Tropical Storm — Hillsborough, Florida

1996-10-07 to 1996-10-08 · Hillsborough, Florida

Wider weather episode

Tropical Storm Josephine moved northeast across the Gulf of Mexico and brought low to moderate range tropical storm force winds to mainly coastal areas of West Central and Southwest Florida. Maximum sustained winds of 45 mph with gusts as high as 71 mph were observed at the Sunshine Skyway Bridge at the mouth of Tampa Bay.Tropical Storm Josephine moved onshore in the Big Bend area of Florida and caused storm surges of 8 to 9 feet at Cedar Key in Levy county shortly after midnight on the 8th. Storm surges of 4 to 6 feet were common from Citrus county south to the Tampa Bay metro area. Storm surges of 2 to 4 feet were common from Anna Maria Island in Manatee county south to Ft. Myers in Lee county.Minor to moderate beach erosion occurred along the Sarasota, Manatee, Pinellas and Hillsborough county beaches. Total beach erosion costs were estimated at two million dollars.Rain bands associated with Tropical Storm Josephine produced 4 to 6 inches of rain in less than eight hours over parts of Southwest Florida. Flooding of homes and streets were observed from Bradenton south to Port Charlotte.Flooding from storm surges occurred along the entire West Florida coastline but was most pronounced in Pinellas county where nearly 1,400 dwellings were affected by floodwaters. Estimated damage from Tropical Storm Josephine in Pinellas county alone was over 25 million. Overall, nearly 3,600 homes from Levy county south along the West Florida coastline to Lee county were affected by floodwaters from Tropical Storm Josephine, mainly west of the U.S. 19 corridor.One injury was reported when a male youth broke a leg attempting to surf the storm surge along a Pinellas county beach.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 5580069. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.