Social Media Storm Shows Irma's Impact
TAMPA, Fla. (CBS11) - Waters temporarily disappeared from places like the Florida Keys and along the Sunshine State's west coast.
In Tampa Bay, in the hours leading up to Hurricane Irma, hundreds of yards or more of muddy sea floor were exposed.
People ventured out, off the river walk, in view of downtown Tampa, and at least one pair of dogs played.
Officials warned that going out was not the best idea. But alas, some people could not help themselves, not knowing if they will ever be able to duplicate such an adventure.
"I've never seen it empty like this before, but I've seen it flooded plenty of times. But I've never seen nothing like this," one man said.
"There were, literally dozens out there," another onlooker said. "We saw one guy out there on a bike, a bicycle. So that's very unusual."
There were similar scenes across the region: waters receded, boats beached and at least two manatees became stranded and had to be rescued.
According to CBS11 Chief Meteorologist Scott Padgett, this is the result of Hurricane Irma's counter-clockwise rotation and size. The combination of both factors helped wind pull the water away from the shoreline, providing the effect of disappearing water.
