Community Corner

Brisk Winds Down Power Lines, Push Call for Caution on County Roadways

Downed power lines and failed traffic lights in Brandon and Town 'n' Country are blamed on today's winds as the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office urges motorists to use caution on all county roadways.

Update: All traffic lanes have been reopened on West Hillsborough Avenue and Kelly Road in Town 'n' Country and on Mulrennan Road in the Greater Brandon community of Valrico, according to a Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office report issued Oct. 8 at around 6 p.m.

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The winds are brisk and the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office, already at work with failed traffic lights in two intersections, urges motorists to be extra mindful as downed power lines and tree limbs remain a real possibility as the night falls and progresses.

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The sheriff’s office reports power and phone lines are down in the Greater Brandon area, at Mulrennan Road, just south of State Road 60, in Valrico. Deputies have closed that portion of the roadway.

Also, power lines are in the roadway and traffic signals are out on West Hillsborough Avenue, at Hanley and Kelly roads. Deputies have closed all westbound traffic in the area and eastbound traffic has been reduced to one lane.

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“We’re waiting for TECO to get power restored and wires out of the roadway,” McKinnon said in a phone interview Oct. 8, at around 3 p.m.

“That doesn’t mean there might not be other problems out there that we’re not aware of yet or that potentially could happen with today’s weather,” McKinnon said. “Motorists could be driving into an intersection with the traffic signal out, or low-hanging trees or limbs ready to fall, so you have to be careful driving.”

Paul Close, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service, reported in a phone interview at 3:30 p.m. that winds in most areas are 15 to 25 mph, with some gusts reaching 35 mph. “If you’re near the coast, and on the west side of lakes, you’ll feel stronger winds,” he added. “Most places, like St. Petersburg, Clearwater and MacDill, winds are 20 to 30 mph with gusts near 40.”

Close said the winds should diminish as night falls, but not so much near the water, where the winds “will stay strong all night.”

Also forecast for throughout the night and into tomorrow are patches of rain and some thunderstorms, with some heavy, and fast-moving downpours and stronger winds possible in those storms, Close said.

Responsible for this is a weak low in the eastern Gulf combined with high pressure in the north that is setting up an easterly flow of moisture across the Florida peninsula.

McKinnon said motorists need to be mindful that if they’re at an intersection with failed traffic lights, they are required by Florida state law to treat the intersection as four-way stop. Generally speaking, that means to yield to the drive on your right.

In bad-weather situations, “we’ll try to man the major intersections first but some of the smaller ones we might not get to,” McKinnon said. “If motorists would be mindful of the rules of the road and use extra caution, or, even better yet, stay home to eliminate the traffic that would help out tremendously.”

To report downed lines, trees or limbs, call the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office at 813-247-8200.


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