let's get you over to leigh spann. leigh, lots of rain, possible flooding coming our way too. >> yes, because we have seen i-4. it has to do with this stubborn area of low pressure. it brings in these floods of rain. and the flood watch has been extended until tomorrow evening. the rounds of rain will continue. especially in those area, citrus, hernando, pasco, another 4 to 8 inches possible after already seeing heavy rain for the last 48 hours. thankfully not as much as out in the gulf of mexico where we ha area. but right along the coastline, citrus, hernando, pasco, anywhere from 4 to 6 inches in the last 48 hours. and notice farther inland, it's drier and farther to the south. yes, you have seen rain, anywhere from .50 to 2 inches of rain but not as intense. and now look at what's about to come onshore as we speak. watch out citrus, hernando, pasco county, more rain near highway 19 and continuing down pinellas county. and this small area of rain around i-75 in manatee. here are the totals going forward today. citru

let's get you over to leigh spann. leigh, lots of rain, possible flooding coming our way too. >> yes, because we have seen

we made it, leigh. >> we certainly. did normal morning temperatures for this time of the year, around 78 degrees, and we are warm around lunchtime, but basically dry at 87. by 4:00 p.m., that's when the storms will actually start, and and that's why i'm only bringing the rain chance up to 40%. most of the day will be dry. you will probably see rain after 4:00 p.m., but it's done for most of the day. brooksville at 75, and notice, this is very warm across the center of the country, and very warm up across the northeast. both of those areas under heat advisory included from dc up to boston, and remember, they are pretty much dealing with exactly what we deal with every day, and it's them. what about at rain chances? as i mentioned 9, 10, 11, 12, dry. we get the east coast sea breeze to bring the showers around 3:00 and 4:00 for polk and highlands county. along the i-75 corridor, we will seat the thunderstorms fire up. be careful at dinner. 30% rain chance, and slightly meredith is back in for leslee. >> leslee will be bac

and it's hot out there, leigh. will be humid at 82. and then that quick warm-up gets us to 90 at noon and 39 at 4:00 p.m. and that's just a degree or two away from the record. otherwise, if it's not steamy, it will be raining. it's 72347 brooksville and inverness. bartow, you're at 80. 77 in north port. and 77 in apollo beach. a northeast wind coming in off the atlantic ocean. muggy but mostly sunny the morning and it brings the storms ov toward our coast later in the afternoon and evening. there's the 40% chance. and basically the same day tomorrow. sunshine, fast warm-up, late day thunderstorms pushing towards the coast. that's today and tomorrow. long range forecast will have a lot to do with what happens with invest 99l. it may start to stir up extra rain. and i am going to bump the rain chance up to 50% for sunday, monday and tuesday. the parish area, old tampa road at 92 avenue, a collision on the ride of the roadway. that's weather and traffic on the 8s. back to gene and gayle. >> thank you. >>> we are following breaking news no

leigh spann with a look at

we start our team coverage with leigh. leigh, what's going on with the storm? >> right now, hurricane hunters from macdill air force base right here in tampa left about 12:30. they have been flying around the center of circulation. they found about a 33 miles per hour wind. again, not just a graphic. this is actually gps tracking where the plane is. it left out of macdill air force base. once we get the information from this flight, we will have more information and we will get a new forecast track from the hurricane center within the half hour. stay with us. this is the 11:00 p.m. update, 35 miles per hour winds. it was still a tropical depression. it is expected to become a tropical storm before making the turn to the northeast sometime tomorrow. this is 8:00 p.m. on thursday. you can see how during the evening on wednesday and throughout the day on thursday, our weather will get much worse. look through the entire threat cone, even if it's on the far left side here, we will see an increase in tropical moisture and then the system heads into the atlantic and

and leigh spann has the tropics. >> that's right. yesterday afternoon we officially have tropical depression number nine. it's been an area we have been watching for quite some time. it's still disorganized but it

let's tun things over to leigh spann. >> good morning guys. and as of 5:00, about an hour ago, it's still tropical depression nine. and still expected to become a tropical storm sometime today. and winds right now, less than tropical storm forced at 35 miles per hour.

so let's turn it over to meteorologist leigh spann for the latest because it is busy out there, leigh. >> it. and this is the time we expect it to be busy. this is when the most hurricanes and tropical systems are formed over the many, many decades. hurricane gaston, just after midnightam hurricane of the season. not an impact to anyone which is good news. we do have en9l. and it's already bridging some heavy rainfall to puerto rico and the dominican republic and has an 80% chance of developing in the long term. let me show you the latest on gaston, 75 miles per hour winds now making it a hurricane and expected to weaken and then restrengthen. but again, staying out to sea. those are the best kind of storm, right? basically a tropical wave. pretty sure it's going to head toward the bahamas. between now and when it reaches the bahamas, it's not in a very good area to strengthen. that's good news. the bad news is, it enters an area where it could strength and that would be just off florida's coastline pool. early next week sunday, monday and tuesday, depending on the strength and at the

leigh spann is. we're going to check with her and get you weather and traffic on weather and traffic on the >>> it's 4:28 this morning. and at this point, we have a few low clouds, patchy clouds around but it will be mostly dry for the kids at the bus stop. steamy and breezy around 78 degrees. but when the kids come home from ho scattered downpours across the tampa bay area with a high temperature around 90. tomorrow as the rain chances go up, the high temperatures go down. only 85 with clouds and rain tomorrow. down to 84 on thursday. and thursday is going to be the worst day with the most rain and the strongest winds. how about traffic on the 8s? >>> well, the roadways out here. looks like we have an accident working but it's not going to slow you down. that's nice. u.s. 19, brook drive, be aware of that. and over here, gunn highway at no delays. 275 looks great once it connects from 75 from pasco and into downtown, no delays. howard frankland bridge, a >>> preparing for tropical depression number

and leigh, we should be thankful they are not coming our way but a big mess of weather is. >> that's right. this is the most active time for hurricane season. we still have tropical depression nine in the gulf of mexico. i am seeing a formed tropical system. as of 5:00, the hurricane center says it was not organized enough to become a tropical storm. though that should happen quickly. we told you about this hurricane watch. a watch means you could feel hurricane-force gusts within 48 hours. and some of that has been upgraded. this area west of 19 from citrus, hernando and pasco county, it's now a tropical storm warning. and the difference in that is the timing frame. could feel tropical storm-force winds within 36 hours. as the system gets closer to us. the watch, the tropical storm watch for inland citrus, hernando and pasco continues. again, that's a 48 hour time frame. and latest forecast from the hurricane center, notice tropical storm, 2:00 tomorrow morning, about this time tomorrow, 50 miles per hour winds. pushing to the north and east, 2:00 afternoon tomorrow, 56 miles per ho

. >>> leigh spann is here with you wake up -- with your wake up forecast. >> good morning. it's drier than this time yesterday. i can't promise that's going notice the showers developing here just off manatee and sarasota's coastline and they will continue to push on shore. just like what happened yesterday. i don't think that we'll see quite as much rain this the morning as we did. to 30% rain chance this morning. the showers push on shore continuing to make their way further inland. the good thing with the extra rain is it keeps temperatures below average. 88 degrees below the average of 90. coming up an hour look at the weekend. >>> how is it on the way to work? >> i think generally traffic is lighter on friday. we have an accident eastbound sellman at the upper level towards brandon. the lower level looks fine. no worries. this is a look at i-4 in tampa near 50th street. you can see both directions are crystal clear. from the apex through downtown wrap wrapping up some construction work northbound 275 approaching mlk. absolutely no delays there. gene and gayle. >> thank

we made it, leigh. >> we did. yesterday morning we have had a lot of rain to start the day. now one place that i'm tracking rain, ana marie island, holmes beach. this is the sunshine skyway brim. just know it might be wet. it's already scary enough. some rain pushing on shore in the area area. just off the for you. you may be hearing a lot of thupder, seeing the lightning. there's several lightning strikes offshore. they will continue to push closer to shore. 78 degrees at 8:00 a.m. as these shoirs mie grat further and further inland more of you will see the rain. 88 degrees at 4:00 p.m. held down with the extra clouds and rain. 78 in sarasota and mywet watcher beckie in bradenton said it's 79 on her birthday. happy birthday. this computer model is show ing the trend. i think there will be a little more rain but as the day progresses the rain moves further and further inland a 50% chance, the exact same forecast for saturday and sunday. highs in the upper 80s. >>> meredith is in for leslee. how is traffic on the 8s? springs. pinellas you are quiet. good morning to our friend

leigh? >> reporter: i've covered a lot of wildfires picked this is the first time i have actually felt afraid. this fire has surprised us a few times today. fast-moving, jumping locations quite often. this is downtown main street in lower lake. what you're looking at, fire on both sides of the downtown here. if you see that art deco building where the firefighters are trying to put out a fire that's behind it, these claims have been shooting up higher than the building at times, you see the dark smoke over there, then if you look over to the right, there's flames burning on the other side of the building behind this -- i don't know if you can see from this angle but there is dark smoke over there, visible flames from where i am standing. there is pink retarded all over main street right now. this is where they dropped the retardant to try to keep the fire back. no one is allowed on mainstream. -- on main street. there is fire on both sides. we got cut down on morgan's allie. we had been inte

leigh has the wakeup forecast in a moment, but first, we want

let's check on the sky with leigh. >> the skies are clearing out. it was cloudy throughout the evening, but maybe you early risers will get out there and get treated to the meteors this morning. this morning is the peak, but it's just a peak. you get the chance through the weekend, and let's go through it into the 80s by 9, and lunchtime, 87 degrees, and the afternoon high of 91. at that point, i think most of us are still dry. look at the rain fall potential between now and 4:00 p.m. barely any, but after 5:00 p.m., we will start to see the bigger thunderstorms develop, and look where they sort of -- the bull's-eye along i-75, later into the evening hours, 7:00, 8:00, 9:00, and we could see areas with 1 to 2 inches of mexico. otherwise, hot. 93 tomorrow, and slightly lower rain chance, 92 sunday, and 92 on monday. we will check with traffic on the 8s, and hopefully things are easy on this friday. >> starting to get accident reports now. one in st. petersburg. we will show you 275 through st. pete, and it's looking fine with very light traffic, and

let's turn things over to leigh spann. we missed you leigh. there. tropical storm gaston is expected to become a hurricane, maybe within the next few hours. invest 99l, starting to look to me a locality stronger. we have -- a lot stronger. a 70% chance of it developing in the next five days. gaston, it could be a hurricane by this afternoon. maybe even strengthening to a category two storm. but it's in n the central atlantic -- but it's in central atlantic, not a problem for anyone. almost all of the computer models take it into the bahamas and i think by the time it gets to the bahamas, it enters an area where it could strengthen intensely. this is the area we will be watching the next couple days. after this, the two most reliable computer models, one takes it up the east coast and in weather and traffic on the 8s, i will take you hour-by- hour through today and leslee has the morning commute. >>> welcome back. let's take a look at what's going on out here, i-4 around county road 557 in the polk county area, we are up to speed. 275 through st. pete

. >>> right now let's check in with leigh. >> it's much drier than yesterday morning. we are starting to see the offshore showers develop that i believe will push on shore. not too bad outside. 75 and brooksville, auburndale 78, 78 in sarasota, 77 in plant city. these downpours will develop. they will come in off the gulf of mexico and continue to push into our inland areas. that's going to help keep temperatures down. after a hot july 88 degrees is going to feel nice. at 4:38 i have an 8-day temperature trend to let you know if we stay below meredith is in the -- this morning for leslee. >>> 2375 -- 275 at tia a small accident. hillsborough is closed at the veterans for over night road work. that should be out of your way by 5:00, 5:30. i'm going to check out my traffic cameras and see if there's an accident there at 275 at fowler. right now the florida highway patrol is not reporting any roadblocks and i'm not seeing any delays. >> thank you, meredith. >>> an 8 on your side health alert as zika spreads in florida. there's finally some good news about possible vaccine

all right, thank you. >>> right now, how is it looking leigh? >> actually pretty nice. a look from the plantation on crystal river. the sun is coming up. 76degrees. this morning. hopefully you're enjoying the sunny start. and it will be a steamy one. 79degrees at 8:00 a.m. now the first few showers will start to pop up at lunchtime. mostly east of 75 and then the majority of us dry, 89 at noon. by 4:00 p.m., either going to be hot around 93 or 94 or you're going to be seeing the storms as they push toward the coast. right now, 77 in largo and pinellas park. apollo beach, you're 75. 76 in wesley chapel. an still dealing with rain across the gulf coast this morning. but for us, everything is nice and dry. so watch as we go forward in time. notice the passing clouds, all you will see through lunchtime. and there are the first few showers in polk county and highlands county. with the strong wind coming from the east, get a better coverage of rain by 4:00 p.m. and with the strongest storms making it to i-75 and west later in the day. and that same forecast in place for thurs

good morning, leigh. the tropics over the last few weeks, and this is the most active time for hurricanes to develop. we had hurricane gaston, and then this mess invest 99l, and over the last 24 hours, it significantly weakened. only a 60% chance of developing over the next 5 days, and we just got the latest information on gaston. 65-mile an hour winds, and the forecast track does make it a strong category 2 hurricane, but it stays out to sea, and no one has to we will focus back on the relatively unorganized low pressure, called invest 99l, and the center of circulation is right here in the southern bahamas, and we have storms down to jamaica at this point, and let me show you where it is expected to head. over the next 24 hours, between the bahamas, cuba, and southern florida and cuba as well. once it enters this area, it is late saturday into sunday, and it enters part of the atmosphere where it could will not strengthen over the next 24 hours, after that, we will watch it closely, and then most of the

leigh spann has ways to help. >> reporter: that's right. it's a crit car length cal time between the alarm clock and the first school bell. and it can set the tone for the day. us morning. >> i usually get up between 4:00 and 5:00 a.m. >> reporter: after that brandy jackson and her family are on a fast track to get to school. >> i started a longtime ago making them set their own alarms. that was part of our rio teen, they have get up, they need to allow themselves enough time to make their beds and get dressed. >> reporter: her kids are older, 14 and 16 but good goal . for younger kid, make a chart. and have a place for everything and everything in its place. label that place so there's less running around at the last minute. >> time time. >> reporter: jackson uses weather and traffic on the 8s to keep everyone on time. >> tv is definitely key once the kids are up. it's our time keeper. because they know, if you come on for the weather or the traffic comes on, it's this door. >> reporter: a good morning routine starts with a good evening ro

good morning, leigh spann. >> yes, by far, the tropics are very active. technically three systems out there because there's still fiona to the north. there's tropical storm ga soon. and then we have invest 99l, not technically a tropical system yet but they are expected to fly into it later today and see what they can find. gaston, came a little bit ago at 5:00 a.m., it had 70 miles per hour. meaning it's close to hurricane status and the forecast makes it a hurricane before the afternoon is over. it stays in the atlantic. stay there. and it could be a category two storm. 99l, this has the most potential to have an impact here in the florida. all the models take it into the bahamas and that's when it enters the area where it could strengthen. long term forecast, diverge as to where it's going to head. the european forecast pushing into the bahamas. going across far southern florida and into the gulf of mexico. and then we have the gfs computer model, right into the bahamas, strengthsens a little bit but even more as it heads up the east coast. of polk par

hey, leigh spann. >> good morning. school. how about lakeland, 77 degrees. i'm sure there are alarm clocks going off right now. 79 in bartow. wesley chapel, pasco county kids waking up with 77. 76 in brooksville. back to school for everyone. but today for the first day in pasco and polk county. so off to class this morning. a few clouds out there, 79 degrees. after school, yes, going to be hot at 92. and the storms will start firing up. the rain chances out of the forecast through noon and at 5:08, an hour-by-hour look at this first day back to school and work for a lot of folks. and leslee has the roadways. >>> a couple problems but not too bad. no congestion. look at this, the only reason it's yellow because you have red lights to go through. new port richey looks good on state road 54 either direction at this hour of the morning. u.s. 19 to the sun coast parkway, 12 minutes. and on 19 through palm harbor, state road 54 to tampa road, all right, moving into pinellas county, a hot spot this morning. but we have a collision at 119th street and ulmerton road.

leigh has an eye on the tropics. >> that's right. today we start to notice an increase in moisture levels. nothing out of the ordinary quite yet but it may feel more steamy. 80degrees at 8:00 still mostly sunny. although a few showers may develop as early as lunchtime. 88degrees. even more than last week before the 50% rain chance comes in later today. 93 in the afternoon. not only is it humid but it's quite warm. 77 in lakeland, auburndale and polk county. all through polk county including bartow. 77 in brooksville. 79 in sarasota. winds generally from the east to southeast which means it's bringing in atlantic moisture. by the time we head toward a couple showers. but i think there will be a better coverage today. this is about 2:00. any storms that form will make their way toward the coast. look at 4:30. looking at pockets of heavy rain and then things tapering off after about 6:00 p.m. tropical depression nine, of course, oh, just since i've been standing here, we have gotten the update. 35miles per hour winds. let's watch it tog

if that gets worse, leigh and i will let you know. bay area bridges including this one up to speed. 10 minutes or less to cross the sunshine skyway bridge. gayle, gene, back to you. >> thank you. >>> fighting deadly peanut allergies with peanuts. >> still ahead, the miracle method involving peanut exposure. >>> plus, one man's solution to missing his flight. why police are warning us not to try this at home. >> not a good idea. >>> and the road to rio. olympic torch burning bright. up next, how the u.s. is dominating the school how a hometown athlete helped bring home gold. you're watching news channel 8 today. so this is weekend me. she makes lists with the weekly ad. but then there is weekday me, no time for anything... except bogo's, and publix has tons of bogo's. that's how i save at publix. how 'bout you? ? i don't want to lie down. i refuse to lie down. why suffer? stand up to chronic migraine... with botox?. botox? is the only treatment for chronic migraine botox? is for adults with chronic migraine, 15 or more headache days a

how is it looking leigh? >> not too bad. clear sky, bright full moon. but once the sun comes up, it's going to start warming up quickly. we go from around 78 degrees at 7:00 a.m. right when the sun is coming up with the horizon all the way to 85 at 10:00 a.m. we hit 90 at 1:00 and soar past it to 93 at see the rainfall develop. notice the time for rainfall potential between now and 3:00 p.m., very little rain. but after that, we will see the storms push toward the i-75 corridor and the coast. and actually see some strong storms in the circled area along and west of i-75. and let's talk about tropical depression six. it formed overnight and should strengthen to tropical storm fiona. right now, it has winds of 35 miles per hour. moving northwest at 15 miles it could be fiona and generally staying out to sea, never getting strong at all. just keeping an eye on it for you. and we will check on traffic on the 8s as more people hit the door. >>> they certainly are. and we are seeing more vehicles on the roadway. and this problem on the howard frankland bridge

leigh martinez reporting there on -- in lower lake. we will check in with you later on in this newscast to get more information. thank you. >> people in lake county living and leaving in fear as the wind blows the fire in different directions. todd and carry thought they were safe but when the fire changed directions today they put their dogs and their belongings in the car. they tried to stay as long as they could but within minutes their home was surrounded by fire. and a neighbor up the road was on the road when he saw flames coming his way and ended that dual evacuate. -- call to evacuate. >> we have fire coming in to our backyard. we have to go. >> now i think we will leave. [ laughter ] >> they said as difficult as it was waiting to evacuate it was worse driving away not knowing if they will ever see their home again. >> joining us to talk more is the sheriff lieutenant working as public information officer on the fire scene. we saw live report from the town of lower lake that looks like it is deserted except for emergency crews.

how is it shaping up, leigh? >> for most of us not too bad. there's some areas see ing rain over there's the sunshine skyway bridge. meredith was just showing you the picture. whitney beach another batch of rain coming on. it's all because of this on shore wind flow. so 7:00, 8:00 , 9:00 there's a 30% chance of rain near the coast. the extra rain today keeping temperatures below arch. the average is 90. i'm expecting 88 today. at 6:08 an hour by hour look at your friday. meredith is going to help you through the morning commute. >> yes. >>> we want to talk about the rain. it's not causing any accidents right now. this is near the skyway bridge. just a couple of sprinkles right there but it has not impacted -- oh, there we go meredith -- downtown st. petersburg. that's near the tropicana field area. 275 looking good. one accident in pinellas county on u.s. 19 at mlk. you're going to find an ambulance but traffic is no accidents so far in tampa. gene and gayle. >> thank you, more eredith. >>> in breaking news this morning, tampa police need your

you saw it on leigh's radar. sitcomming. starting to see delays here. i would expect in the next 10 minutes or. so veterans expressway, already getting heavy southbound. and accidents at memorial at kelly road, sheldon. 275 heavy north of the junction. we have a hit-and-run here southbound 275 at hillsborough avenue. accident reported along northbound 75 at i-4. this one is not showing up yet. but look at the delays westbound i-4 as you make your way in hillsborough county. and also a crash at 579 at i-4. gene and gayle, back to you. >> all right. >>> what you need to know before you walk out the door is >> yeah, coming up, an update on that. >>> plus, several inches of rain could fall in the bay area by tomorrow night. how residents are preparing for possible flooding. that's next. it's 6:52. you're watching news channel 8 >>> heavy rain on the way for the bay area. that could mean flooding in some parts. >> news channel 8's ryan hughes is live preparing. >> reporter: good morning to you guys once again. i'm at the government center, one of four locati

let's tun things over to leigh spann. >> good morning guys. and as of 5:00, about an hour ago, it's still tropical depression nine. and still expected to become a tropical storm sometime today. and winds right now, less than tropical storm forced at 35 miles per hour. had system still exposed, meaning the wind have been tearing the northern part apart while to the south, more thunderstorm activity. so tropical depression nine, latest 35 miles per hour winds should become ai tropical storm over the next 24 hours. and then make that turn to the northeast. this is tomorrow afternoon with 50 miles per hour winds. starting to make the turn toward the northeast. this is 2:00 a.m. on thursday. with 65 miles per hour winds. so gaining a little bit of strength befo between the central panhandle or down here here to the tampa bay area. most models take it to the big bend of florida. and that means that the worst weather would happen on thursday before the system crosses the state and heads into the atlantic ocean. like i said, hurricane hunters are curr

leigh? >> reporter: at this scene which is south of san jose, the very rural area, very few houses, mostly pasture for cattle, but firefighters say they cannot let any fire burn more than 10 acres. the bigger the fire, the harder it is to put one out. you are taking a look at the charred earth, where the fire was. we had fire crews last night and early this morning. attacking it from both the air and firefighters on the ground. it was a total of 120 acres. the fire started around 5:00 saturday evening. cal fire says a lawnmower blade striking a rock is the likely cause. >> due to the wind and terrain, fire burned to the north and east. >> winds factored into how firefighters will battle a grass fire. while we were interviewing the battalion chief, we noticed a dust devil kicked up behind him. these grassfires may not be getting out of control but what they lack in size, they make up for in frequency in keeping fire crews constantly busy in northern california. >> statistically this year, we

let's turn things over to leigh. boy, it's nicer out there. >> this is the lake club in lakewood ranch. and the sun is just beginning to get over the horizon. actually doesn't rise until about two minutes before 7:00. 74degrees at this location. southeast wind, mild and dry, 78 degrees at 8:00. basically dry at lunchtime. 87degrees. i don't bring the rain chance up until 4:00 and after. so hopefully after the kids are back home from school today. 91degrees at 4:00 p.m. weeki wachee, zephyrhills, 73. plant city, 75. st.petersburg, 76. bradenton, 77. and my weather watcher dora in inverness is at 73 degrees. again, it's going to start out dry today just like yesterday. you need the sunglasses in the morning. and now fast forwarding to notice a couple showers on the southeast wind in polk county and highlands county. by 5:00 p.m., the better coverage of rain, the 40% chance. and the storms generally push toward the coast by 9:00 p.m. and then out into the gulf of mexico. and we do it all again tomorrow, typical august m

leigh spann has ways to help. >> reporter: that's right. it's a critical time between when the alarm clock goes off and the first school bell. it can set the tone for the whole day. and since you're already watching us, use us to help guide you through the morning. >> i get up between 4:00 and 5:00 a.m. >> reporter: after that, brandy jackson and her family are on a >> i started a longtime ago making them set their own alarms. so that was part of our routine, they get up and allow themselves enough time to make beds, get dressed and come down stairs. >> reporter: her kids are older, 14 and 16 but parenting dot some says this is a good goal. for younger kids, make a chart that shows everything kids need to do. and have a th everything. able the place so there's less running around at the last time. >> time for weather and traffic on the 8s. >> reporter: jackson uses weather and traffic on the 8s to keep everyone on time. >> tv is definitely key when the kids are up. it's our time keeper because they know, if you come on with the weather or t

let's get you out the door with leigh and a check of the forecast. >> good morning. it's a little steamy. we have some patchy clouds, low clouds out there. largo did and pinellas park, brandon, 77. wesley chapel, 78 degrees. pasco kids back to school for the first day, 80 in bartow and sarasota right now. pasco and polk counties, first day back. off to class, 79 degrees and patchy clouds. and 92 after school when the kids play outside. and about a 40% chance of the late day storms. notice mostly dry through the first part of the day. the rain chances ramp up to 40% by 5:00 p.m. and storms push towards the coast. at 6:08, i have an hour- you. >>> and we are still looking good in lakeland. polk county up to speed as well. u.s. 92 starting to get busier. and manatee county as i zoom in. i want you to see that orange dot there. well, that's a slow down. that's southbound on i-75. and that is after you pass 275. that's where you hit the brakes, down to about 23%. fhp tells me that the crash is tying up a lane. south 75 in the palmetto area. fhp says still tying up a lane

and leigh spann has the tropics. >> that's right. yesterday afternoon we officially have tropical depression number nine. it's been an area we have been watching for quite some time. it's still disorganized but it why they have officially called it tropical depression nine. the latest information drifts this into the central gulf of mexico. and strengthens to it a tropical storm. that's about 40 miles per hour winds by tomorrow afternoon. and it's moving away from florida. but hold up because it's going to get picked up and drawn back toward possibly the panhandle, possibly the big bend of florida at this point. this is thursday morning. still a tropical storm at this point. but no matter where it's going, it's going to impact our weather. increased rain chances day on thursday. possibly even some rip currents and high surf. all day thursday it treks through north florida and then entering into back into the atlantic ocean and heads away from us. through the gulf of mexico, it's really entering this area with bath water basically. so

how is it looking out there, leigh? >> yesterday at this point we were watching a lot of showers along the coast and they pushed on shore. i'm still tracking showers off in the gulf they haven't yet come on shore. keep that umbrella with you especially near the shore. 78 degrees at 8:00 a.m.. -- 8:00 a.m. 85 degrees at noon. the storms head inland as the day progresses. i just checked in with my weather watcher bob in venice and he said it's 78 at his house. it has to do yesterday. this is about 9:45. as the day progresses the showers get further and further inland. over all a 50% rain chance because we will see that rain push across the state. on saturday morning a few showers develop along the coast. there's a 50% rain chance. highs at 88 today and tomorrow. >>> meredith is or >> i'm checking out my camera at i h at ml -- at i-4 mlk. this is 275 near i-4, northbound 275 wrapping up some over night road work in that area. it's on the approach to mlk. right now only the inside lane is getting by. i do expect that will b

weather with leigh. good morning. >> it looks like another rainch rainch--rainy dreary day. today should be the last of the intense wet days. flood watch continues until 8:00 p.m. and all the way up through the big bend of florida soap the rain potential starts going farther north and more than our fair share of rain. four to six inches. farther to the south pinellas county four and a half to five inches of rain fall especially in the northern. lighter totals inland and even lighter farther south. so again this is what we've been tracking for the last couple of days. hillsborough just about an hour ago certainly weaker towards 301 in has her hills. another watch of this heavy rain coming on shore and that's going to be the trend all day. off and on heavy down pours. rain chances to 60% at 10:00 this morning. best rain chance attained day 70 americas before it tapers off this evening. keeping high today below average at 5:05. meredith is get through your commute which hopefully isn't too wet. >> so far so good. looking pretty quiet sit on the roads a live view out of st. pete

a lot of folks are wanting to know what's going on in the tropics and leigh spann is here to let you know. >> interestingly enough, it is strengthen. i really think it has gotten its organization together. they'll let us know with the full update in less than an hour but it should become a tropical storm. and that is why some of the area is under a hurricane watch at this point. it extends up into to the pan happened and will the big bend of florida. i'm going -- up to the panhandle and the florida. within 48 hour, you could see hurricane-force gusts. we don't expect this to necessarily be a hurricane but you could see the gusts along the coast. you see the orange shaded areas inland, that's a tropical storm watch. within 48 hours you could see tropical storm-force winds. the official forecast as of 11:00 last night makes it a tropical storm and moves it on the northeast track through notice slowing down a bit. still a good ways away from the coast by 8:00 tomorrow morning. and then during the day, this is 8:00 p.m. on thursday, a 70 miles per hour tropical storm. so just below hurri

good evening, i'm jennifer leigh. >> i'm josh benson. thanks for being with us. >> we begin with breaking news. an update out of miami-dade county. a fire in a substation in miami county is just about out.

good evening, i'm jennifer leigh. >> i'm keith cate. thank you for joining us. >> the controversy tarnished team usa. now swimmer ryan lochte says he is sorry rio. he claimed he was robbed, but that was not the case. >> reporter: lochte back home now, took to instagram to apologize for the events that took place this week. as for the swimmers stuck in rio, two brokers an overnight deal. a fourth swimmer is still in rio paying up trying to get his passport back so he can head home. several paragraphs of text posted by lochte on his accept responsibility for my role in this happening and have learned some valuable lessons. he apologized to u.s. athletes, the international olympic committee and the host city of rio for being a distraction to the games. he originally said he and three fellow olympians were robbed at gunpoint in rio early sunday morning. but, the usoc and surveillance video know confirm the version of events laid out by brazilian police. they got into an argument with police after bathroom. meanwhile, jimny feigen cut a deal

leigh martinez is live there. we are going to check in with her in two minutes to find out hopefully, more about what has happened. it looks like they are focusing in on a manhole. it will go back out to her in just a couple of minutes. >>> thank you for joining us. >> good morning. it is 4:30 am. let's check in with steve. it feels about the same as yesterday. >> yes. a couple of subtle changes. >> a little bit. and maybe a couple of degrees compared to yesterday. and we did the 90s pop back up. so maybe one or two and we did the 90s pop back up. so maybe one or 2 degrees warmer. but i doubt that they will change too much. this is not making the surge yet but it did yet. in okay the delta breeze. and, fog and low clouds got plenty to go around. still okay. seems to be coming down a little bit faster than yesterday. >> if it gets stuck -- de beque get stuck? i think that it did. art -- are you there? >> yes i'm here ready to roll. >> and, you tinker with that. >> we are going to start off in the north bay. to talk

leigh how is the weather looking? >> it's dreary again. the sun hasn't come up. this is a look from hyundai of newport richey. rain is coming down since midnight at this location. of rain and more on the way one of the areas under flood watch from newport richey north the flood watch until 8:00 this evening. saturated ground and pockets of heavy rain not only possible but happening right now. this is a look at what's happening along 19 from hudson point. there's newport richie where you saw the rain coming down to holiday and then pinellas county citrus and hernando under the flood watch too. rain isus so a little bit but more is coming for you. then we have these light drizzles in pinellas and hillsborough county at this point. a wider view shows it all has to do with the area of low pressure. the counterclockwise wind flow has brought rounds and rounds and rounds of rain. i still expect that for the most part until most of the rain goes to the north for the day tomorrow and less for the rest of the week. 8:00 a.m., 77 degrees. 81 at noon. scattered down pours c

. >> i'm jennifer leigh. >> i'm keith cate. we are keeping track of thunderstorms across the area. steve jerve joins us now with a look at the radar. >> nothing severe at this level keith. the storms are moving offshore, the stronger storms moved right over the downtown tampa area. all of pinellas county mostly. those thunderstorms offshore at the moment. the line is moving from east to west across the area. pretty good coverage and thousands of lightning strikes across the area. that is the higher intensity is what is moving offshore. i mentioned this was not at severe levels but it produced a lot of lightning. you can see the total amount of lightning strikes adding up to over a thousand in this short amount of time as it moving offshore. stretches from looks like around avon park all the way across the northern sections of hardy county. most of polk county is quiet and good new is the thunderstorm activity will likely lessen especially as we head into the later evening hours. that is is a pretty strong storm. back to you. >> here and gone in a hurry. thank you steve. >>> classro

i'm jennifer leigh. for being with us. a massive organized crime operation brought down by pope county detectives after a two year investigation and seven facing racketeering charges accused of running a theft ring. melissa ott marino explains a targeted walmarts all over polk county and beyond.>> reporter: the criminals hit walmarts and

leigh spann will have your forecast. >>> fallout from a system outage at delta. how the airline is playing catch up to get passengers to their destinations. we're life with a check on delays and cancellations. >>> school buses hitting the road a day before school starts. we're riding along with one driver to get schooled on the dangers they face while taking >> thanks for joining us. the bucs are hitting the practice field one last time before the big first preseason game. we'll have more on that in a minute. let's get a check on this rain. >> you saw they were inside yesterday because of the train. today i'm expecting heavy downpours to continue, which is why the flood watch continues through this evening. we'll still see pockets of heavy rain and the ground is saturated. seeing this batch of ra look at the gulf. more of these will continue to rotate on shore. here's u.s. 41. here's i-75 west of chapel. heavy downpours pushing east. pushing toward 301. northern portion of pinellas county. this is on top of two days of rain. this is the 48 hour rainfall total. fi

thanks, leigh. >>> the big story is the weather and the tropical now in case. that means more than just getting sandbags and stocking up on water. news channel 8 has more reminders about your number one communication tool, your phone. >> reporter: for many of us, our phones are our connection to important information in in a storm. we, of course, recommend you download the free news channel 8 weather max app, you can taylor alerts to receive severe weather notifications from channel 8 as well as national weather service. my favorite part is the live radar option. now is the time to charge your phones and other devices. if you have an extra power source, charge that, too. if you don't have one, pick one up today. they are cheap and great to have around at any time. also, temporarily forward your land lines to your cell phones in case local service goes down. limit your social media networking if there is major storm damage. that will keep the network clear for emergency it's going to save your battery. remember in an emergency, text messages may go through faste

. >>> but first, leigh spann with a look at the weather. up early, mostly clear skies. the pesky low that brought us the gloomy weather moving away ever so slowly. there might be haze left in the places that had the heavy rain yesterday evening but generally quiet out there. it's 72 in crystal river. lakeland, you're at 73 degrees. 74 in wimauma. 78 in sarasota. heading once again to the second day of class today, giving the forecast an a because it's exactly what we expect to get as, right? 78degrees in the first class. lunchtime, partly cloudy, 87. the storms start after school. the final bell around 9 0 degrees. coming up in weather and traffic on the 8s at 5:38, i have an eight-day temperature trend for you. and meredith is going to help you get to work and school. >>> yeah, and you know, school buses already hitting the roads. it's amazing how early some of the pick-up times are. but right now, no school yet in polk county. fowler but as you can see, no delays. one accident reported now in largo. it's on ridge road just north of walling road. we have ems responding

leigh spann with a look at yesterday's high of 95. so we're still coming down from that basically. 80 in largo and pinellas park. widening this out a little bit, still at 80 in inverness. 79 in lakeland and bartow. 77 in north port. about the rain chances, very similar to yesterday. dry through the morning, adding in the slim rain chance for inland areas in the early afternoon between about noon and 2:00. at 3:00 p.m., heading into the evening, the rain chance gets better going up to 40%. and the storms will toward the coast. before the rain gets there though, it will be hot. i'm saying 93. at least it's cooler than yesterday 5 but above average. in weather and traffic on the 8s, i will take you hour-by- hour through your tuesday. and leslee is going to get you through the tuesday morning. >> that's right. >>> good so far so good. not being slowed down but we have overnight construction here. this is south on i-75 at university parkway. the two right lanes are taken away due to overnight construction. bridges, up here in pinellas coun