Tornado and Tropical Storm in Florida, July 31, 2017

Tropical Storm Emily came ashore in the area with a broad area of toppled trees and numerous branches downed. An NWS Storm Survey team found a narrow area of enhanced damage, likely associated with a brief tornado. Two barns were destroyed along with multiple greenhouses and a engineered wall was found toppled.

Tropical Storm Emily formed on the tail-end of a slow moving frontal boundary that was draped across the northeastern Gulf of Mexico. A weak area of low pressure developed on the 30th and slowly drifted southeast towards the Florida peninsula. Early in the morning on the 31st, satellite and radar data indicated that a tropical depression had formed about 65 miles west of Tampa Bay. The system became a tropical storm shortly before landfall just a few hours later. Emily made landfall on Anna Maria Island at 10:45 AM with maximum sustained winds of 45 mph and a minimum central pressure of 1005 mb.

In coastal Sarasota county, Emily's impacts were limited to areas of downed trees and limbs. The highest wind gust reported was 37 knots at a Weatherflow station ENE of Sarasota. Home weather stations along and near the coast reported 3 to 5 inches of rain.

Tropical Storm Emily formed on the tail-end of a slow moving frontal boundary that was draped across the northeastern Gulf of Mexico. A weak area of low pressure developed on the 30th and slowly drifted southeast towards the Florida peninsula. Early in the morning on the 31st, satellite and radar data indicated that a tropical depression had formed about 65 miles west of Tampa Bay. The system became a tropical storm shortly before landfall just a few hours later. Emily made landfall on Anna Maria Island at 10:45 AM with maximum sustained winds of 45 mph and a minimum central pressure of 1005 mb.

In Pinellas county, the strongest winds were limited to the extreme southern portion of the county near the mouth of Tampa Bay. A weatherflow station along the Sunshine Skyway Bridge measured a 49 knot wind gust. These high winds forced the closure of the Skyway Bridge and in Indian Rocks Beach, a crane was toppled over by high winds.|Rainfall was in the 3-5 inch range across the southern portion of the county.

Tropical Storm Emily formed on the tail-end of a slow moving frontal boundary that was draped across the northeastern Gulf of Mexico. A weak area of low pressure developed on the 30th and slowly drifted southeast towards the Florida peninsula. Early in the morning on the 31st, satellite and radar data indicated that a tropical depression had formed about 65 miles west of Tampa Bay. The system became a tropical storm shortly before landfall just a few hours later. Emily made landfall on Anna Maria Island at 10:45 AM with maximum sustained winds of 45 mph and a minimum central pressure of 1005 mb.

Coastal Manatee County observed the brunt of the damage from Tropical Storm Emily. The highest wind gust recorded was 63 knots by a home weather station which may have been associated with a brief tornado. Numerous other home weather stations recorded wind gusts in the 35-45 knot range across the county. Flooding was a major issue in Manatee County as water flowed above sidewalks in several neighborhoods, causing street closures throughout the day. Widespread 4-6 inch rainfall totals were observed.Also, some trees and power lines were downed across the area mainly where the center of the storm came onshore.

Tropical Storm Emily formed on the tail-end of a slow moving frontal boundary that was draped across the northeastern Gulf of Mexico. A weak area of low pressure developed on the 30th and slowly drifted southeast towards the Florida peninsula. Early in the morning on the 31st, satellite and radar data indicated that a tropical depression had formed about 65 miles west of Tampa Bay. The system became a tropical storm shortly before landfall just a few hours later. Emily made landfall on Anna Maria Island at 10:45 AM with maximum sustained winds of 45 mph and a minimum central pressure of 1005 mb.

In Coastal Charlotte County, rainfall of 2 to 4 inches was observed from the outer bands of Tropical Storm Emily. Some gusty winds were associated with these band features and the strongest wind gust observed across Charlotte County was 38 knots.

Tropical Storm Emily formed on the tail-end of a slow moving frontal boundary that was draped across the northeastern Gulf of Mexico. A weak area of low pressure developed on the 30th and slowly drifted southeast towards the Florida peninsula. Early in the morning on the 31st, satellite and radar data indicated that a tropical depression had formed about 65 miles west of Tampa Bay. The system became a tropical storm shortly before landfall just a few hours later. Emily made landfall on Anna Maria Island at 10:45 AM with maximum sustained winds of 45 mph and a minimum central pressure of 1005 mb.

Across interior Hillsborough County, there were a few reports of downed limbs and trees. Rainfall was the biggest impact with widespread 3 to 5 inch rainfall totals reported from home weather stations and CoCoRaHS observers across southern and central areas of the county.

Tropical Storm Emily formed on the tail-end of a slow moving frontal boundary that was draped across the northeastern Gulf of Mexico. A weak area of low pressure developed on the 30th and slowly drifted southeast towards the Florida peninsula. Early in the morning on the 31st, satellite and radar data indicated that a tropical depression had formed about 65 miles west of Tampa Bay. The system became a tropical storm shortly before landfall just a few hours later. Emily made landfall on Anna Maria Island at 10:45 AM with maximum sustained winds of 45 mph and a minimum central pressure of 1005 mb.

In Polk County, heavy rain caused flooding and the closure of multiple streets and intersections across Lakeland. Some homeowners voluntarily evacuated as flood waters got higher. Rainfall totals were in the 3 to 5 inch range across western Polk County.