Hurricane Season 2024

Beach officials warn that the last unofficial weekend of summer could be dangerous for boaters and swimmers this weekend thanks to distant Hurricane Ernesto.

The National Hurricane Center is debuting a new forecast cone. It includes some of the most significant changes to the forecast track in over 7 years.

Some 100,000 federal flood insurance policy holders are in limbo after residents rebuilt hurricane damaged homes without permits in nearly all of Lee County.

Disaster Unemployment Assistance is now available to businesses and residents in Sarasota County whose employment or self-employment was lost or interrupted as a direct result of Hurricane Debby and are not eligible for regular state or federal Reemployment Assistance benefits.The benefits, announced by FloridaCommerce, are for eligible Floridians whose employment or self-employment was lost or interrupted as a direct result of Hurricane Debby are encouraged to submit a claim at FloridaJobs.org.

Ernesto will continue to gain strength as it moves again from the Caribbean and remains far away from Florida, but swells and surf will be rough and high late this week and through the weekend.

The next name system is Ernesto and luckily for the continental U.S. it is turning northward and staying well away from Florida.

For the fourth year, Saildrone and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) are sailing a fleet of uncrewed surface vehicles (USVs) into hurricanes to better understand how these dangerous storms form, track, and intensify.The mission officially started this week with 12 vehicles stationed in six operational areas identified by NOAA as having a high probability of intercepting a storm.

Charlotte County residents concerned their private wells may have been contaminated by flooding from Hurricane Debby, can test your water at no cost through Aug. 9.

According to the National Weather Service more than 12 inches of rain fell from Tropical Depression Debby during it's passage by Sarasota last weekend and most of the day Monday.Here's where you can get a look at the NWS rain data chart.All tropical storm and storm surge warnings for Sarasota County have been cancelled but there are still several other watches, warnings, and advisories in effect for Sarasota County.