Expected rainy weather prompts St. Armands festival delay

The 2018 hurricane season has already chalked up its first schedule change, and it doesn’t officially start until June 1.

Organizers of this weekend’s St. Armands Seafood & Music Festival said on Thursday they were delaying their event a week because of expected heavy rains connected to a tropical weather system gathering in the Gulf of Mexico.

The rescheduled event is now planned for 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, June 2-3.

The festival is hosted by The Humane Society of Sarasota County.

The National Hurricane Center says there is a 70% chance of tropical development of a disturbance near the Yucatan Peninsula. Heavy rain is predicted across much of Florida this weekend, though no wind or tidal threats are expected.

Should the disturbance develop tropical characteristics and winds of at least 39 mph, it would be named Alberto.