VIDEOS: Tampa Bay experiencing flooding amid Hurricane Helene

TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — Hurricane Helene is expected to make landfall in Florida Thursday evening but is already impacting the Tampa Bay area.

Life-threatening storm surges and record-level water levels are forecasted ahead of the storm.

Tampa

Flooding surrounds Tampa General Hospital

Heavy flooding blocked access to the Davis Islands by Thursday evening

Water overspills on Davis Beach on Thursday morning.

Anna Maria Island

Hazardous beach conditions begin on AMI as Helene passes Tampa Bay.

Clearwater

Oldsmar

Venice

Winds rip off part of a home in Venice as Hurricane Helene passes Tampa Bay.

Madeira Beach

A large sailboat broke loose near Baypoint Drive ahead of Hurricane Helene’s arrival on Thursday.

Sarasota

WFLA reporter Allyson Henning captured this video of a pod of dolphins in Sarasota Bay ahead of Hurricane Helene.

Courtney Campbell Causeway

Bayshore Boulevard near Downtown Tampa

Bayshore Boulevard has started to flood, as rising water begins seeping into surrounding neighborhoods.

Rough waters and winds bash Tampa. “It’s going to be an interesting 36 hours,” a resident said.

Manatee County

Bradenton police showed video of a sailboat that washed up onto the Palma Sola Causeway, along with debris.

South Sarasota

Rising water is seen at the Vamo Drive Park Kayak Launch in South Sarasota.

Siesta Key

Bradenton

The Palma Sola boat ramp is underwater in Bradenton, as police urge residents to not go “sightseeing” today.

Treasure Island

A neighborhood in Sunset Beach floods as Hurricane Helene inches toward Florida.

Englewood

On Middle Beach, water from the ocean is seen coming high on the shore around 9 a.m.

Cedar Key

Video captured on Thursday morning shows waves overspilling onto streets as storm surge begins.

St. Petersburg

A man “saw some fish swimming” near his feet as rising water swarmed him in St. Pete.

Videos captured between 8:30 a.m. and 10 a.m. show water flooding Coffee Pot Park in St. Pete. “Water is going to continue to rise as the day goes on. Please stay safe,” the City of St. Petersburg said.

Waves crash in downtown St. Pete around 8 a.m. on Thursday.

High water thrashed St. Pete Thursday morning ahead of Hurricane Helene’s arrival.

Helene is currently a Category 2 Hurricane, with wind speeds of 100 mph. It is expected to hit as a Category 4 in Florida’s Big Bend region sometime Thursday evening.

This story will continue to be updated as the storm approaches.

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