'We got lucky': Jacksonville spared as Tropical Storm Ian moved offshore
Jacksonville escaped significant damage as Tropical Storm Ian punched through the state's east coast Thursday and turned northeast toward the South Carolina coast far offshore from the city's beaches.
Ian, nearly a fearsome Category 5 storm as it made landfall near Fort Myers, left cataclysmic damage in barrier island and beaches communities in Southwest Florida and an extended trail of destruction as it sliced through the peninsula, drenching Orlando, Kissimmee and Daytona. But hurricanes leave unequal footprints as they crash into land.
As the storm emerged into the Atlantic as a weakened tropical storm and turned north, Ian tacked farther east than was forecast, sparing Jacksonville the buckets of rain that were predicted and heading off the worst-case coastal and inland storm surge.
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There were some nervous moments tracking the storm, Atlantic Beach Mayor Ellen Glasser said, but the Beaches and Jacksonville got lucky.
"We were fortunate that the track went eastward before it really came by us," Glasser said. "We're sitting really well compared to the rest of the state. Now the attention goes toward helping those folks."
On Friday morning, Ian had re-strengthened in the Atlantic waters back to a Category 1 storm with maximum sustained winds of 85 mph. It was about 169 miles northeast of Jacksonville and headed for the South Carolina coast.
Despite Ian's more favorable track, parts of Northeast Florida south of Jacksonville suffered.
St. Johns County assessing damage after flooding
By Thursday morning, floodwater had flowed into St. Augustine — a vulnerable city in St. Johns County that had been under a mandatory evacuation — inundating downtown businesses and carrying an unmoored sailboat into the seawall.
By Friday morning, much of the water had receded. St. George Street and other downtown alleyways were covered in debris and several large trees were down, but the damage was less severe than St. Augustine had suffered in the recent past during hurricanes Irma and Matthew — or, at the very least, its residents had simply become more adaptable to the flood-prone nature of their city.
“It could’ve been a lot worse. We got lucky,” said Chris Tyler, the kitchen manager at Harry’s Seafood Bar & Grille, a popular waterfront restaurant. Tyler was hopeful the restaurant would open Saturday despite the three inches of water it took in during the storm.
Emergency personnel said Thursday they had responded to 300-plus rescue calls since Wednesday night in St. Johns County as officials said Hurricane Ian had also flooded Summer Haven, Hastings, Flagler Estates and Matanzas Inlet.
Nassau and St Johns County lifted their evacuation orders by Friday morning, but officials urged caution as they continue to assess damage.
San Marco, Riverside, Clay County roads mostly dry Friday morning
Across Jacksonville, from the coast to downtown, the sights and sounds were that of another near-miss: Wind-swept dunes, some beach erosion, debris in the streets and sporadic downed trees. But there was little sign floodwaters had made any significant impact on homes or businesses.
In San Marco, a Jacksonville neighborhood along the St. Johns River that is a flooding hotspot, the roads were mostly dry Friday morning. There were some signs a storm had rolled through: LaSalle Street remained flooded for more than a block, as did Palm Avenue. And deep puddles still encroached on parts of San Marco Boulevard, especially at LaSalle Street, where flooding existed on both sides of the intersection.
Wind damage appeared minimal, with only some branches and palm fronds visible in the street. But many businesses along San Marco boulevard still have sandbags, and wood, stuck in their doorways and under windows to prevent flooding.
In Riverside, which saw intense flooding during Hurricane Irma in 2017, floodwaters were mostly contained to St. Johns Ave. Residents there said that was normal for even a big thunderstorm.
In Clay County, which had ordered mandatory evacuations ahead of Ian for its most vulnerable areas, waters on Doctors Inlet were calmer than they were Thursday but also several feet higher. The docks and outdoor bar area at Whitey's Fish Camp were covered with water.
Flood-prone areas in the upper reaches of Black Creek appeared to be doing well. Water levels were near normal at the Lake Asbury dam.
National Weather Service forecasters said the St. Johns River will remain swollen with water for several more days, the result of higher-than-usual tides typical this time of year combined with rainfall across the region and strong northeast winds that have prevented the river from draining more efficiently during low tide.
The potential for significant flooding in the St. Johns remained for areas south of Jacksonville, near Satsuma, Dunns Creek, Deep Creek and Welaka, the National Weather Service said.
Businesses, government returning to normal
City services and businesses were returning to normal operating hours throughout Friday. The Jacksonville International Airport re-opened Friday morning, and the Jacksonville Transportation Authority expected its buses to resume their normal routes and schedules by noon.
JEA power outages peaked Thursday at about 22,000, but by Friday morning only about 1,300 residents were without electricity, according to the utility's figures.
Most grocery stores, including Publix and Winn-Dixie, had re-opened, as had retail businesses like the St. Johns Town Center. Others were set to re-open Saturday.
Garbage collection across the region is set to resume Monday.
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Jacksonville, Northeast Florida mostly spared Tropical Storm Ian
