St. Pete Testing Site Closes Ahead Of Tropical Storm Precaution

ST. PETERSBURG, FL — St. Petersburg residents and businesses start to prepare for the weekend arrival of a tropical cyclone issued by The National Hurricane Center.

The Mahaffey Theater coronavirus testing site announced on Wednesday they will be closed on Friday and Saturday due to the possible arrival of Potential Tropical Cyclone Nine. Testing at the Mahaffey is anticipated to resume next week after the storm threat passes.

The city of St. Pete told Patch they have no plans as yet to close its new testing site that opened on Wednesday as the storm is still a few days away.

Pinellas County reminds residents to purchase necessary items to complete a survival kit, and to be sure to include face coverings, sanitizer, necessary hygiene supplies and gather important papers.

For more information about ways to be prepared for hurricanes and tropical storms before they hit, visit Pinellas County Prepare Ahead.

Warning Coordination Meteorologist Robert Molleda with the National Weather Service in Miami told reporters forecasters believe the system will gain enough organization to become a tropical storm sometime on Wednesday.

"Even a very small change in the track can make a pretty big difference in potentially how strong the storm could get, or even how weak it would get, if it stays over land for a long period of time," said Molleda. "Those things are still highly uncertain."

Weather officials said the system was expected to bring 3 to 6 inches of rain across Puerto Rico with isolated maximum totals of 10 inches. It was expected to bring 3 to 6 inches of rain across the northern Leeward Islands, British and U.S. Virgin Islands as well as 3 to 6 inches in the Domincan Republic, northern Haiti and the Turks and Caicos with isolated maximum totals of 8 inches.

"The details of the long-range track and intensity forecasts are more uncertain than usual since the system does not have a well-defined center and it is expected to move near or over portions of the Greater Antilles later this week," the National Hurricane Center cautioned late Wednesday morning. "However, this system could bring some rainfall and wind impacts to portions of Cuba, the Bahamas and Florida later this week and this weekend."

To follow the latest weather discussions and predictions by the National Hurricane Center, click here.

Patch will keep you updated as the storm approaches Tampa Bay.

Patch editor Paul Scicchitano in Miami contributed to this report.

Related Story: Florida In Path Of Potential Cyclone Nine

Graph below provided by the National Weather Center: