St. Pete Sandbags Available Through Wednesday

ST. PETERSBURG, FL — St. Petersburg residents who haven’t had the chance to stock up on sandbags in advance of anticipated severe weather later this week are getting a reprieve. The city has announced plans to open its sandbag locations again on Wednesday.

Sandbags are available until 8 p.m. Tuesday and from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., weather permitting, at the following locations:

• Northeast Park, 875 62nd Ave. N.E., at the Cardinal Drive to the Mangrove Bay Golf Course
• Bartlett Park (Frank W. Pierce Recreation Center), 22nd Ave. S. between Sixth and Seventh Streets

The city plans to make sand, shovels and bags available. People must show proof of city residence to obtain sandbags.

Sandbags are limited to 10 per residents. Help will be available for seniors and those who may not be able to fill and load their own sandbags.

The city initially planned to stop offering sandbags at 8 p.m. on Tuesday.

As of late Tuesday morning, Tropical Depression Nine was located about 340 miles west of Key West. The storm was moving west-northwest at 7 mph. It is expected to make a turn toward Florida’s west coast later today. It is also anticipated to gain tropical storm strength at some point on Tuesday.

Forecasters at the National Weather Service’s Ruskin office warned residents of the entire Tampa Bay area to keep a close watch on this storm as it develops and nears Florida’s west coast.

“In addition to the heavy rain and flooding threat, increased wind shear within the atmosphere will bring an increased risk of tornadoes during late Wednesday through Thursday,” forecasters wrote in Tuesday morning’s Hazardous Weather Outlook report for Tampa Bay. “The increasing south to southwest wind flow will also support an increasing storm surge threat along the coast.”

The storm is anticipated to bring 4 to 6 inches of rain to interior portions of the Tampa Bay area and between 6 to 10 inches along the coastal area from Sarasota north to Cedar Key.

On its current path, the depression is expected to make landfall along the coast of Florida at some point on Thursday. Much of the Tampa Bay area remained in its possible projected path as of late Tuesday morning.

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