Sarasota-area beaches face dangerous rip currents and large waves Friday and Saturday as Hurricane Isaias moves toward the northern Gulf Coast, with the potential for heavy rain and localized flooding increasing Saturday.
The National Weather Service’s Tampa Bay office outlined those threats in a briefing issued at 5:58 a.m. Friday, Oct. 9.
Isaias was about 200 miles south-southeast of the mouth of the Mississippi River and expected to strengthen into a major hurricane Friday.
The National Hurricane Center’s track graphic included in the briefing reported maximum sustained winds of 110 mph, with the storm moving north-northeast at 15 mph.
Although the storm’s forecast track remains west of Sarasota, swells are expected to reach area beaches and
create hazardous coastal conditions.
Dangerous rip currents expected at Sarasota-area beaches
The weather service forecasts a high risk of rip currents Friday and Saturday along area beaches, including Sarasota County’s coast.
A small craft advisory covers the region’s coastal waters beginning Friday morning and continuing through Saturday morning.
A storm surge watch remains in effect for Levy County, with potential surge of 2 to 4 feet from the Suwannee River to Yankeetown. A coastal flood advisory extends from Citrus County through Tampa Bay. The briefing’s advisory map does not include Sarasota or Manatee counties in either alert.
Sarasota flooding risk increases Saturday
A stalled front remains over the region Friday, with potential heavy rainfall focused on portions of the Nature Coast.
By Saturday, heavy rain could become more widespread. Sarasota and Manatee counties appear within the marginal risk area for excessive rainfall that could cause flash flooding, while parts of the Nature Coast face a higher, slight risk.
The weather service plans a webinar at 1 p.m. Friday and its next email briefing by 6 p.m.
Rough Gulf slows stone crab preparations in Cortez
In Cortez, the historic fishing village in Manatee County along northern Sarasota Bay, seafood business owner Karen Bell said Thursday that she was monitoring Hurricane Isaias and preparing for possible wind and heavy rain.
Bell’s businesses include seafood restaurant and market Star Fish Company, wholesale seafood dealer A.P. Bell Fish Co. and restaurant Tide Tables.
“We’re not doing a whole lot here except just preparing for maybe some wind and heavy rain, making sure everything’s kind of tied down,” Bell said.
Her businesses suffered extensive damage during hurricanes Helene and Milton in 2024, including flooding at Star Fish and Tide Tables, the loss of A.P. Bell’s roof and damage to docks.
The rough Gulf is also affecting preparations for stone crab season, which begins Oct. 15.
“They haven’t been putting as many traps out because they’re concerned about the Gulf, because the Gulf is really agitated right now; there’s a lot of wind and wave action,” Bell said.
Email entertainment reporter Jimmy Geurts at jimmy.geurts@heraldtribune.com.
Wade Tatangelo is the executive editor of the Sarasota Herald-Tribune and Florida dining and entertainment editor for the USA TODAY Network. Follow him on Facebook, Instagram, and X. He can be reached by email at wade.tatangelo@heraldtribune.com. Support local journalism by subscribing.
This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Sarasota faces rough surf as Hurricane Isaias slows stone crab prep
