Sarasota County Opens Sandbag Locations

SARASOTA COUNTY, FL — Sarasota County residents preparing to batten down the hatches in advance of anticipated severe weather later this week have some help available. The county has announced the opening of several locations where free sandbags can be picked up.

The county’s three sandbag locations open at 2:30 p.m. Tuesday and will stay open until 6 p.m. They also be open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Wednesday. There is a 10 bag limit per person. Identification is not required.

The locations where sandbags are being offered are as follows:

• Newtown Estates Park, 2800 Newtown Blvd.
• Twin Lakes Park, 6700 Clark Road
• South County Fleet Facility, 4571 Englewood Road

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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