We've been enduring Tropical Storm Debby in Sarasota for several days now. I actually thought I was going to miss it because I was near Orlando this weekend when the rain started. Little did any of us know, Debby was going to stall in the Gulf of Mexico and then slowly crawl her way up and over the state dumping massive amounts of rain. The rainfall totals are breaking records. So far, Sarasota has received 9 inches of rain from Debby. (Tampa received nearly 12 inches just on Sunday). Besides all the rain, the wind has been fairly steady at 23 MPH. But, the good news is...the flooding has been minimal so far and confined to low lying areas. Of course, there are down trees and electrical outages, but fortunately, my power has been on the entire time. About a dozen boats in Sarasota Bay lost their moorings and crashed ashore, including this one pictured. (Believe it or not, the sun had been shining just minutes before I took this picture -- that's how quickly the feeder bands roll in.) We're expected to feel the effects of Debby at least for the next day, maybe two. Once the Gulf of Mexico settles down we'll see how the beaches faired. While this is the hardest Sarasota has been hit in many years, it's nothing compared to Hernando and Pasco Counties, north of Tampa, where they are overwhelmed with high flood waters and mandatory evacuations.
