled to continue through Sunday, event organizers said.
Meanwhile, on Beach Drive, servers were gamely trying to finish providing outdoor meals at Cassis restaurant as heavy gusts whipped in from the south.
Tampa International Airport experienced just brief delays during Saturday afternoon's thundershowers, according to spokeswoman Janet Zink. Arriving and departing flights were delayed for about 15 minutes, but none were cancelled or held.
"It's business as usual," Zink said. "Just some rain relays."
The back edge of the first band of storms was moving through Pinellas County at about 3:30 p.m., McClure said. A brief lull in the rain was expected to follow with another band of storms moving through this evening. The storms should be gone by Sunday.
"Tomorrow there is a chance for rain but nothing like today and tonight," Kacmarik said.