The cities of Tampa and St. Petersburg are preparing for stormy weather.

  • Tampa, St. Pete say changes made since Colin
  • Cities say they're more prepared for flooding
  • Watching the tropics

Both cities say they have made some changes since last summer’s severe flooding and Tropical Storm Colin in June.

In Tampa, preparations started getting barricades ready for potential flooded areas and maximizing water capacity.

"We are checking all of our waste water pumping stations, all of our storm water pumping stations to make sure they’re functioning properly before the storm hits,” Tampa Public Works Director Brad Baird said.

The city has built another pipeline and overflow location in South Tampa. Mayor Bob Buckhorn said things are in much better shape than last year.

"I feel better about it,” Buckhorn said. “We have added capacity. We have spent the last year cleaning out a lot of ditches and swales and retention pounds to get the flow of the storm water off the streets and into the bay."

The City of St. Petersburg has also made some changes. It just finished building an extra water storage space at Albert Whitted Airport.

“We have the capacity to store three million gallons extra that we didn’t before during the height of the storm and that allows us to make sure we continue to treat the rest of the sewage that’s coming in,” Claude Tankersley, Public Works Administrator for the City of St. Petersburg, said.

Mayor Rick Kriseman said the city also has boots on the ground to prepare.

"Our storm drains have been cleared, our sewer system has been drained to maximize capacity from the storm,” Kriseman said.