Sarasota Storm Watch

Alerts and forecasts here cover roughly a 12-mile radius from ZIP 34243: Sarasota, Bradenton and the surrounding Sarasota and Manatee County communities. That includes the barrier islands of Siesta Key, Lido Key and Longboat Key, where much of the land sits in FEMA VE and AE flood zones, plus mainland areas along Phillippi Creek and Whitaker Bayou that flood from heavy rain even without surge.

Stop the source if you safely can, then call us at 888-603-MOLD. In Sarasota's Gulf humidity, mold can colonize wet drywall and framing within 24 to 48 hours. On the barrier islands, saltwater surge soaks into materials and keeps pulling moisture back long after the tide drops, so fast extraction and drying matters even more. We dry the structure and seal the source so the next storm stays out.

Siesta Key, Lido Key and Longboat Key are low, sandy barrier islands sitting a few feet above the Gulf, with open water on the west side and Sarasota Bay on the east. There's water on both sides and little high ground between, which is why FEMA maps so much of them as VE zones, the highest-risk coastal designation. When surge comes ashore it has nowhere to drain, so it pushes straight into slab foundations and crawlspaces. Cleaning up the water without waterproofing the foundation leaves the home open to the next storm.

Hurricane Milton made landfall at Siesta Key on October 9, 2024 as a Category 3 storm, with 90 mph winds in Sarasota and more than 40 tornadoes across the region. It was the first hurricane to come ashore in Sarasota County since 1944, arriving just 13 days after Helene had already pushed Gulf surge onto the coast. Two years earlier, Hurricane Ian flooded inland North Port in southern Sarasota County, where the Myakkahatchee Creek overflowed and leveled the Holiday Park community.