Hurricane Irma sucks away Tampa Bay water

Water in Tampa Bay were pushed out of Tampa Bay, leaving only a mucky seabed Sunday morning. (Fox News)

Winds from Hurricane Irma are so strong they sucked the water out of Tampa Bay Sunday morning.

The winds from Irma pushed the water out of the harbor, leaving a mix of sludge and puddles in its place, Fox News’ Jillian Mele said.

"We are about to get punched in the face by this storm."

— Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn

"The worrisome part will be later when the winds start pushing the water back," Fox News senior meteorologist Janice Dean said.

Another person spotted the same eerie phenomenon in the Bahamas. Twitter user @Kaydi_K posted a video showing the ocean floor completely exposed on Long Island in the Bahamas.

Though receding waters typically indicate a coming tsunami, hurricane “bulge” may be responsible for these sites. The hurricane can draw water toward the center, pulling it away from its surroundings, the Washington Post reported. The center of the storm has extremely low pressure to draw water upward.

It’s unclear when the water will return to Tampa Bay as Irma heads for southwest Florida coast after making landfall in the Florida Keys just after 9 a.m. Sunday.

Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn warned residents about Irma's fury, urging neighbors to help people out.

"We are about to get punched in the face by this storm. We need to be prepared," Buckhorn said.