The rain keeps falling. The water keeps rising. And catfish roam the streets.
The catfish had River Drive to themselves on Saturday.
Days of nonstop rain finally led the Alafia River to bulge and swell over its banks, sending 1 to 2 feet of water into nearby River Drive by Saturday and allowing catfish to swim by the stilted homes scattered throughout the Lithia Springs Conservation Park.
There were other catfish sightings across the region, too, thanks to August’s above-normal rainfall totals. The constant thundershowers continued the minor street flooding across the bay area, pushed rivers close to or just over flood stage and overwhelmed local wastewater systems this weekend.
Tampa International Airport’s rain gauge has recorded 8.53 inches of rainfall so far in the month of August — 4.29 inches above normal and it’s the middle of the month. St. Petersburg has recorded 8.72 inches of rain, which is 4.49 above normal. But for the past three days it is Hernando County that may have seen the heaviest rains in the region. The Hernando Beach gauges have recorded 7 to 11 inches total so far this month.