Floods swamp Tampa area

Heavy rain caused widespread flooding in the Tampa Bay area Monday, closing roads, forcing evacuations and delaying air travel.

Up to 1 1/2 feet of rain fell in parts of the Tampa metro area the past 10 days, the National Weather Service said. Measurable rain has fallen for 14 days consecutively in Tampa. By Monday morning, Tampa already exceeded its average August rainfall with more than 8 inches of rain, and it's only Aug. 3, the Weather Channel reported.

Dozens of roads were closed in the metro area Monday, WTSP-TV said, and many major intersections were underwater. Scores of flights were canceled Monday at Tampa International Airport, where nearly 4 inches of rain fell in 24 hours.

Famed tourist attraction Busch Gardens also closed because of flooding, the park said on Twitter.

At least 40 people were rescued from mobile home parks Monday, the Weather Channel said.

Tarpon Springs, a few miles northwest of Tampa, received 18.5 inches of rain over the past 10 days, the weather service said. Last month was the wettest July on record for Tarpon Springs.

Palm Harbor, also northwest of Tampa, picked up 7 inches of rain overnight Sunday. Rescuers used boats to pull residents out of a swamped RV park, and golf courses were inundated. Nearly 6 inches of rain soaked parts of Pasco County, north of Tampa, where mandatory evacuations were ordered for people in a flood-prone area near New Port Richey, the Associated Press said.

The National Hurricane Center said the rain can't be attributed to a tropical depression or storm, although there's a 10% chance the weak area of low pressure could become a named tropical system.

The heaviest rain is forecast to taper off by Tuesday. "In the meantime," weather service meteorologist Charlie Paxton said, "we still have rain pretty much parked over the Tampa Bay area."