Tampa, Florida (W.F.L.A.) — Tampa Bay experienced a rare inverse storm surge when Hurricane Milton made landfall Wednesday night, temporarily pulling water out of the bay and exposing parts of the bay floor that are normally submerged.
Video taken by NewsNation reporter Brian Entin showed water receding significantly on Bayshore Boulevard.
“All the water is gone from the bay,” Entin said.
The phenomenon occurs when strong winds blow offshore and push water out of coastal bays, as Peter Stempel, an associate professor of landscape architecture at Pennsylvania State University, explains in a 2022 blog post . However, the effect is temporary.
The Florida Department of Emergency Management warned people not to walk on the exposed bay floor because the water could eventually back up, creating a life-threatening danger.
It was so dark Wednesday night that it was unclear how far the water had receded.
Milton made landfall as a powerful Category 3 storm near Siesta Key, Florida, around 8:30 p.m. Wednesday, according to the National Hurricane Center.
Meteorologists feared that if Milton were to hit Pinellas County, it would bring up to 12 feet of life-threatening storm surge to the area. However, storm surge warnings remained in effect for several areas of Florida Wednesday night. national weather bureau.
