FRANKLIN COUNTY, Fla. (WTXL) — Throughout the day in Apalachicola Bay, winds were seen over the 40 to 45 miles-per-hour sustained wind threshold to cross over to Apalachicola and St. George Island, closing the main roads into town.
Businesses closed at both St. George Island and Apalachicola and both areas started to see rising waters, with St. George island also seeing half of its people out of power Monday afternoon.
Robert Maghemy who came down to St. George Island from West Virginia to see Tropical Storm said he's never seen a major storm and wanted to get a front row seat in the coastal community.
"I wanted to come down here and see what it felt like," said Maghemy. "I love it. The water looks crazy."
Franklin County Emergency Management Director Pamela Brownell said if you're coming to the area to see storms try to get back to shelter.
"If you're here, the best thing you can do is stay off of the roads I am seeing video footage coming from Facebook of people riding around the county with the storm coming in," said Brownell. "You are putting yourself at risk and you're putting the first responders, the sheriff officers and 911 at risk."
