Sanibel police issue traffic advisory for motorists, SUP users
At about 10:30 a.m. today, the city reported that Tropical Storm Elsa passed west of Sanibel overnight.
Wind and storm surge impacts to the island were minimal. Overnight, though, over 4 inches of rain fell on Sanibel. As the tailing bands from Elsa pass the island, additional rainfall is predicted for today.
At this time, all Sanibel roadways remain passable with caution; however, there are isolated locations within the city that have standing water within roadways, especially during periods of intense rainfall.
The Sanibel Police Department reminds motorist to proceed with caution on any roadway where there is standing water. Further, many stretches of the city’s Shared Use Path system have standing water or debris on the surface and users should exercise caution when traversing them.
Sanibel is located in the sub-tropics. Through our experience we know all forecasts for changing weather conditions should be taken seriously, city officials reported. We recognize that actual weather conditions may worsen during the actual event. All persons on Sanibel are strongly advised to continue to monitor weather conditions until the threat of the storm has cleared.
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UPDATE (July 6, 2021):
Just before 3 p.m. today, the city of Sanibel reported that it continues to closely monitor the weather conditions of Tropical Storm Elsa.
In response to current and forecasted weather conditions, City Hall offices and the Sanibel Recreation Center will close at 3 p.m. for the remainder of today. It is anticipated that both will re-open for regularly scheduled business on July 7.
The Sanibel City Hall continues to offer services via no contact and remotely. The most efficient means of contacting city staff during the temporary closure is via email.
Sanibel is located in the sub-tropics. Through our experience we know all forecasts for changing weather conditions should be taken seriously, city officials reported. We recognize that actual weather conditions may worsen during the actual event. All persons on Sanibel are strongly advised to continue to monitor weather conditions until the threat of the stem has cleared.
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ORIGINAL (July 6, 2021):
As of 11:15 a.m. today, Sanibel remained under a Tropical Storm Warning and Storm Surge Warning, city officials reported.
A Tropical Storm Warning means tropical storm conditions (sustained winds of 39 mph to 73 mph) are expected on Sanibel within 36 hours. The National Weather Service is forecasting peak winds at 35 mph to 45 mph, with gust to 60 mph. The NWS is predicting that these winds may persist until early Wednesday morning. Now is the time all items that may be a projectile be brought in, including all temporary signage of all types, all umbrellas and all unsecured items.
A Storm Surge Warning means that there is a danger of life-threatening inundation from rising water moving inland from the shoreline on Sanibel, generally within 36 hours. The NWS is forecasting a peak storm surge of 2 feet above ground level. The NWS predicts that the window of concern for storm surge will run through Thursday afternoon.
For the full NWS advisory, visit https://alerts.weather.gov/cap/wwacapget.php?x=FL1261ABF5F84C.StormSurgeWarning.1261ABF72AF0FL.TBWTCVTBW.768bcad7aee4f22b4411cd2f839bd07c.
Sanibel is located in the sub-tropics. Through our experience we know all forecasts for changing weather conditions should be taken seriously, city officials reported. We recognize that actual weather conditions may worsen during the actual event. All persons on Sanibel are strongly advised to continue to monitor weather conditions until the threat of the stem has cleared.