Tampa under tropical storm warning

 

The first tropical storm of the season, Andrea, has formed over the Gulf of Mexico and Hillsborough County and the USF area are under a tropical storm warning.

The storm, which at the time of print had winds of 40 mph and was moving north at 3 mph, is expected to make landfall today and is expected to bring heavy rainfall and flooding to the Tampa area. Hillsborough County will be distributing free materials to make sandbags at all three of its public works service units today from 7 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

According to USF’s 2013 Hurricane Planning Guide, communications will be sent to students, faculty and staff via MoBull text alerts and emails in the event of cancellations and closures. At the time of print, USF Media and Public Affairs Coordinator Adam Freeman said in an email the university was “continuing to monitor the track of the storm,” but there were no closures or cancellations to report.

— Staff report