VENICE — The city is keeping an eye on Tropical Storm Helene, with storm surge the major threat being prepared for.
The track Helene was on Tuesday morning showed it passing by Venice close enough for the city to be hit by strong southwest winds right when it would be experiencing a high tide, Public Works Director Rick Simpson said.
Those factors could combine to create a storm surge as high as 12 feet, he said.
Helene was predicted to make landfall in the Big Bend area as a hurricane Thursday, as Hurricane Debby did in early August.
However, Helene is predicted to intensify to a Category 3, with winds of more than 110 mph, while Debby was a Category 1.
Debby passed by Venice as a tropical storm but still managed to undo repairs to the South Jetty that had been completed less than three days earlier.
The city’s Public Works Department replaced the rocks Debby moved, but Simpson said he was going to hold off repaving the walkway because of the risk of damage from the latest storm.