SARASOTA, FL (WWSB) -- Hurricane Irma has been sucking the water from Sarasota's shores, sinking boats into the mud and stranding manatees.
How does this happen? As Irma approaches, the offshore winds, moving counter-clockwise, push the water out.
At the tail end of the storm, the onshore winds will push the water back at us. The water sloshing back onshore will add an additional one to two feet to the storm surge, according to meteorologist John Scalzi.
But that will be a small push compared to the surges caused by the strong winds. Those surges are expected to be about 5- to 8-feet high. The concave beaches will be hardest hit and the first effects will begin around the Charlotte Harbor area.
All of this will happen at the same time as high tide, which also adds to the surge.
The stranded manatees are being picked up in tarps and returned to the water as they are reported.
Copyright 2017 WWSB via Raycom News Network.
