Sunshine Skyway Bridge Closed For High Winds

TAMPA BAY, FL — The Sunshine Skyway Bridge has closed due to high winds, authorities said. The closing was announced just before 7 p.m. Saturday and it's unclear till when the bridge will remain closed.

The Florida Highway Patrol said earlier Saturday that the Skyway, Gandy and Howard Frankland Bridges would be closing when wind speeds reach up to 40 miles per hour. According to the latest information from the FHP, both the Gandy and Howard Frankland Bridges were still open.

On its current projected path, Hurricane Irma is expected to cross over the Florida Keys early Sunday morning before beginning a potentially devastating trek north, along the west coast. Forecasters expect Irma to make it well north of the Tampa Bay area before losing major hurricane status. (For more hurricane news or local news from Florida, click here to sign up for real-time news alerts and newsletters from Tampa Patch, and click here to find your local Florida Patch. If you have an iPhone, click here to get the free Patch iPhone app.)

Storm surge potential is a major concern in the Tampa Bay area. Although somewhat weakened, hurricane center forecasters warn that Irma remains a powerful storm.

At the National Weather Service’s Tampa Bay office in Ruskin, forecasters have issued a flash flood watch through 8 a.m. Sept. 11, in addition to the hurricane and storm surge warnings.

Patch will update this story.

Photo courtesy of the Florida Highway Patrol