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Boaters zoom up flooded Bayshore Boulevard
A trio of Donald Trump supporters let their flag fly as they boated through Hurricane Helene floodwaters on Thursday. Video by Cory Watilo via Storyful.
TAMPA - It’s not Gasparilla season yet, but that doesn’t mean you won’t see boats parading up Bayshore Boulevard, apparently.
With South Tampa’s iconic roadway under water thanks to Hurricane Helene, a trio of Donald Trump supporters grabbed the opportunity to boat their way along Bayshore during high tide Thursday morning. Their blue "Trump 2024" flag flapped in the wind as they sped north near Orleans Avenue, their motor barely audible over the roar of the wind in video taken by Cory Watilo.
The entire length of Bayshore Boulevard is located in Evacuation Zone A, which is included in the county’s evacuation order that went into effect at 9 a.m. Thursday. Waves were visibly crashing over the balustrade in the video.
Cory Watilo via Storyful
Bayshore regularly floods during hurricanes and other storms. Last year, during Hurricane Idalia, a paddleboarder was spotted battling the wind and waves though the flooded road. And in nearly every hurricane, fake photos of a shark swimming along Bayshore go viral.
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From 2023: Florida man paddles down Bayshore Boulevard
There was some traffic on Bayshore Boulevard, just not the usual kind. With the waterfront road flooded by Hurricane Idalia, this paddleboarder made his way through. Video by FOX 13's Matthew McClellan.
Hurricane Helene surge forecast
Though the water had receded midday Thursday, Tampa police blocked off much of Bayshore to traffic, expecting more flooding as Hurricane Helene passes to the west.
The hurricane is due to make landfall in the Big Bend region of Florida tonight as a possible Category 4 storm, but its massive wind field is pushing water inland along the entire Gulf Coast.
The Tampa Bay area is expected to see 5 to 8 feet of storm surge tonight as strong winds from the south hold more water in the bay. Those surge numbers will be higher to the north – perhaps as much as 20 feet near the point of landfall.
Earlier in the day, the sheriff of neighboring Pinellas County warned coastal residents not to play "stupid games" and urged those in evacuation zones to "get out."
The Sunshine Skyway Bridge and the Howard Frankland Bridge were both closed to traffic because of the weather as of Thursday afternoon.