Tropical Storm — Coastal Sarasota, Florida

2017-07-31 · Coastal Sarasota, Florida

Event narrative

Tropical Storm Emily formed on the tail-end of a slow moving frontal boundary that was draped across the northeastern Gulf of Mexico. A weak area of low pressure developed on the 30th and slowly drifted southeast towards the Florida peninsula. Early in the morning on the 31st, satellite and radar data indicated that a tropical depression had formed about 65 miles west of Tampa Bay. The system became a tropical storm shortly before landfall just a few hours later. Emily made landfall on Anna Maria Island at 10:45 AM with maximum sustained winds of 45 mph and a minimum central pressure of 1005 mb.

In coastal Sarasota county, Emily's impacts were limited to areas of downed trees and limbs. The highest wind gust reported was 37 knots at a Weatherflow station ENE of Sarasota. Home weather stations along and near the coast reported 3 to 5 inches of rain.

Wider weather episode

Tropical Storm Emily formed on the tail-end of a slow moving frontal boundary that was draped across the northeastern Gulf of Mexico. A weak area of low pressure developed on the 30th and slowly drifted southeast towards the Florida peninsula. Early in the morning on the 31st, satellite and radar data indicated that a tropical depression had formed about 65 miles west of Tampa Bay. The system became a tropical storm shortly before landfall just a few hours later. Emily made landfall on Anna Maria Island at 10:45 AM with maximum sustained winds of 45 mph and a minimum central pressure of 1005 mb.

Emily was a small system and it's effects were very localized across the region. It produced one tornado along the Manatee county coast and wind gusts were observed in the 40 to 65 mph range across Pinellas, Manatee and Sarasota Counties. Emily produced areas of 4-6 inches of rain across portions of west central Florida.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 705837. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.