so let's check in with meteorologist leigh spann this morning. leigh, this could be a big door. >> yeah, because the dense fog advisory is for every single 10:00. now there's sea fog that last pretty much all day. so there may be some coastal communities that never really get out of the fog. we are at visibility down to zero in lakeland. only a half mile in plant city. brooksville and brandon. just a blanket of fog. the fog forecast to see how long it's going to last. it takes you through 10:00 a.m. i think a layer of fog will be ever present until then. it up. and the numbers get higher and you can see farther by 10:00. and it quickly burns off for the coast. notice how places like anna maria island may be stuck in the sea fog all day long. and despite that, a hot one, 80 84. so we don't know what punxsutawney phil is going to say. at 4:08, we will go hour-by- hour through the groundhog day. >>> it's decent out there. let's look at what is going on. we have a little bit of construction overnight that is tying up some lanes northbound on i-75, rig

here's another one of our facebook live fan, leigh spann. >> that's right. every morning around 7:35 or so, i like to check in with my facebook friends. yeah, ask me any questions. >>> 4:08, a gorgeous day. i could almost take the day off. in fact, maybe i will. 51 at 8:00 a.m. just a little bit of a chill but a quick warm-up. 59 at 10:00 a.m. 73 at 3:00 p.m. mid-60s through the evening. the only thing today, you will feel the northeast breeze, mild, sunny days, mid-70s through the weekend. and the next rain chance late tuesday into wednesday. and look at this, 73 today. 74 tomorrow. 75 saturday. 76 on sunday. head to the beach this weekend. let's check on traffic on the 8s. hopefully that's just as nice. >>> i'll tell you what, it's decent in the sense that we don't have congestion, no major accident but the veterans expressway, construction, folks. overnight construction. so take a look here. if you're traveling northbound on the veterans expressway, guess what happens right before you get to gunn highway, you start seeing cones and you are diverted off th

>> leigh spann explains why we get the 24 hours. >> that's right. it all has to do with how long it takes the earth to go around the sun, and if you say that's easy, it's 365 days, you would be almost right. year? >> i did. >> did you have anything specially planned for february 289? >> i don't. celebrate it, but it's important. do you know why we have it every 4 years? >> i heard about it, but i forgot. >> we have leap year because our calendar does not match exactly the orbital period. >> reporter: simon schuler explains it takes the earth 365 days and nearly a quarter of another day to orbit the earth. to account for the extra time, we add a full day every 4 years. >> main purpose is to help the farmers out because they always wanted the seasons to bat same time of the calendar year. >> reporter: without a leap day it would be off by 24 days we have had a leap day of some sorts since julius cesar. because it's not quite a quarter of a day, it's skipped three times every 100 years. the next one skipped will be 2100. even with the rules, the calend

. >>> and we want to get a check on our weather with meteorologist leigh spann. getting warm here. >> it is. even when you walk out the door right now, it's going to feel much more spring-like. 72 plant city. 70 in clearwater. 71 sarasota. and 70 in lakeland. but the big thing, look at the difference between yesterday and today. lakeland is 13 degrees warmer than just at 6:00 yesterday morning. brooksville, you're 11 degrees tampa is seven degrees warmer. here's the good thing though, we're not dealing with the thick fog that we dealt with. i'm looking at the fog forecast. and what we're seeing is a layer of low clouds. haven't settled to the ground though so the visibility is fine. we will keep the low clouds around through sunrise and then break them up. but notice sea fog may hang around again all day just offshore. today expecting 80 and that's obviously above the average of 71. in weather and traffic on the 8s at 6:08, i take you hour-by- hour through today and then walk you through the rain for tomorrow. but leslee is here with the roads right now. >>> look

. >> yeah, leigh spann has been following this all through the night and into the morning. what's it looking like now? >> again, this is a very quick- mover. steve jerve and i were on facebook live all morning long starting about 1:30 until the newscast started. intense portion was moving through hillsborough and pinellas county. and now it's pushing farther and quickly to the south. so from tampa north, things are dry now. and once you get into polk county and south and east where the rain continues. and the tornado watch has been canceled. it was in effect for pinellas, pasco, hillsborough and manatee. that's been taken away. and we still have the watch until 8:00 a.m. for polk, sarasota, hardy, desoto and highlands. i suspect it will get canceled before 8:00 a.m. look at this, western manatee, western sarasota dry. this is pushing to the east. and over through highlands county at this point. let me show you how we move forward in time. this is the forecast for 4:30, so as you go forward, just one hour, we are dry in sarasota. and almost dry in polk county. one more hour,

so our own ruining enthusiast leigh spann has a report. 100 stap members taking part in the weekend races. they have been training but they have a secret weapon from a superhero known as the shoe giver. >> i measure everyone and then i go back out, get the shoes and bring them back. >> reporter: the 14-year-old julie rice comes from a family of shoe givers. her brother started the project at 10 years old. >> he contacted the cdc and asked what they needed most. and their answer was shoes. >> reporter: julie became the shoe giver when he left for college. for the first time though, these shoes serve a specific purpose of helping people cross the finish line at the gasparilla distance classic. the race for hope team had been part of a six-week training program to get ready for the race. what will you feel like on race day at the starting line? >> a little nervous because i have never done it before but like i said, it's a new experience, so kind of feel happy. >> reporter: while these families get fit, they're also learning life lesson. >> set a goal of running the race and do it in a certa

storm team 8 including meteorologist leigh spann continues to keep aan eye on the storm. we will have updates onair and our news channel 8 storm team weather max app. >> yeah, fortunately this line of tornadoes reeking havoc across the southeast and through mississippi and now in alabama. you can see it's going from the great lakes down to the gulf of mexico there. is a tornado watch right now for alabama. locally, it won't have any impact on us today other than keeping us warm and humid. 70 at 9:00 a.m. mid-70s by the lunch break. and then a high of 80 today. about a 10% rain chance through the afternoon and evening. if you're like me and training for the gasparilla distance classic, go ahead and get out this morning. it's going to be warm but it's going to be warm and humid all day long. tomorrow, when the system pushes through, slowly from north to south, it will bring on and off rain, about a 70% chance. and cooler friday but another cold front comes through saturday night and sunday morning and that will keep us cool for next week. let's check in now with leslee lace

so let's get over to meteorologist leigh spann. this could be a big issue for people as they head out the door. >> it certainly could so we ask everyone to take it easy this morning. it's thick fog and it's just about everywhere this morning. feel lucky if you have decent the dense fog advisory goes until 10:00 a.m. for areas on land. if you plan on taking the boat out, we could see sea fog that last all day. look at the visibilities, you can only see about a half mile and only about a quarter mile in brandon, sarasota, inverness. and it's maybe down the street, you won't be able to see anything more than a quarter mile in front of you. that could be a pedestrian, street signs you're looking for. and you asked how long it's going to last, we keep it basically at zero visibility through 10:00 this morning. after that, we see the fog break up quickly between 10:00 and 11:00. but areas like anna maria island and along the coast, that sea fog could hang around all day. a high of 80, well above the average of 71 degrees today. so weathe

so let's check in with meteorologist leigh spann this morning. leigh, this could be a big issue for people as they head out the door this morning. >> and more and more people now that we're in the 56k. time frame are -- the 6:00 a.m. time frame are hitting the roads. the dense fog advisory officially goes until 10:00 a.m. for all areas over land. once you head right along the coast and out into the gulf of mexico, the sea fog could last all day. and i'll talk about a blanket area with good visibility. where this is showing you is how far you can see into the fog and it's all less than a half mile, most places less than a quarter of a mile meaning you won't be able to see the street sign down the street. that's why we ask you to be careful. watch the fog forecast. this shows you the visibility, next to nothing for the next 9:00. at 10:00, we just start to break the fog up. except along the coast. 80 degrees for a high temperature, even with the sun and clouds and certainly feeling like an early spring even though we will check in with punxsutawney

. >>> and let's get straight to leigh spann because this storm is headed towards our area. >> yeah, it's knocking on our door at the this point. and now the tornado watch which means that conditions are setting up that we could see an isolated tornado and strong wind, that goes until 10:00 a.m. for sumpter, citrus, hernando and pasco counties. i talked about it. during the early morning, things would be dry. it passed through the panhandle florida and up toward the carolinas. in fact, right around the gainesville area, they're under a severe thunderstorm warning right now meaning wind gusts up to about 60 miles per hour. and here's citrus county. again, just coming in to our area. i'm going to time this out for you. going forward into the future, this is 8:00, citrus, hernando, pasco, that's when you will see most of the rain. the rain could start in about an hour. and going forward another hour, 9:00 a.m., that's when places like hillsborough county, pinellas and pasco county will see the heaviest of the rain begin. and even farther into the day, 10:30, polk county starts to see the rai

meteorologist leigh spann is joining us now with the chilly forecast. good morning. >> it may come as a surprise. plant city at 39. the closer to the coast, the warmer. 49 in bradenton. through. yeah. it will be a short time between fronts because i'm tracking the next one that will come through tonight. between these two fronts. we see a warm up today all the way quickly to 65 degrees. it should feel nice in the suppose shine. more clouds late in the day and i'll tell you what comes behind the cold front. leslee is hear to help you get the cold commute started. >> that's right. it will be a chilly kwun and slow one through palm harbor. 24 minutes now through palm harbor. southbound u.s. 19 from state road 54 to pam pa road. you're -- tampa road. you're looking at a half hour. why is u.s. 19 slfrp and go? we have an accident right at klasterman road. we have northbound delays what is going on. take alternate 18. you're backed up solid to tarpon avenue. we had a car fire eastbound i-4. >>> new this morning, tampa police officers are searching for a man w

leigh spann explains the reason why leap year helps us to keep our calendar straight. >> you're watching news channel >>> welcome back to monday, leap day. it's time for traffic and we will go into polk county like 56 degrees winter haven. 49 in brooksville, and there's patchy clouds, and wherever the clouds are, you're warmer, and i'm finding the clouds over tampa, and notice there you're at 60 versus 57 now in venice. during the afternoon, a lot of sunshine, and feeling warm, especially in the sunshine, with the afternoon high of 74, and just a few clouds overnight, and mild. the low tonight of 57 degrees, and i will let you know about two cold fronts coming through the tampa bay area coming up. >>> thank you, leigh. good morning, everyone. in pinellas park, unfortunate news this morning. fatal accident. i'm continuing to follow this breaking news here. all lanes of bryan dairy are locked it will become 118th avenue, and right now at 19, underneath it, it is completely blocked, and you will need a the frontage roads are also blocked. you not pass underneath u.s. 19 at bryan dairy, and

stay tuned for more updates on this big story. >> let's check in with leigh spann. it is cold outside. a lot of kids have the day off of school to go to the fair. >> half of the kids in hillsborough did get the day off to go to the fair. if you're going, bundle those kids up. you see a big cold front came through with the rain. we're clearing out and the cold air is behind it. 41 in crystal river. temperatures could still drop for another hour and a half. it is 48 in tampa. 46 plant city. notice slightly warmer, further to the south like 51 in north port because the cooler air is heading in your direction. and obviously significantly colder than this time yesterday. anywhere from 15 to 30 degrees colder and on top of everything it is windy. boy, that wind cuts through you 15 to 20 miles an hour sustained winds gusting at close to 30. we'll keep it sunny and breezy all day. we'll also keep it 10 degrees below average with a high of 61. in weather and traffic on the 8's at 6:38. there is an eight-day temperature trend and you may be surprised how cool we are each of t

let's get over to leigh spann to see what's happening right now. >> a lot of people did not sleep through the storms because it was loud with the lightning, the thunder, the strong winds but now everything is calming down. early. 8:00 a.m. obviously barely raining anymore so there's no need for the watch. in highlands county, you still have some rain but you were just excluded from the tornado watch. and let me show you how fast this morning. this is a forecast for you, forward one more hour at 7:00 a.m., we still have clouds around but the rain will be gone. by 9:00 a.m., patchy clouds and starting to break those up. and then the rest of the day, even by lunchtime, a lot of sunshine, a cool breeze. below average but 71, it's going to feel pretty comfortable. at 6:06, i walk you hour-by- hour through the day. and leslee is going to let you know what to expect when you walk out the doors. >> at least the roadways are dry. drying. still a little wet in some areas. >>> but we have some issues. eastbound i-4 just past the polk parkway, a live look. you can see a lot of activity in the median.

was let's go straight over to meteorologist leigh spann to see what we can expect today. >> if you're just leaving the house on the early commute heading to school early, things are dry. which is great news. all of this rain will slowly sink to the south. notice, clouds already further to the north, north of i-4, what i've done is moved into a forecast mode today. if you can find where you live and watch where the rain makes it here. cloudy skies between now and 7:30. maybe a stray light sprinkle. it is after about nine, 10:00 hernando see a consistent rain and they make their way to the south. places like hillsborough, pinellas and polk county start to see some of the showers, heavier downpours all day will be north of i-4. things will be lighter further to the south and it will make it further south later in the day. highs today at 76. with weather and traffic on the 8's at 6:08. i'll let you know how much rain i'm expecting today and leslee is here to let you know what to expect on the roadway. >> it is a decent drive. dry right now. enjoy that while you can. let's look at tam fach

. >>> now at 6:01, let's get a check on weather with meteorologist leigh spann. things are changing as we clouds will continue to clear out for the next two hours and when you get the clear skies without the sunshine, it allows you to cool down even more. that's what's happening in citrus county and around the crystal river area, you're down to the freezing mark at 32. overnight. clouds still in polling and hillsborough county -- polk and hillsborough county. 53 and milder in sarasota. it's breezy but it is not as windy as yesterday morning. the strongest winds are near the coast, pinellas, sarasota, eastern hillsborough county where we're up to about 15 miles per hour. the breeze will kick up throughout the day, helping to keep us chilly again. a high of only 58, well below average, check out tonight, 39. at 6:08, i take you through the day and tell you when you start to warm back up. leslee is here to help you get the commute started. harbor, heads up here, it's on u.s. 19. and it's right by tampa road. so we have a collision with injuries involved, seeing a de

so let's go straight to leigh spann with what you need to know to plan your wardrobe. >> i'm saying dress in layers today because you will need the layers to help keep you warm. especially like kids waiting on the bus stop, the freeze warning is for citrus, hernando and sumpter. and the purple includes pasco, inland portions of hillsborough county, basically east of i-75, manatee county, and then all of our inland communities. this lasts until 9:00. but remember, dress in layers. the layers actually keep you warmer than one thick layer. 30 degrees right now in inverness, yes, below freezing. 31 in zephyrhills. yes, below freezing. and everywhere else is just above freezing. 41 in fish hawk. and colder than this time yesterday anywhere from 5 to 15 degrees. and we see a nice warm-up. remember the layers? you can take some off through the day as we get up to 64 degrees. in weather and traffic on the 8s at 6:08, i take you hour-by- hour through the day so you know what to expect. and leslee is here to tell you about the layers. >> in the army, we used to do that. and if it's tighter, it help

let's go to meteorologist leigh spann for a look at the cool down. you can feel it blowing. >> it is howling out there for sure. what it means is the air is moving. the cold air rushing in from the north. it is colder in places to the north. inver yes at -- inverness at 46. polk degrees at 50 degrees and highlands county at 54 degrees. look at a difference from yesterday and today. anywhere from 15 to 25 degrees cooler. one of the biggest things will be the wind. these are sustained winds, an average overtime. but now i'll put in the individual, strongest gusts in the average. that is where we're looking at 33 miles an hour in tampa. that will take your breath away. 23 miles an hour at bartow at this point. we're still cloudy. as we speak, the clouds are clearing from north to south and even with sunshine we'll stay with a high of 61 today. on weather and traffic on the 8's, i'll take you hour by hour and here is leslee to get the commute started. >> it was good until a minute ago. i want to look at the sky way bridge. it is windy so use caution as y

let's get a check on weather and traffic on the 8s with meteorologist leigh spann. >> and that was the same system that rolled through here about midnight to 4:00 a.m. yesterday. thankfully we didn't see the strong storms like that. it was just to our south where the storms really fired up. today, nothing of the sort. you may run into patchy thick fog this morning depending on where you are. it's not widespread. we're in for a treat, 65 at noon. low humidity. quick cooling down to 61 degrees this evening. trillion mostly sunny pleasant conditions continue for the just a slow warm-up. in the mid- to upper 70s this weekend and. check out the comfortable temperatures. 70 today. 71 tomorrow. 73 friday. we couldn't buy better weather than this. we will check on traffic on the 8s because there's patchy fog, just really not everywhere. >> no, it's moving around. and i have been fog hunting and i have found some more fog behind us. >>> i-4, a nice patch here so be careful moving through plant city area on i-4 . and elsewhere, the polk parkway, very thick as well. so keep in mind coming in and

let's check the weather with meteorologist leigh spann. >> especially if you stayed up late, it will be hard to get out of bed this morning with how cold it is! 32. we're at freezing in crystal river in inverness. close in brooksville. you're at 33. 33 zephyr hills. polk county you're in the mid-30's. 36 lakeland. warmer in sarasota at 39 but this is significantly colder even to yesterday morning. skies are clear. we're behind this cold front bringing in blustery conditions and then there is another one not far on the heels coming through tonight. enjoy the pretty quick warm up. we go to the 30s and 40s to around 65 in the afternoon. at weather and traffic on the 8's i'll take you hour by hour through this day and tell you how warm it will be tomorrow. leslee is here to get you through the commute. >> with the heater on. here is what is happening on the bridges. courtney campbell causeway will take you nine minutes from pinellas to where it connects on memorial highway and the gandy bridge. pinellas to manhattan seven minutes. cortez road to states road. 44 minutes on your drive. we

meteorologist leigh spann joins forecast. >> you felt the strong winds yesterday. all of that is dealing with ushering in cool air. a lot of us at the freezing zephyr hills, crystal river, inverness at 32. 39 in plant city. auburndale 34, 39 in sarasota and wimauma. the skies are clear. this is the first cold front that came through. you know what? another cold front is right on tonight. it will feel nice in the sunshine this afternoon a quick 65 degrees. at 4:38 i have an eight-day temperature trend and we never i'll show you. that let's hope that speeds are pretty nice this morning gl it is a pretty average morning. we're looking good on the interstates despite this 50th street. look. you can get by it just fine. here is a live look. there. i-4 is actually closer to 22nd not 50th. the left lane is taken away and left shoulder. the traffic gets by absolutely fine. area bridges and moving over here and taking a quick look at plant city. highway 39, in and out of downtown tampa you're looking at a 22-minute commute either direction. that is a look at weather and tra

>> meteorologist leigh spann is explaining why we get the extra 24 hours. >> it has to do with how long sun. if you say that's easy, it's 365 days, you will be almost right. >> reporter: did you know it's a leap year? >> i. did >> do you have anything planned? >> i can't say i have celebrated leap year before. >> reporter: do you know why we have leap year every 4 years? >> i heard about it, but i forgot, leigh. >> we have leap year because our calendar does not match exactly the orbital period around the sun. >> reporter: simon schuler explains it takes the earth 365 another day to orbit the sun. to be exact, 365 days, 5 hours, 48 minutes, 45 seconds. to account for that extra time, we add a full day every 4 years. >> the main purpose is, you know, to help the farmers out because they always wanted the calendars to be at same time. >>> it would be off by 24 days every 100 years, and we have had a leap year of some sort since the time of julius cesar. because it's not quite an extra quarter of after day, it's skipped three times every 400 years, and the next one skip willed be in 2100.

leigh spann is joining us now good morning! >>reporter: it may come up as shock. maybe it will help wake you up after watching the super bowl. 32 in lakeland and inverness. to 34. the closer you're to the coast it is milder, 39 in bradenton. clear skies now, obviously we had a big time cold front which is bringing strong winds to the north east. that came through yesterday but i'm tracking another very fast moving front that will be here tonight. so ahead of that, we actually do see a pretty quick warm up. 65 will feel pretty nice in the 5:38. i'll go through an eight-day temperature trend and shows you what is behind the cold front. >> right now it is a good drive and the one plan we did have, let's look at the travel times off of state road 54 from new port richey. u.s. 19 to the sun coast parkway. palm harbor if you're t 19 from state road 54 to tampa road, red lights to go through. near 22nd street. the traffic looks fantastic in we're up to speed. that is a look at weather and traffic on the 8's. back to gene and gayle. >>> tampa police officers are searching

that let's go to meteorologist leigh spann with a look at the cool down, leigh. >> what a difference! we had the rain come through yesterday afternoon and the cold air was right on the heels. it is still rushing to the south. the further north you live is where it is coolest. 45 in inverness. lakeland, you've dropped to 48 degrees in polk county. 50 in tampa. that is cooler than last hour and you can see the further south you go, you're in the mid-50's. that is cooler than yesterday, just you're in one of the warmer spots this morning. crystal river is 27 degrees colder than what we were around 5:00 yesterday. 20 degrees colder in lakeland and boy it is the wind. this is an average over a couple of minutes where you get to 15 to 20 miles an hour. you look at the individual strongest gusts in the few minutes and that is where you're getting up to 30 coming out of the north feeling cold and clearing our skies out. and despite the clear sky, an of 61. in weather and traffic on the 8's, i take you hour by hour through the day. let me show you how slfrply it warms up. >> both hands on the

. >>> over to leigh spann, what a beautiful forecast we have. >> the weekend couldn't have been any belter. cool, sunny skies in the afternoon. things are starting to change today. a warmer morning, and you will around 57 degrees, and it's warmer than yesterday. temperatures. it's warmer than average, and there isn't a small rain chance in the afternoon as well. you step out the door right now in polk county. upper 50s to low 60s, and specifically 59 in lakeland, and cooler in inverness. 58 in sarasota, and my buddy, bob in venice checked in at 60 degrees this morning. taking a trip to the north will involve ice and snow, even as far south as the virginias and north carolina, but for us, mild, and not many clouds this morning. the clouds increased, and we are mostly dry today. here's what happens overnight and rain comes in with the cold front in the northern areas around 4:00 a.m. this passes to the south, and even by lunchtime, we were clearing out, and then we are in for another nice, long stretch of sunny, pleasant days. leslee, how about traffic on the 8s? >> messes for sure. the bay

so let's get over to leigh spann with what you need to know to plan your morning. >> when you go into the closet today, dress in layers but the bottom layer may just be like a light long sleeved shirt. this morning though, you need the shirt over that. we have the freeze warnings. temperatures are at the freezing mark now and still could drop over the next couple hours. but even places where we don't drop down to the freezing, some of the elevated spots like the car windshield may have some frost on it. we have a frost advisory for all of pasco county and areas away from the coast in hillsborough county, all the way through polk county, desoto and inland areas of sarasota and manatee county. definitely a chilly morning. a.m. but the winds won't be as strong today and as the day warm-up. coming up at 4:08 on weather and traffic on the 8s, i'm through the day. >>> and we have a couple problems in south tampa but they won't slow you down. zooming in here, just a quick reminder, right at bay to bay, lane take anway. keep that in mind. and also, still working here is bay shore boulevard at

it's 5:38. and traffic on weather and traffic on the 8s -- on weather and traffic on the 8s with leigh spann. >> the thick fog goes until 10:00 this morning. very low visibility. coastal areas and sea fog could last all day. so watch how it's muggy, in the 60s this morning. once the fog burns off after 10:00 a.m., it will still be a patchy cloud-covered day. 76 at noon. 80 at 3:00 p.m. about a 10% rain chance but mid- 70s through the evening. i mentioned the 10% rain chance today. that goes up to 20%, especially late in the afternoon tomorrow. and ahead of a big cold front that will bring us a 70% chance of storms thursday, and lingering to 20% chance on friday. the it's warm today and tomorrow. thursday is the wet day. and then cool down a little bit for friday and saturday. but another storm system on sunday. leslee, let's check on traffic on the 8s because it's foggy out there. >>> very foggy. use caution. that are slowing you down and traffic is still at good speeds but it's a little bit tricky. so use caution again. we've got sort of a frozen moving shot here, 275 at sly, but you can se

. >>> and let's get a check on the weather with meteorologist leigh spann. >> we still have a lot of clouds for some of us but they are scouring out as we speak. when you get the clearer sky, temperatures fall. the next three hours. in fact, we are already in the 30s for crystal river and inverness. and now there's still clouds in polk county. that's cooler than yesterday. and you will get even cooler over the next couple hours. 50 in tampa. and 54 sarasota. and winds aren't as strong as yesterday but there's a good breeze, especially near the coast coming in at 10 to 15 miles per hour, gusting up higher. and those winds will keep us from warming up today, only a high of 58. and now in weather and traffic on the 8s at 5:08, i take you hour-by-hour through the day and then tell you how cold it's expected to be tonight. and tonight is going to be the coldest. >> all right. i'll have to bundle up. >>> a cold drive too but it's a decent one. we do have some issue, south tampa area again. we have one of the lanes blocked here, bay shore boulevard southbound at hawthorne boulevard. not ope

let's turn things over to leigh spann. >> the first thing you will notice when you walk out, it's quite mild and even more humid than we expect in february. hour-by-hour through the day, we start around 56 degrees. there's just a slim morning rain chance. and it only goes up to about 20% after lunchtime. and temperatures in the mid-70s by noon. 78 at 3:00 p.m. and even still low 70s, mild through the evening hours. and still notice it's a 2520% rain chance through today -- it's a 20% rain chance through today. and tomorrow morning, our rain chance goes up to 60%. these are the storm threats we could see tomorrow morning. i expect lightning in this and i don't expect a big hail threat but some strong damaging winds a possibility tomorrow morning and even that outside chance of a stray tornado. so we will be watching closely. again, that's tomorrow morning with a cold front. and look at the eight-day eight-day temperature trend, thursday, friday, saturday, chilly and we warm up again next week. and let's check on traffic on the 8s to see how things are going early on this tuesday. >>> dec

. >>> a check on the weather right now with meteorologist leigh spann. >> when you step out the door, feeling warmer than this time yesterday. we started around 57 degrees at 8:00 a.m., and it does not take long to get to 60. happening around 9:00, and 70 by lunchtime, and increasing clouds, and we will get up to 75 degrees at 3:00 p.m. notice, i did put in the small rain chance late in the day. this is the forecast. a few showers developing late this afternoon and evening, and come early tomorrow morning, basically 24 hours from now. we can see the rain north of i- 4. by 6:30 tomorrow morning, it's near i-4, and by 8:00 tomorrow, it's already exiting, and it's a cold front coming through, and the good thing is, if you're tired of the colder weather, the cooldown will only take us to the low 70s for tuesday, wednesday, and thursday. leslee has more updates on what people need to know. >> two fatal crashes, and a possible third. as far as congestion, not too bad of an issue. here's what you need to know, headed out the door. the howard franklin bridge, tieing up the two right lanes, an

we will turn things over to leigh spann with more weather on the 8s. >> the weekend could not have been any prettier, especially compared to what was going on around the country. today, things will change. 8:00this morning, 57 degrees, and it will feel nice. as the day goes on, clouds increase, and temperatures increase. 75 at 3:00 p.m., and that's warmer than average with the small afternoon rain chance. right now in inverness, 50 degrees. 58 in bartow, and i even checked with my weather watcher, wendy in brooksville, she said 51. notice the clouds a stray shower, and again a 10% chance today, and things certainly change tomorrow. before sunrise, 3:30 tomorrow morning, and we will see the rain come in from the northern areas, and 5:30 this time tomorrow, we will see rain through the lakeland area through sarasota, and 7:00, it's down to the south, and we will clear out behind the cold front, and sunshine in the afternoon, and a light breeze, long stretch of nice weather into the weekend. >>> waking up to a sad morning here with at least two fatal accidents, possibly a third. northbound

. >> looking for a new record from leigh spann this weekend. >> right now, traffic looks good. it's not perfect. we have some overnight construction here on 75 around university parkway. and if you pass through the area, going to see activity as well as eastbound underneath the interstate. and no delays because traffic is light. and state road 52 at driver lane, we have a little bit of a slow down here with a patrol car. and that is just east of u.s. 41. and let's look at some of the fog, 275 at bearss avenue, pretty thick right here. and also i-75 is a little bit heavy as well. and we have overnight construction here, 275 southbound around 38th avenue south. that's a look at weather and traffic. and now back to gene and gayle. >> thank you. >>> the pope will meet with immigrants at the u.s./mexico border today. his other plans during his trip >>> plus the baby monitor every new mom should hear about. one mom shares how it saved her baby's life. >>> and the winners of a florida powerball jackpot is expected to come forward today but some tickets are never claimed and expire. >>

. >>> let's get straight to leigh spann. a tornado watch in our area. >> yeah, within the last 45 seconds. they extended the the tornado watch down into our area. and you can see why. this line of storms in the gulf of mexico already bringing a threat for severe storms right now into the tallahassee area on the big bend in i-10. see the red shaded counties, that's citrus, hernando and just a minute ago issued the tornado watch. the watch means that conditions are setting up that you could see tornadoes. we have been expecting the worst weather to be north of i- 4 closer to where the storm system is. let me go into a forecast mode because it's going to take it a it's 4:00 now. this is the forecast for 7:30. that's when we will start to onshore. this whole thing is going to the push to the south and east. this is 9:00. that's when we see the tampa area, downtown st. petersburg getting rain but citrus county, already starting to dry out. by about 11:00 this morning and then by 1:00, 2:00, it's much weaker and the system is exit

. >>> and let's turn things over to leigh spann for a look at the forecast. >> it will be a warm day today. we are sort of in between systems. one system is to the north and another back here in texas from houston down to corpus christi. that cold front is going to cross the gulf of mexico through the day today and arrive here tomorrow. at the moment, what i'm tracking right now, just patchy cloud cover, not patch -- patchy cloudy. and not seeing any rain today but we could see scattered showers later today. 63 inverness. 62, sarasota. just the 20 to 30% chance of spotty showers later today. and big story today is about how warm and humid it will be. i will talk about storm's threat. first, let's get you on the roadways. >> that's right. we have some issues going on but they won't slow you down. southbound i-75, just past blanton road, we have a collision. no injuries involved. man teen county, state road 64 at i-75, an accident off the shoulder. and state road 64 east of zipper road, another collision but no delays. and of course, overnight construction still out there, southbound i

let's turn things over to leigh spann. >> it is very mild. i'm tracking a storm system in texas but it won't affect us for several days. you'll notice is out he did of the storm system we're getting a southeast wind. temperature wise, not bad. 53 in auburndale. 56 in arcadea. but it will stay about average . coming up in weather and traffic on the 8's at 5:38. i have an eight-day temperature trend for you and we do not stay this warm for long. i'll run it down for you. door. >> it is not perfect. there is overnight construction at this time. tampa. i'm going to start with the good news first here, folks. street. there is an on going project with the westbound of downtown tam fachlt is a two-way street between ashley and franklin. in downtown tampa is more two way streets. and franklin. we have a good drive through ybor city. . downtown lakeland looks great as well. that is a look at weather and traffic on the 8's and back to gene and gayle. >> a man is dead after a store robbery turned violent at the cut rate liquor store. police tell us the

let's turn things over to leigh spann to find out what the weather is doing now. >> well, the storms are gone but a cold front has come through. and now we are going to turn to winter-like weather. temperatures will have fallen to 54. that's cool but with a 20 to 30 miles per hour northwest wind, you will need a jacket and you will need to hold on to your hat. temperatures only slowly creep up. we're still at 62 by noon. around 65 degrees at 3:00 p.m. that's nearly 10 degrees below average. and then we drop quickly through evening, back down to about 57 degrees at 7:00. so big headline today will be the strong northwest winds creating dangerous boating conditions and really just annoying to be outside. and that's bring hyperemesis gravidarum the chillier air. highs -- bringing in the chillier air. during the weekend though, the afternoons will be pleasant, below average, yes, but with sunshine. and now the traffic on the 8s. no rainfall but windy out there. >>> you got to use caution, especially on the skyway bridge, hold on to the wheel. we have a great drive otherwise. this is 275

. >>> let's turn things over to leigh spann for weather and traffic on the 8s. >> when you step outside this morning, it feels spring-like. remember, we might have an early spring but the warm long so don't listen to punxsutawney phil too much. temperatures this morning are in the 70s by 95 k. 80 at 3:00 p.m., that's well above average. and in the mid-70s with only a 10% rain chance today. a 70% chance thursday. it's clear for friday but not for long. saturday starts out dry before another system brings a 40% rain chance saturday night into sunday. and that's the one that's going to keep us cool next week. and let's check on weather and traffic on the 8s. how are things -- check on traffic on the 8ss now. >>> we have nebraska avenue blocked at fowler due to construction. and two fatals in bradenton. let's take a look at this, folks. at first, we were told just one person was deceased and now two people have died due to this crash. so very sad news to kick-off the morning. 301 at 63rd avenue east, that's where it's located. and now there's an investigation going on. and that's typical wh

let's go to meteorologist leigh spann to see what we can expect today. >> if you have anything to do, get out and do it in the morning. all of this rain is going to just slowly spread south. this is the same storm system that unfortunately caused the tornados in georgia, alabama and mississippi and it won't be as strong when it gets here. we have clearer skies south of i-four. north of ooifr we're seeing the clouds -- i-4, we're seeing the clouds to the north and west. put it in a forecast mode and the next couple of hours will be dry around 7:30 getting light rain along the coast but watch the rounds of rain. it is a slow moving system so this is 3, 4:00. still dealing with the heavy rain right on through 6:00 p.m.. 76 degrees today. as that front comes through. coming up in weather and traffic on the 8's at 4:08. i have a look at the rain fall amounts we can see in the long, rainy day and leslee is here to now. >> they're dry but not perfect. we don't have congestion issues. nonetheless, a couple of issues out there. heads up. 54th avenue north at 25th street in pinellas county, st.

. >> look at leigh spann. she will be running the 15k this weekend. that is the real deal right there. are also lacing up their sneakers. we wish all the runners the best of luck. a lot of roads will be closed. to see which streets will be shut down and how to get around everything, come to our website, wfla.com. >> as opposed to you, keith cate, we will be running not at all either. >> not running unless someone is chasing. >> we have done it for many years. it is fun. >> but the weather, if you are running, terrific. >> starting out the morning with the races through the day and everything. fantastic. runners like it a little bit cooler. because i used to be a runner back in the day. i don't know. it all went downhill. you can see a few clouds out. 71 degreesful bright sunshine today. fair weather clouds. a lot of these should dry up as the evening goes along. that's the view at sun city an east wind at 9 miles an hour. again, bright sunshine and a few clouds in the plantation, crystal river. 70 degrees. a few clouds have roamed their way over from

let's check in with leigh spann for the details. >> kind of spring like. what happens in the spring is we see extra humidity and storm systems coming through. at this point we're keeping an eye on one that is well back in texas and it will take its time affecting us. today, winds from the southeast ahead of the system will allow us to be a little bit warmer when we walk out the door now than what we saw yesterday. in folk county. a little milder than what we expect. 51 in brooksville. sarasota in at 56 and we'll hit 77 in the afternoon. that is obviously above the average of 73 and we warm tonight with a low of 63. with weather and traffic on the 8's at 5:08, i take you hour by hour through today and then tell you when we expect the rain chances. leslee is here to let you know what to expect on the roads. >> it is a good drive. it is a nice one. we had big problems near that clear. i-4, look at this, folks, through ybor city. 301 at 275. just five minutes. it is a good drive coming away from the sun coast parkway. just 10 minutes on your drive time. a litt

i'm leigh spann and i'll explain what it has to do with >>> well, bucs general manager jason light and head coach dirk cutter were licking their chops this week to watch the defensive linemen and defensive backs at the nfl scouting combine. today perhaps a future bucs pass rushing defensive end hit the field. the big boys were on the field. a handful of guys fluctuating up and down the mock draft, so don't rule out any of these top defensive ends when you're thinking about the bucs with that ninth pick. that was joe by bosa on defensive line day. shaq lawson is an interesting guy to watch. his game is speed. a 4.73 40-yard dash. that's a big boy running and forrest buckner, another strong candidate for the bucs. more when tampa's own vernon hargraves covers the defensive backs on the field. >> i've covered those guys. i've seen them before, not to say that i'm ready necessarily, but it definitely helps to have covered them before, to track them before. >>> and on nhl trade deadline eve the new york rangers nab the captain of the carolina hurricanes eric stahl. it is rumors galore all a

. >>> let's turn it over to leigh spann. >> yeah, going to be a chilly one. what a long cold snap. it's going to feel cooler this morning than yesterday. now not windy as yesterday but there's still a breeze, 47 at 8:00 a.m. and the winds get stronger through day, 54 at noon. and a high of only 58 at 3:00 p.m. despite the clear skies. right now the only clear skies are in places like citrus and hernando county. 36 in inverness. notice 45 in bartow. and i checked in with my weather watcher in wendy in brooksville, she's at 46. the winds get stronger throughout the day, up to 10 to 20 knot, seas high at 6 to 10 feet. and a high surf advisory and a small craft advisory as well. we have the north wind helping to clear the skies out now. chilly, breezy, sunny again today. and now overnight, the winds will be lighter which means going to be our coldest night. we are down to 39 before the upper 60s by saturday. leslee, how about traffic on the 8s? >>> well, traffic right now, not seeing slow downs. that's nice news. but it's not perfect. south 75 past state road 674 known as college or su

but let's turn things over to leigh spann right now to find out this is going to lift. >> well, you know, the dense fog advisory for our entire community until 10:00 a.m. and areas right along the coast out in the gulf of mexico, that sea fog could actually last all day. morning, please be careful, visibility is very low. lakeland down to zero. you can only see about a quarter mile in front of you in most places meaning you could barely see down the block. might not be able to see the stop sign or person in the road so take it easy this morning and watch the fog forecast. this is through 6:00, 7:00, 8:00 this morning, still very thick fog. until 10:00 a.m., now this is 10:00 and right after that, we break the fog up on land. and notice places like anna maria island and along the coast, may be socked in with the fog all day. it is also groundhog day. we will see what punxsutawney phil says but with an afternoon high of 80, it's going to feel like an early spring today, only a 10% rain chance. in weather and traffic on the 8s at 4:38, i go through the eight-day temperature trend. but fortu

. >> burgers for everybody, leigh spann! >> i'll take one. it is quite mild when you head ott. you don't need -- when you head outside. you don't need a jacket. you don't get a chill factor when you walk outside. starting in the upper 50s, it does not take us long to get well into the 60s. 10 a.m.. 66 degrees, by your lunch break, patchy clouds, i expect to see a few more clouds than yesterday. 74 at noon. all. was to 77 at 3:00 p.m., the average is around 73. we stay mild, again with the patchy clouds, still about 70 at 7:00 p.m.. only a 5% rain chance today. it is 30% tomorrow, just some spotty showers in the afternoon. the biggest storms will come on wednesday as a cold front comes through and it does dry us out. that is where zero % rain chance on thursday and friday but you will need the coat. here is the temperature trend to show you 77 today. 78 tomorrow. 77 on wednesday with the storms but emoji man is watching the temperatures drop. friday's high, 62, we stay in the mid to upper 60s below average throughout the weekend. 4:38. let's check in on traffic on the 8's to see

let's turn things over to leigh spann. it's still cold out there. >> it's a nice, cool morning. if you're like me and getting ready for the gasparilla distance classic, here's the official run forecast. get the training run out of the it will be cool but tonight, later on, it's actually going to get cold quicker. so you want to get out now. about 47 degrees at 8:00 a.m. extra clouds this morning and the clouds will scour out. and we don't really warm up much. we inch up to 54 at noon. that's about 15 degrees below average at 3:00 p.m. and then the temperatures fall quickly after sunset. in fact, look at this, wesley chapel, 38. 39 plant city. inverness, 31. and you are under a freeze watch for tonight. 37 tonight in lakeland. in our headlines today, still breezy with highs in the 50s now we warm up, upper 60s friday and saturday and slightly cooler and lovely weather for valentine's day. let's check on traffic on the 8s. congestion. >> that's nice. that's something to open your heart about. right now, we have some issues. shore boulevard, one of the southbound lanes is blocked a

i know i like leigh spann's page. it's fun to watch lye reports on weather on facebook. >> yeah, on tuesday morning when we had strong storm, steve jerve and i were live on facebook for an hour and a half. and some people didn't have live on their phones through facebook. and every day around 7:30, i check in with my facebook friends. you know what, i don't have much to talk about in the weather today. gorgeous. a coolness to the air this morning. as the day goes on, this is the forecast for the wind speeds between now and about 7:00, winds out of the north at about 5 to 10 miles per hour this morning. by lunchtime, stronger at 10 miles per hour. but during the afternoon and evening, you will feel more of the northeast breeze at 15 miles per hour. still gorgeous, 37, nice and sunny. in weather and traffic on the 8s, i take you eight days into the future and leslee is going to take you eight minutes into the future if you're leaving the house right now. >>> if you're getting on the veterans expressway, heads up, southb

storm team 8 including meteorologist leigh spann continues to keep an eye on this storm. and she will let you know what happens. we will have updates on-air and on our storm team weather max app. >> i feel bad for the folks in that region but thankful that it's we cannenning before it >>> new this morning, traces of dna are found in the crash of two marine helicopters in hawaii. crews found the dna during search and rescue operations. 12 hawaii-based marines die when had two helicopters crashed during nighttime training. the families of the victims identified were notified. >>> people dealing with the water emergency in flint, michigan may get help paying their water bills. the governor is proposing $30 million in state funding. the money would cover a portion lead-laced water. the move comes as the city contaminated water supply. >>> president barack obama is addiction epidemic. he is asking for a billion dollars to pay for drug treatment for people addicted to heroin. >>> this morning, eight puppies left to die on the side of a tampa road are now recovering. of tampa ba

leigh spann for weather and traffic on the 8's. >> if you stayed up late to watch that game and you're huddled up under the covers it is cold outside. be prepared before you step outside to grab the paper or walk the dog. most of russ in the 30s or 40s. each hour, we warm up significantly. we go from 45 at 8:00 a.m. to 52 at 10 and 65 at 3:00 p.m. should feel comfortable but notice that the clouds increase and then there is a 10% evening rain chance. that is because another cold front is coming through. if you're training like me for the gasparilla distance classic, go for a midday run. it will be a little warmer. front coming through. it will keep highs in the 50s and 60s all week. well below the average of 62. a slim rain chance. you'll keep that heat on all week if you're like me. that is for sure. mid-40's. people are cranking the heat up. >> a lot of us stayed up to watch the super bowl. play. >> you know it reminded us when the buccaneers won the super defense. we have a crash out here, eastbound i-4. this is in the left lane and shoulder. i want you to keep this in mind in ybor

. >>> let's turn things over to leigh spann for weather and traffic on the 8s. >> and it is windy. not that -- windy. nothing like new hampshire and their snowy day. the big story is the wind. it's not going to let up all day. it brings in cooler air. while temperatures aren't bad at 51, we never get much warmer, 58 degrees at 3:00 p.m. and you will need a jacket. notice the cold air is going to ooze south with the strong winds. so go farther north, 50 in inverness. north port at 59. windy in brooksville, 5 0 degrees. right now, coming up on low tide at 8:54. but high tide at 3:18, higher than normal tide, rough conditions on the bay, gale warning, high surf advisory and seas at 10 to 14 feet today. please stay off the water. cool and breezy today, tomorrow and thursday and a slow warm- up. how about traffic on the 8s? >>> well, we're moving at good speeds. we have a couple issues going on. northbound dale mabry highway on 275, the exit ramp still blocked due to overnight construction. we have now got a fourth lane that's opened up. it's all part of the widening project between the

and meteorologist leigh spann is joining us now with a look at what is headed our way. >> well, i want to let everyone know that the strongest storm, the most potential for damaging winds and tornadoes is going to be well to our north. so for us, that's good news. our thoughts to those folks through georgia, south carolina and north carolina as well. but the trailing cold front that you see out in the gulf of mexico, that's what's going to run through here and that's why 10:00 a.m. for mainly areas north of i-4, again, the stronger the storm, sumpter until 10:00 this morning. and right now the storms are right around the big bend area of florida and just pushed through the capitol city of tallahassee. this is a forecast now. starting at 6:00 a.m. and still see, it's dry in an hour and a half. by 7:00, there could be stray showers but the strongest storms will be north of i-4 by about 8:00 this morning, that includes citrus, hernando, pasco and maybe northern portions of pinellas county. as the day goes on, this is going to push to the south. by 10:00 a.m., citrus county starting to dry