'Sloppy' Tropical Storm Nestor sends surge into St. Marks, washes out Alligator Point road

A disorganized Tropical Storm Nestor soaked the Big Bend coast on Saturday, sending storm surge into St. Marks, Alligator Point and St. George Island, but sparing Tallahassee from anything more than occasional rain, wind and bluster.

Nestor spent the morning looming offshore in the Gulf southwest of the capital but sent the worst of its weather east into Central Florida, where confirmed tornadoes damaged homes and vehicles. It turned into a post-tropical blob of moisture and rain before making landfall near Apalachicola and making a hasty anticipated exit through Georgia and the Carolinas and into the Atlantic.

“It was a poorly organized, sloppy system,” said Israel Gonzalez, meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Tallahassee. “It never had a classical tropical appearance. And it never really got its act together in terms of generating consistent convection to its center. It was battling a lot of strong wind shear.”

In surge-prone St. Marks, sandwiched between the Wakulla and St. Marks rivers just off the Gulf of Mexico, water spread into the town’s quaint downtown district before slowly receding. Residents and business owners were grateful that Nestor, which arrived a year and nine days after Hurricane Michael, wasn’t as bad as expected.

“We got our storm,” said Stan West, owner of the popular Riverside Cafe, which got about a foot of water inside. “We got ready for a little bit more than what we got because we were worried it would be a little bit more like Michael. And we're glad we didn't get nothing close to Michael.”

The water surrounded but didn’t get into Bo Lynn’s grocery store, located down the street. The store’s longtime owner, Joy Brown, known as “Miss Joy” to her loyal customers, opened the store at 7 a.m. and planned to stay open until 8 p.m., like she would on any other Saturday.

“We’ll just get back to normal,” said Brown, whose weathered far more damaging storms over the years.

Webcam views:Watch Tropical Storm Nestor through gulf cams

Statewide impacts:A city by city breakdown of Tropical Storm Nestor storm surge, damage reports

See it: What Tropical Storm Nestor, tornadoes looked like across Florida

Latest updates: 2 p.m. Tropical Storm Nestor advisory update: Cyclone makes landfall on St. Vincent Island

In Franklin County, Nestor inundated Alligator Drive, the only road in and out of Alligator Point that often sees damage. Franklin County Emergency Management officials reported that the entire 1,100 feet of roadway was destroyed.

“Road repairs have begun in an attempt to be reopen by Sunday evening,” Franklin officials said on Facebook. “Please be patient while repairs are being made as quickly as possible.”

Minor street flooding also was reported on St. George Island and its inland cousin Apalachicola. But in Tallahassee and Leon County, impacts appeared minimal. There were no last-minute frenzies at grocery stores or sandbag locations or mass power outages. 

Leon County Public Works crews remained on standby for any possible problems. City of Tallahassee electric crews responded to outages throughout the day affecting hundreds, not thousands, of customers at a time.

“All city services are resuming normal operations,” the city said in a tweet, including StarMetro, the animal shelter, parks and community centers. 

Last year, Michael, an intensely powerful, Category 5 hurricane, pummeled the Big Bend coast, leaving St. Marks and surrounding points in shambles. It even forced cancellation of the town’s beloved Stone Crab Festival, which draws thousands each year. But it appeared the event would go on as planned next weekend.

“It’s very nice that it didn't come in and wipe us out because now we can at least have our Stone Crab Festival,” West said. “Hopefully everything will be nice and clean, and we'll be ready to go.”

11 a.m. update

Tropical Storm Nestor washed out Alligator Drive, a frequent victim of damage during tropical storms and hurricanes and the only way to Alligator Point in Franklin County.

The road is closed, according to Franklin County Emergency Management. Sawyer Street on St. George Island was also underwater.

"Please use an alternate route when traveling in that area," Franklin County officials said.

10 a.m. update

Tropical Storm Nestor sent storm surge into downtown St. Marks this morning, but water levels got nowhere near as high as they did during bigger storms from the past, including Hurricanes Michael and Dennis.

Nestor, a disorganized storm that hit Central Florida harder than places closer to its center off the Big Bend coast, sent about a foot of water into the Riverside Cafe and surrounded but didn't get into Bo Lynn's Grocery.

Webcam views:Watch Tropical Storm Nestor through gulf cams

Statewide impacts:A city by city breakdown of Tropical Storm Nestor storm surge, damage reports

Latest updates:11 a.m. advisory update: Nestor becomes a post-tropical cyclone

"We got our storm," said Stan West, owner of the Riverside Cafe. "We got ready for a little bit more than what we got because we were worried it would be a little bit more like Michael. And we're glad we didn't get nothing close to Michael."

Nestor came a year and nine days after Michael, which socked much of the Big Bend coast with storm surge and floodwaters. In St. Marks, the water rose slowly over early morning hours but began to recede a bit after sunrise.

Joy Brown, longtime owner of Bo Lynn's, was grateful Nestor didn't pack anywhere near the punch of previous storms. She opened the business at 7 a.m., like any other day, to make sure business owners who are cleaning up and others could at least get a cup of coffee.

"I think it's just going to go away as far as we're concerned and go somewhere else," she said. "And we'll just get back to normal."

Last year, Hurricane Michael forced cancellation of the Stone Crab Festival, which draws thousands each year. But there was no indication Nestor would interfere with this year's festivities, set for next weekend.

"It's very nice that it didn't come in and wipe us out because now we can at least have our Stone Crab Festival," West said. "Hopefully everything will be nice and clean and we'll be ready to go."

Meanwhile, city of Tallahassee officials said they expect the worst from Nestor between 10 a.m. and noon. 

"The city continues to monitor and address impacts as the storm approaches," the city said in a tweet.

Morning update

A disorganized Tropical Storm Nestor is expected to make landfall this morning along the Big Bend or Panhandle coast before racing out of the area.

The official forecast track from the National Hurricane Center in Miami shows the storm moving over the Tallahassee area after sunrise. But Nestor will weaken as it does, said Israel Gonzalez, meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Tallahassee. 

“Even though the center will pass over Tallahassee or close to it, most of the heavy rainfall and the worst of the weather will stay to the east," Gonzalez said. “There shouldn’t be any major damage, but at the same time we can’t rule out tree limbs falling in certain areas. And there could be power outages — that's always a possibility when you’re dealing with gusty winds."

The storm appeared to be lashing the Interstate 4 corridor harder than points closer to it’s ill-defined center. However, waters were slowly rising along the Big Bend coast.

In St. Marks, floodwaters surrounded Bo Lynn’s Grocery and other businesses in the downtown district, which sits near the Wakulla and St. Marks rivers just off the Gulf of Mexico. The water was shin-high in places.

Nestor could still bring tropical storm force gusts near 40 mph to the area. But sustained winds will be lower, Gonzalez said. Rainfall amounts of 2-4 inches, with locally higher amounts, are possible, as are isolated tornadoes.

Nestor was located about 70 miles southwest of Apalachicola and moving northeast near 17 mph earlier this morning. Its maximum sustained winds were down to 50 mph, though they extended out some 160 miles, mostly to the east.

"The system is sort of on a weakening or transitioning trend right now," Gonzalez said. "So no strengthening is anticipated leading up to landfall."

The lastest:Tropical Storm Nestor moves through Florida: What we know Saturday

The Big Bend coast, which is vulnerable to storm surge, could still see inundation of 3 to 5 feet. A storm surge warning is in effect from Indian Pass to Clearwater. As dawn broke on the Big Bend, reports of storm surge topping roads in Apalachicola and elsewhere along the coast began rolling in. 

A tropical storm warning remains in effect from the Okaloosa/Walton county line to Yankeetown. Much of the area is also under a tornado watch.

After exiting Florida, Nestor is expected to move quickly across South Georgia and the Carolinas, moving into the Atlantic Ocean perhaps by Sunday afternoon.

Check back with Tallahassee.com for more on Tropical Storm Nestor.

Contact Jeff Burlew at jburlew@tallahassee.com or follow @JeffBurlew on Twitter.