Tropical Storm Marco Buffets Fla. Gulf Coast

Tropical Storm Marco buffeted Florida’s Gulf Coast with 65 m.p.h. winds and up to five inches of rain this morning before starting to weaken as it hugged land in the Tampa Bay area.

On its way, it cut power to at least 14,000 people, closed schools and shut down a bridge.

At noontime, Marco’s center was about five miles north of Clearwater and moving north at 9 m.p.h. Its sustained winds had dropped to 45 m.p.h. Storm-force winds extended outward 150 miles over open Gulf of Mexico waters and 50 miles east of the center, mostly over land. Forecasters said the sweep of winds over land would gradually weaken the storm.

“It was a difficult night, but I think we came out better than we expected,” Chris Eversole of Sarasota Emergency Management Preparedness said at daybreak. “It looks like the worst may be over. The winds are calming and the rain is subsiding.”

The winds shut the 150-foot Sunshine Skyway Bridge over Tampa Bay, the Florida Highway Patrol said. Power lines were toppled and schools were closed in Manatee and Sarasota counties because of heavy rain and winds.

Emergency management officials said 14,000 Sarasota County residents were without power early today, but by 7 a.m. it had been restored to all but 4,600. Scattered outages also were reported in the Bradenton area.

In Manatee County, 35,000 residents lost power overnight. By late morning 10,000 customers were still out.

A motorist in Sarasota was seriously injured when a tree fell on his car.

Marco was expected to push tides one to three feet above normal, scour the sandy beaches and dump three or more inches of rain in some sections.