The weekend may be a washout. But you’re likely to smell less red tide

A flood warning has been issued for the Manatee River at Myakka Head by the National Weather Service in Tampa, with more heavy rain in the forecast.

But there’s good news for Manatee County residents who have been disgusted by the smell of red tide cloaking the area: Winds are shifting and things should smell better soon for most.

The Weather Service issued the flood warning late Friday morning for the Manatee River and several other rivers in the Tampa Bay area. The warning is one of many recently, the result of above average rain in the area, according to Bay News 9 meteorologist Brian McClure.

As of 10 a.m. Friday, the Manatee River was at 9.2 feet and forecast to rise above flood stage, 11 feet, sometime Friday evening. The river is expected to continue rising to near 12 feet sometime around midnight.

The river is not expected to drop below flood stage until early Sunday afternoon, according to the Weather Service.

Numerous flood warning have been issued for the Manatee River and others in the Tampa Bay area on and off during the last month, according to McClure,

“We have had above average rainfall in the past month so all the local rivers are running above average,” McClure said.

Rain forecast for later Friday and into Saturday won’t help the situation, either. There is a 60 percent chance for rain on Friday with storms expected to begin rolling in early Friday afternoon. Rain chances will increase even more on Saturday, with a 70 percent chance for rain. and dropping to a 60 percent chance on Sunday.

But flooding is not something new for many who live near Myakka Head and along other rivers.

“Almost all these flood almost every summer,” McClure said.

The forecast does have good news for those who have been tormented by the pungent smell of red tide: Winds are expected to shift on Friday. A sea-breeze is expected to continue for a few more hours, McClure explained late Friday morning, but as a low pressure system moves into the area, bringing with it lots of rain, winds will shift to from the east.

Easterly winds are expected to last for the next three to five days, he said.

“Yesterday you had a stronger sea-breeze,” McClure said.

Residents in Manatee County felt the effects of those strong breezes when they smelled red tide as far east as Interstate 75.

This story was originally published August 24, 2018 at 12:54 PM with the headline "The weekend may be a washout. But you’re likely to smell less red tide."