"It's time to start talking about sheltering in place," St. Petersburg official warns

 St. Petersburg Emergency Manager Amber Boulding told residents that “it’s time to start talking about sheltering in place” as Hurricane Helene tracks closer to Tampa Bay, with storm surge already beginning to impact the city.

“Winds are starting to pick up, and we have started to see some flooding in low lying areas around the city,” St. Petersburg Mayor Kenneth Welch said at a briefing Thursday.

Storm surge will continue to rise throughout the day and stay high throughout the night and into Friday, Boulding said. Flooding has already prompted the closure of Shore Acres and Snell Isle, according to the mayor.

He warned of an “unprecedented” storm surge and overall impact to the city, saying there could be up to 5 to 8 feet of surge.

“This is going to be different than any storm we’ve seen here before,” the mayor said