Hurricane Irma is so strong it's pulling water from Tampa Bay's shores

[brooklynite]

Source: Tampa Bay Times

TAMPA — Streets throughout downtown had been empty for hours and people were returning to their homes to ride out Hurricane Irma ahead of the city's 6 p.m. curfew.

But what they spotted on the way was too much to pass up for some people, including 10-year-old Felix Carrillo and his mom, Hilda Carillo.

"It feels like walking on a really wet beach," Felix said as he and his mom trudged through puddle-riddled sludge left behind as winds from the storm sucked most of the water from the north end of Hillsborough Bay on Sunday afternoon.

Those who chose to stay behind for the approaching hurricane discovered an eerie signal of the approaching storm: Irma was pulling the water away from Tampa Bay's shores.

Read more: http://www.tampabay.com/news/weather/hurricanes/hurricane-irma-is-so-strong-its-pulling-water-from-tampa-bays-shores/2336958

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Link to tweet

[FloridaBlues]

1. Just went through Irma in sw fl by time it gets to Tampa

Won't be as bad the surge will be less because of the angle it's coming from we did better than Naples it was very bad there and the keys

[haveahart]

2. Where did the water go? And when and how will it come back?

[mahatmakanejeeves]

4. Where it's wanted. It's all physics.

I'm pretty sure the effect has an explanation.

[snooper2]

6. It went downhill towards the equator...will come back when the earth tilts again...

[KY_EnviroGuy]

3. Easy way to watch storm surge.

See: https://tidesonline.nos.noaa.gov/geographic.html

Click on any desired point on the map and a new page will open showing the water levels including normal tides. Also shows wind speed, air pressure and water/air temperatures.

[Baclava]

5. Only 1-3 feet of actual flood surge reported instead of 10-15 ft predicted

and she's gone