Manatee County under coastal flood warning and tornado watch as thunderstorms approach

Jason Dill
·3 min read

With severe thunderstorms projected for Thursday, the National Weather Service issued multiple warnings or advisories for Manatee County.

The NWS Tampa Bay office issued a coastal flood warning, wind advisory and high surf advisory for the area.

The coastal flood warning and wind advisory are set until 8 p.m. Thursday, while the high surf advisory goes until 8 p.m. Friday, the NWS said.

The NWS forecast for Thursday has showers and thunderstorms hitting Manatee County before 4 p.m. with the potential for a thunderstorm between 4 p.m. and 5 p.m. and additional showers and thunderstorms after 5 p.m.

Those storms could produce heavy rainfall, while wind is expected to gust as high as 36 miles per hour and hold steady in a southwesterly direction between 23 and 26 miles per hour, the NWS forecast said.

A quarter to a half an inch of rain is possible with the chance of rain hitting 90%.

Severe weather headed to Manatee County

More severe weather is expected to impact Florida counties to the north and west of Manatee, with a tornado watch in effect for more than 25 counties, including Hillsborough, Pinellas and Pasco.

The coastal flood warning for Manatee County also means a high rip current risk.

“Rip currents are powerful, narrow channels of fast-moving water that are prevalent along the East, Gulf, and West coasts of the U.S.,” the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Ocean Service said.

The NWS Tampa Bay said the impact of the coastal flood warning means the following:

  • Numerous roads may be closed.

  • Low-lying property including homes, businesses, and some critical infrastructure will be inundated.

  • Some shoreline erosion will occur.

  • Dangerous swimming and surfing conditions and localized beach erosion.

  • Rip currents can sweep even the best swimmers away from shore into deeper water.

Where to find sandbags

In response to the pending severe weather, Manatee County opened self-service sandbag location. You can find sandbags at the Coquina beach North Boat Ramp and the Manatee County Utilities Yard, 4700 66th St. W., Bradenton, according to the county’s officials social media account on X, formerly known as Twitter.

Visit www.MyManatee.org/sandbags for more information.