It’s an usually busy — and cold — weekend for the city of Tampa. While there’s a slight chance of snow flurries Saturday, the forecast for beads and pirates remains at an all-time high.
The annual Gasparilla Pirate Fest is back on Saturday. The tradition is more than a century old: Pirates invade Tampa, steal the key to the city and hordes of people celebrate with a parade along Bayshore Boulevard.
Gasparilla festivities are expected to draw more than 300,000 attendees — not to mention those coming to town for the outdoor ice hockey showdown between the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Boston Bruins on Sunday.
Follow along here for updates from Tampa Bay Times reporters and photographers throughout the day.
9:30 a.m. Today’s weather
Revelers can expect brisk, blustery weather today. Clouds will loom most of the day, with light showers here and there, especially in the morning. Around 10 a.m. temperatures will max out at about 56 degrees and plummet throughout the day as an extreme cold front whisks through.
Parade-goers may need to keep a tight hold on their pirate hats: Tampa is under a wind advisory that will start at 10 a.m. and last all day. Wind gusts up to 35 mph could blow through the city.
Tampa Bay waters are also under a gale warning. Federal forecasters said up to 50 mph gusts are possible, along with seas up to 16 feet offshore. Near downtown, wave heights could rise to about 3 feet.
— Michaela Mulligan