i'm gayle guyardo. >> and i'm gene ramirez. let's look weatherwise with leigh. >>> it is a good morning, and when you step outside, you may even notice slightly lower humidity, and for this time of not too bad. it's not great, but it's much better than it has been, and we can actually thank hermine. the remnants of hermine off the northeast coast, and with the counterclockwise wind flow off of it, the red color is being drawn all the way around, and right here in the tampa bay area, and that's why i'm keeping the rain chance today just 20%. at 4:08, an hour-by-hour look at your tuesday, and here's leslee wi >> reporter: it's nice after labor day, at least right now. let's look at what is going on right now. pinellas county, zooming in on a collision. it's at state road 580 at mcmillan. a slowdown in the area. we have a good drive otherwise. let's look here at i-4 at mcintosh road. nice traveling through, and skyway bridge, beautiful drive across it. >> leslee, thank you. >>> we are following breaking news. a 100-year-old home i

here's gayle guyardo with today's gayle's guide to pinterest. >> reporter: making your own wall art is easier than you might think and you can hang it l ck. ood while. agmocan make check out the pins on pinterest. >> they grow really well inside and, especially here in florida. you can have it in an outdoor need live moss. >> or use the same moss that you will use for orchards. >> reporter: and next shake e rt. >> but soak that and just wash it in just water. and you can e the rt mes off. you don't to have a lot of dirt. >> reporter: next take moss, ring it out and place irrelevant on the mount that you can find sizes at the local craft store. >> we start to mount it on there. and you can see they cover over the top of it. >> reporter: and next you will use fishing line. so get out the staple gun. >> make sure that the line is underneath and then just staple it right in. >> reporter: and just keep winding the fishing line around the fern and staple again. you will repeat the step again and again until your fern is secure on the mound. get new ones and that will tide cline the staples a

gayle guyardo found out it's a real concern. what is the alternative. >> on the front lines on the fight against mosquito, crews are using chemicals. people are also being urged to use bug spray. that's a lot of chemicals. >> right now it's the lesser of the two my sister is in her first trimester. i do worry about her and the cam calls. in the short-term, the concern is keeping her and her baby safe. >> pediatrician david agrees, saying there's much we don't know. the doctor warns toxic accumulation is real and children are susceptible. >> i will have patients, who are saying i don't want to risk or my child to deet either so. there's a couple of different approaches that we can take. you know, certainly if a person that feels if deet is the right thing for them, putting it on their clothing as opposed to their skin. if they wear a hat, put it on a hat. >> there's natural products on the market. >> the applications have to happen more frequently than deet. >> its key ingredient is said children as young as 6 months old. >> that

i'm gayle guyardo. >> and i'm gene ramirez. thank you for joining us for this tuesday. we will check the forecast with lee. >> reporter: good morning t feels comfortable in most -- it places this morning. it is 71 in auburndale. and we are at 76 in sarasota, but basically the humidity level today, not too bad category, and for early september, we will take it. we can thank hermine because of it. with the counterclockwise wind flow around it, see the red color? that's dry air sinking all the way down to the tampa bay bay area it will keep the chances very small today. hour-by-hour through tuesday, and we will go back to work and school this morning. >> it's a tough drive right now, and for those of you living in the manatee county area, heads up. i need to allow for extra time here, and there's no easy alternate right now. and again unfortunately that's due to a fatal crash this morning. you're routed around it, and allow for extra time. traffic on the howard frankland bridge, traveling between hillsborough and pinellas county,

. >> and i'm gayle guyardo. let's get you out the door on this friday morning with the tropics. f0 that is the big news this morning. >> that's right. a 2:00 advisory. a special update from the hurricane center came down because hurricane matthew strengthened rapidly overnight when they flew the hurricane hunters into, a category two hurricane. this is the 5:00 a.m. update, came in about an hour ago. still expected to strengthen to a category three major

i'm melanie michael in for gayle guyardo. >> i'm gene ramirez. thank you for joib joining -- joining us. >>> now a check on the weather with leigh. >> good morning. the skies are clear. we will see the sun come horizon. 74 in lutz, 74 in sun city center. 74 in venice and 74 in wimauma. dry for the most part. we had a strong evening thunderstorm. i know you're glad to wake up dry. i wanted to show you there's a couple of lightning strikes just off the sarasota and manatee coastline. it's actually come your way. i'm keeping the forecast introduce i for the next several days. 20% chance by 20% at 3:00 and 40% at 4:00, 5:00 and 6:00. the storms will be relatively slow moving. at 6:28 stay tuned to weather and traffic on the 8s because i have a temperature trend. >>> let's check a look at traffic. >> we have some slow downs because of accidents there. a slow down through ybor city. that's typical. heavy year on normal. down to 13 minute just past linebaugh. downtown tampa not too bad but where i move over near this accident at fowler very, very heavy

i'm gayle guyardo. >> and i'm gene ramirez. >>> an alarming story here. recalling its new galaxy 7 because it can catch on fire. what the faa is warning about the phone so you can stay safe, of course. >> reporter: when you walk outside this morning it will feel a little bit more humid, and not bad, and we have not gone back to july and august levels, but more than yesterday. 72 in brooksville, and it's 77 in northport, at the 24 hours temperature change, we are anywhere from 2- 5 degrees warmer, and when you welcome at the water vapor imagery is right on top of us. the blue colors? yeah, they are creeping in, and that's higher moisture levels, and that's still dry this morning, going up to a 20% rain chance at 3:00 p.m., and 30% at 4:38, an 8-day temperature trend, and leslee will help you get your friday commute started. >> it's not a bad one. it's not perfect, but here's the howard frankland bridge. great drive as you move across it the maps in sarasota county, and there's road work going on here. state road 72 is actually closed to cydell work. they a

. >> gayle guyardo as well. head to wfla.com/heartwalk for more events. >> it's huge. >> yeah, a lot of people. it's a great event and good cause. >>> a neighborhood dispute gets out of hand when one man gets into a bulldozer. >> a wild police chase and shoot-out coming up. an end. >>> first, a military face-off to the presidential candidates. where donald trump and hillary rodham clinton will sound off about national security and how you can watch it. you're watching news channel 8 >>> in your vote, anticipation is building for the first-ever commander in chief forum happening tonight lye on nbc. the two major party presidential candidates will participate. hillary rodham clinton and donald trump will take the stage separately back to back to discuss national security and veterans issues. the questions will come from the audience made up of service members and veterans. you can watch the forum live from new york right news channel 8. matt lauer will moderate. it begins at 8:00 p.m. >>> and across america, a ban

i'm gayle guyardo. >> and i'm gene ramirez. thank you for waking up with us on this tuesday morning. let's get a check on the weather for you, here's leigh. >>> good morning. it is more humid today. and the rain chance is going to

. >> and i'm gayle guyardo. let's find out about the tropics this morning. hunters were founding that hurricane matthew had rapidly strengthened so they put out a special update on it. 100miles per hour winds making it to a category two hurricane and now expected to be a category three or major hurricane by the evening before it makes to the turn to the north this weekend. this is a time stamp here about sunday evening. we don't have to worry this weekend, this will be near jamaica early monday to be -- evening, expected to be in the bahamas. and we are keeping a close eye on it. some of the models are starting to shift a little bit to the west. most take it over the eastern portion of cuba but one or two are sneaking closer to the florida's east coast. we will keep an eye on it. the main concern is when it makes the turn to the north. and while we think we have passed the peak of hurricane season, that was september downward spiral where 60% of all storms form in this area. and we get another bump in late october as well. locally, already seeing actually th

i'm gayle guyardo. >> and i'm gene ramirez. thank you for joining us. everyone is talking about this. battery can catch on fire this morning a warning from the faa about the danger it could cause on airplanes. just ahead, what you need to know before you fly. >> reporter: stepping out the door right now, and you will notice a touch more humidity. we are not back to july levels, and it's not as comfortable as yesterday morning. a heads up before you step outside. right now 77 in in bradenton, and here's perspective for you. inverness, 5 degrees warmer, and here's the reason why. the water vapor imagery. the dry air through the atmosphere, right on top of us yesterday, and that was nice, and you can see the blue color creeping into the area, and that's an indication the moisture level is higher. i'm keeping the rain chances out of the forecast for the first few hours of the day, and chance to 40%, and the storms will push towards the coast. at 5:38, i have an 8-day temperature trend to turn you into the weekend, and let's lee lee will -- and leslee will l

. >> and i'm gayle guyardo. let's get you out the door. >> yeah, it feels comfortable again this morning. the drier air held on for a few more hours and we will take it. 64 in brooksville and zephyrhills. the farther south you go, it's more humid. sebring at 75. this red color is the dry air. the blue colorer is humid air. we are split right down the middle but still holding on to the drier air. so the rain chance today once again, just 20%. mostly for areas south of i-4. highs today without that rainfall, not bad, around 91 degrees. close the average. at 4:08 in weather and traffic on the 8s, i have an hour-by- hourk leslee has the commute. >>> very nice this morning. nice drive across the water. travel times here, palm harbor and the land o'lakes area on u.s. 19, that's a 14 minute commute. and about 13 minutes from state road 52 to state road 54 on u.s. 41. and a live look, i-4 coming through, hitting up at the junction through ybor city, looks great. and 275 at bearss, no delays there. traffic. back to gene

i'm gayle guyardo. >> and i'm gene ramirez. thank you for joining us. everyone is talking about this.

i'm gayle guyardo. >> and i'm gene ramirez. thank you for waking up with us on this thursday morning when we are tracking tropical storm

. >> and i'm gayle guyardo. temperatures are running about average for this time of the year at this point. zephyrhills, brooksville, 71. 73 throughout polk county. and gets warmer to the south and west. notice sarasota you're at 76. that's where it's more humid. sure did enjoy that dry air that was around yesterday. and for the most part, we're going to keep the dry air around today. the afternoon high just above the average of 90. i'm expecting 91 during the below average. we have a 10% rain chance at noon. and 20% after 2:00 p.m. and that's mostly for areas south of i-4. at 5:08, i have an hour-by-hour look at your wednesday. >>> that's right. and it's nice out there. bay area bridges look great, folks. not seeing delays there. this is 275 around kennedy by the howard frankland bridge. and if you're hopping across the howard frankland bridge, it's only going to take you roughly six minutes. again, i just want to mention seidel. it's completely blocked due to a road closure. and they're doing repairs on the ro

i'm gayle guyardo. >> good morning to you. i'm paul mueller in for gene. night, two hbo shows came out on top. >> the emmy awards are trending this morning in tampa. much more on last night's winners in just minutes. >>> first a check on today's weather with leigh. good morning. >> good morning. as we start this work week we actually go through the last few days of summer. fall starts on thursday. we are feeling every bit of summer today. right now 75 in frostproof, 80 in sarasota. enough humidity to get the afternoon storms to form. a 30% rain chance at 4:00 p.m. the storms will be pushing inland. when it's not raining on you steamy with a high of 90. now at 4:38 i'll have a look at the tropics as well as where you can see that rainfall today. leslee is going to help you get through your morning commute. a few issues this morning. 275 at fowler looks fantastic. not so good over here on i-75 right around martin luther king. still have some flashing lights out there. this was a vehicle fire earlier. they have that out. none the less, a disabled vehicle stil

. >> and i'm gayle guyardo. >>> in the past hour or so, we have just seen some thunderstorms dissipate. about 2:00, 3:00, we had intense lightning around the palm harbor area but notice it's quickly dissipated but it is an indication that we could see some showers near the morning coast thanks to a wind flow off the gulf of mexico. but temperatures are cooler than this time yesterday. lakeland, bartow, you're at 70. 74 in sarasota. so i left in a 20% rain chance for the coast in the next few hours. and that's going to go up to a 30% rain chance as the storms push inland through afternoon and early evening. when it's not raining on you, still a high of about 89 degrees today. coming up in weather and traffic on the 8s at 4:08, still tracking that area in the tropics. and leslee lacey has the roadways. >>> good drive so far. we are heading out the door, folk, really nicely at this we're up to speed between state road 64 down to university parkway, roughly a nine minute parkway. and at university, we do have construction by the ramps. and also underneath the interstate on university but y

i'm gayle guyardo. >> and i'm gene ramirez. thank you for waking up with us on this thursday morning when we are tracking tropical storm quickly gaining steam in the caribbean. >> matthew is thousands of miles away. but could florida be in the storm's path? leigh spann is tracking matthew this morning. what's the latest, leigh? >> well, good morning, guys. we are waiting on the 5:00 update. it should happen anywhere between now and 4:50. we will get the information from the hurricane center. it is a strong tropical storm. 65 sustained winds and just the caribbean and moving quickly to the west at 16 miles per hour. and as it moves through warm waters of the caribbean, it should become hurricane matthew. and notice we will be tracking this through saturday night, still well in the caribbean, way away in florida. and then it will make a hard turn to the north, passing by jamaica and heading toward the eastern portion of cuba monday evening. most of the models take this, continue to take this due north eastern portions of florida.

. >> and i'm gayle guyardo. let's get you out the door on this wednesday. >> we're going to talk about tropical storm julia. if you're waking up now, you probably department go to bed. it formed late last night. west of jacksonville. you can see when i turn on the rain and the cloud, it doesn't look different than yesterday when it was the to the south. and really all it did is get the closed circulation so they called a tropical storm. for us, it's helping to draw in tropical moisture around it. the latest on julia, it will head north and west through southeastern georgia and then diminish. it's not moving very fast. but thankfully drift ago away from us. and it's drawing already this morning, watching just a few showers along the coastline. not right on the shore but just off in citrus, hernando and pasco. we have spotty showers along the coast of clearwater beach and seminole out there and then heavier downpours around bradenton and sarasota. during the morning, i expect showers near the coast. toward the aft

i'm gayle guyardo. >> and i'm gene ramirez. thank you for waking up with us on this wednesday morning. made it to the halfway mark, leigh. >> and we're mostly dry.

. >> and i'm gayle guyardo. let's get you out the door. i see someone has stalled. >> that's right. coast. it's sheered apart a lot but it's still a tropical storm. 40miles per hour, thankfully leaving the charleston area alone for the moment because it's been dealing with flooding due to julia, but look at the forecast track. it makes the the loop, starts to come back toward the south carolina coast so they'll be dealing with this through the weekend. this is an active time. we have tropical storm ian which thankfully is not going to be the an issue over off the coast of africa now, tropical depression 12, though it will remain weak. and locally, our big issue is an onshore wind flow. and that adds humidity to the forecast. and you may get one or two showers along the coast in the morning, about a 10% rain chance. and that goes up through the day to about 40% rain chance after 3:00 p.m. and the storms push farther inland. coming up in weather and traffic on the 8s, i have an hour-by-hour look at your >>> right now, it's prety decent. we have an issue -- it's pretty decent. we have

i'm gene ramirez. >> and i am gayle guyardo. let's head to leigh spann. >> hurricane hunters flew into it yesterday and did not find

. >> and i'm gayle guyardo. let's turn things over to leigh spann on this thursday morning. it's nice that we're seeing this stretch of dry weather. >> yeah, not only dry in the fact that the rain chances are low but lower humidity so it feels more comfortable. 67 in brooksville. when you have the lower humidity, temperatures fall more overnight. so we have dropped to 72 in lakeland and auburndale. 76degrees in sarasota. here's what i'm talking about. the water vapor, this shows you where the dry air in red and the humid air in blue and green. so just in our area, the reddish area north of i-4 certainly is entrenched and now it's starting to spread farther to the south. that's really good news as we dry out. a 20% mostly south of i-4. so highs today just above average. i'm expecting 91. 90 is the average. at 5:08, i take you hour-by- hour through your thursday. >>> good commute. let's hope that continues throughout the morning folks. but for your thursday morning, looks very good. paul buchman highway looks good. and 34 over to 75 is just an 11 minute commute. and now on i-4

i'm gayle guyardo. >> and i'm gene ramirez. a controversial vote today in largo. many residents are concerned about a zip line. >> the decision could anger many residents, and we will look at both sides in a minute, but first, the tuesday forecast with lehigh. >> reporter: it may be the day to get outside and enjoy the lowest amount of low humidity. notice zephyrhills, you're at 70. 72 in tampa, and it's bradenton, and we need a day to dry out, obviously at elfers here, that's part of the main flooding area, but myakka and peace river are above flood stage at this point. interestingly enough, we can thank hermine for bringing in the dry air. it's forced all the way down to tampa. the rain chance today, just 20%. at 5:38, i have an 8-day forecast, letting you know if is going on on the roads right now. >> a big problem in manatee county, and this is the big issue in manatee county. if you're out here used to taking state road 70, it's a big issue. it's been downgraded to a possible fatal crash, but 70 nonetheless blocking both d

i'm gayle guyardo. >> a good monday morning to you i'm paul mueller in for gene

. >> and i'm gayle guyardo. speaking of leigh spann, let's find out what's going on in the tropics. >> yeah, a lot of us went to bed with rain to the north and woke up this morning and it's tropical storm julia. basically the same as yesterday. almost all of the rain north and east of the center of circulation, look west of it is dry, basically in the southern part is dry as well. the only thing that's it's going to help do is draw up extra tropical moisture. as of 5:00, just a few minutes ago, still 40 miles per hour winds now. and it's going to quickly be downgraded to a tropical depression as it drifts northward. mainly bringing rainfall to the south carolina. let's talk about what's en the coast. remember, we had the tropical moisture pulling in. so right on the citrus, hernando, pasco border, you might see a shower or two. and then we have heavier pockets into sarasota coastal communities. and i looked at a 20% rain chance this morning. mostly for areas west of 75. as the day goes on, we heat things up. aga

. >> i'm gayle guyardo. >>> let's get you out the door on this monday morning. leigh, how is it looking out there? >> it's quite humid. the last few dame days of summer will feel summer-like. 77 degrees in brooksville, tampa right now at 81 degrees. i expect the afternoon high to be near the average. average is 89. we're going to make it up to 90 by the afternoon. then as far as rain chances they are also quite summer like. dry through the morning, adding a 40% rain chance later in the afternoon and evening. coming up at 4:08 i'm going to track the tropics because we have a few things i'm keeping an eye on. >>> leslee has a few things on the roads. >> we have a little problem on i-75 and martin luther northbound. this is on state road 54 and u.s. 19, looking good through new port richey. a nice drive coming in and out of pasco county. a good drive from 54 to ehrlich and ehrlich down to 275 looks very good. let's take a live look mere. it's -- here. it's the howard frankland bridge . minutes to pass it. that's a look at weather and traffic. now back to paul and g

i'm melanie michael if for gayle guyardo. >> i'm gene ramirez. >>> least has your -- leigh spann has your wake up weather. >> the showers are cleared out so we're left with lingering clouds. temperatures not bad, what we expect for this time of auburndale at 74, 76 in sarasota and 72 in crystal river. after the evening storms i'm keeping it basically dry through the morning. we will bring that rain chance up to about 30% in the early afternoon, 40% by the evening. these storms will be pretty slow moving. if you do happen to be under one of them you may get a good amount of rain out of it. a high today of about 89 degrees. coming up on the weather and traffic on the 8s at 5:08 i'm tracking the trafficking.>> watching. >> it's a good drive out there. a nice morning on the interstates. no delays. i-4 another catronio leap at kathleen road in the heart of lakeland traffic looks wonderful. travel times through manatee and sarasota county. out in the suncoast area state road 64 to fruitville 9 minutes. up to speed plant city and the new tampa area on i-4 and i-75. that's a look at weather

. >> and i'm gayle guyardo. what's going on, leigh? >> well, in just a few hour, it will officially be fall. fall begins at 10:21. what about feeling like fall? the average high today is 88. it will feel summer like. but november first, average high of 81. so we have something to look forward to, it will eventually cool down. drier air in the upper-levels of the atmosphere continues to spread in and that's one of the reasons why i'm keeping the rain chance so small today. very few storms developing, about a 10% chance at midday. only a 20% chance through the afternoon. now it's still hot with a high of 90. in weather and traffic on the 8s, i will take you hour-by- hour through your thursday and leslee is going to help you get through the commute. >>> let's take a look at what's going on here, it's early in the morning, but the howard frankland bridge, no delay, only six minutes. that's it. brooksville. brooksville is also up to speed. no delays throughout hernando county, 48, 50, all riding smooth. and a great drive both sides of the h

i'm gayle guyardo. >> and i'm gene ramirez. thank you for waking up with us many residents concerned about a proposed zip line at the highland complex. >> the decision could anger many residents, and we will take a closer look at both sides in minutes, but first, out to the tuesday forecast with leigh spann. >>> you may want to get outside today because we have lower humidities. lakeland at 72, and you go farther to the south, and it's quite humid. 76 in will be getting into the dryer air. boy is that good knew. yes the anclote river, and that's near cyprus creek and places along the peace river. all are above flood stage. this the water vapor imagery. the dry air continuing to push today, very small. only about a 20% chance during the afternoon and evening, and we need to dry out, and 4:38. a 8-day temperature trend. >> enjoy the roads while we can can, folks it's a nice dry drive. 275 looking good. i-75, roughly 9 minutes on your commute. that is southbound into downtown tampa, and northbound on away at pioneer museum road, a

i'm gayle guyardo. >> and good morning. i'm paul mueller in morning in for gene. hurricane season, it is heated up. there's a new storm out there. >> good morning. which means three named storms in the atlantic. we know about julia and ian. ian not a problem for anybody headed up to the north atlantic. and look at julia, back to tropical storm status. it's still not expected to go anywhere over the next three to four days. it will just hang off the south carolina and north carolina coast. here's the newest storm. tropical storm karl. 45miles per hour winds and will gradually push west, not gaining a lot of strength by tuesday the evening of next week. 70miles per hour winds. now locally, what you notice when you walk outside is the humidity. in the uncomfortable category today which will translate into those summer afternoon showers and thunderstorms. about a 40% chance. mostly east of 75. at 4:08, i will take you hour- by-hour through your friday. and leslee lacey has your commute. >> that's right. >>> a pretty good one. travel times here in palm harbor, up to sp

. >> and i'm gayle guyardo. let's get you out the door bright and early on this tuesday morning. how's it shaping up, leigh? >> well, it's on the humid side, even more so than the 74 in wimauma. and 77 in sarasota. tropical moisture because there's actually a tropical wave. you can see the counterclockwise spin on the east coast. well, it's going to drift to the north and west and help to significantly increase our rain chances. and you might get a quick shower this morning in places like eastern polk county, you can see the rain from the east coast is trying to sneak in your area. i only left in a 10% chance this morning. but after the sunrise, the rain chances go up significantly. 30% at lunchtime. 50% in the middle of afternoon. but a 60% chance later in the day, and heavy rain possible as well. i will take you hour-by-hour through the day in weather and traffic on the 8s. and leslee has the commute. >>> that's right. veterans expressway, looks great new york city delays there. and let's -- looks great, no delays there. and odessa, eight minutes to ehrlich road. and on 275, ro

. >> and i am gayle guyardo. >> hurricane hunters flew into it yesterday and did not find that closed circulation. at this -- closed circulation. at this point, they are giving it about a 90% chance of becoming the next named tropical depression or tropical storm. something interesting will happen. it will head toward the west over the next couple days. through to saturday morning when it's south. but an upper-level trough or a dip in the jet stream is expected to pick this up and move it almost due north. before it heads north? most computer models keeping it near the bahamas but something we will keep a close eye on. this morning, still an onshore wind flow locally which is pushing spotty showers on the coast of citrus county. through the day, almost like yesterday, almost all of the rain pushes east of 75. about a 30% rain chance between 2:00 and 6:00. so coming up in weather and traffic on the 8s at 4:08, i your wednesday. gayle, back to you. >> thank you so much, leigh. >>> right now, a st. petersburg little league is striking out because of a cash crunch that could keep kids off

i'm gene ramirez. >> and i'm gayle guyardo. let's turn things over to leigh spann on this thursday morning. it's nice that we're seeing this stretch of dry weather. >> yeah, not only dry in the fact that the rain chances are low but lower humidity so it feels more comfortable.

i'm gene ramirez. >> and i'm gayle guyardo. let's get you out the door this thursday morning morning. it looks like julia has stalled. f0 >> still stalled off the south carolina coast. now this morning about an hour ago, it was downgraded to a tropical depression, 35 miles per hour winds and thankfully all the rain is pushing off into the atlantic. but look at this forecast track, it's not a track. it just sits there. today, friday, the weekend, by

. >> and i'm gayle guyardo. let's get you out the door this thursday morning morning. tropical depression. has winds of about 35 miles per hour. but look at this forecast. it's going to drift around through the day today, through the day tomorrow, through the day on sunday. never really leaving this area which will keep the seas churned up and even rainfall. we have tropical depression julia there. and tropics are active. tropical storm ian in the central atlantic which is a problem for no one. and tropical depression 12 which will encounter a lot of wind sheer strong as it moves toward the west. locally, it's humid but at this point, no rain. we could see a shower along the coast so i left in a 10% rain chance this morning. by lunchtime, it's about a 20 to 30% chance. and up to 40% rain chance later in the day. in weather and traffic on the 8s, i have an hour-by-hour look at your thursday. and leslee lacey has the commute this morning. >>> we have a couple issues. north port area, sumpter boulevard, the entrance ramp to county, that entrance ramp is blocked. they are

i'm gayle guyardo. >> and happy friday. i'm paul mueller in for gene today. and let's check in with >> that's right. f0 this is an active part of hurricane season. we've had ian and not a bother to anyone. and now we have julia and as of last night, tropical storm karl. so i'm going to focus on julia. still a tropical storm. actually yesterday downgraded to a tropical depression so it strengthened. notice the forecast track doesn't have it moving anywhere through the weekend. finally taking off to the north and east into next week and moving away from the carolina coast. and here's karl. miles per hour winds now. and it will slowly get some strength as it moves west. in fact, the latest forecast here, wednesday morning, it is a category one hurricane. i like seeing that the forecast is starting to move north. hopefully it will stay away from the united states but at this point, it bears watching because it's headed west. locally, feeling a little tropical. uncomfortable amount of humidity today. and that's going to translate into, well, typical summer if you

i'm gayle guyardo. >> and i am gene ramirez. thank you for joining us on this wednesday morning. the former miss universe right now in the center of a political storm. hillary rodham clinton brought her name up during the presidential debate. >> this morning, she is telling her side of the story during much more on this controversy in just minutes. but first, a check on the wednesday forecast with leigh spann. f0 >>> yeah, we have invest 97l. and it has a 90% chance of becoming the next tropical system, whether a tropical depression or tropical storm matthew. the hurricane hunters are expected to fly into it this morning. they flew in yesterday and did not find a closed circulation even though they found strong winds so we will see what they find this sustained winds of 40 miles per hour and it's going to continue in the westerly otion through saturday morning. then it's going to react to an upper-level in dip in the jet stream which is going to make it apparently move almost due north just off florida's east coast is a strange path, i know so we're watching it closely to see how

i'm gayle guyardo. >> and i'm paul mueller in for gene this morning. hurricane season, it is certainly heating up. there's a new named storm out there. so let's get straight to >> good morning. that's right. three named storms right now in the atlantic. we have ian, julia and newly formed tropical storm karl. now ian is going to head to the north and not be an issue for anyone. so we're going to focus on julia and karl. julia, still a tropical storm. it weakened to a tropical depression yesterday and it should return to tropical depression status tomorrow. it's going to move off the south carolina and north carolina coast. and now karl. karl is a 45 miles per hour and slowly gain some strength and in fact this latest forecast has it becoming a category one hurricane wednesday morning but notice it's starting to move it to the north. we hope it stays out to sea. in the meantime, feels tropical locally. uncomfortable amounts of humidity today. not oppressive. but uncomfortable. and that's going to translate into a typical round of summer afternoon storms

i'm gayle guyardo. >> and i'm gene ramirez. thank you for waking up with us on this wednesday morning. half way through the work week. not a bad place to be. >> yeah, yesterday we woke up and felt a little taste of fall with drier air around. drier air today. that humid air is starting to sneak back, especially into our southern areas but rain chances basically out of forecast for the first half of the day. and even when i add a 20% rain chance this afternoon, it's mostly south of i-4. and boy, that's good news for the river flood warnings. still all of the rivers remain at or above flood stage, little manatee, cyprus creek, peace river. be careful around the communities. again, the rivers still high. at 4:38 in weather and traffic on the , temperature trend for you for the rest of the work week and the weekend. and leslee has the roadways. >>> well, we have a good drive overall. we had a little problem out in ruskin. that has cleared up. we will get to that in a second. lakeland, i-4 , looks great. downtown lakeland is 13 minu

. >> and i am gayle guyardo. let's head to leigh spann. >> hurricane hunters flew into it yesterday and did not find f0 going to fly back in this morning and at this point, they are giving it a 90% chance of becoming the next tropical system, whether it's a tropical depression or tropical storm matthew. and it's moving west at 18 miles per hour right now with sustained winds at 40 miles per hour. so it has tropical storm-force winds but not that closed circulation. as it moves west, between the next couple day, it's going to be south of the dominican republic and haiti by saturday morning at 8:30. and then a dip in the jet system up and move it almost due north. a strange path. our concern will be just how far west it goes before it makes the turn to the north. at this point, all the models keep it in the bahamas but we're watching it, that's for sure. locally, an onshore wind flow so we have seen the spot city showers. here's one. and this will happen through the next couple hours. soy left in a 10% rain chance

i'm gayle guyardo. >> and i'm gene ramirez. thank you for waking up with us on this thursday morning when we are tracking tropical storm matthew which is quickly

i'm gene ramirez. >> and i'm gayle guyardo. speaking of leigh spann, let's find out what's going on in the tropics. >> yeah, a lot of us went to bed with rain to the north and woke up this morning and it's tropical storm julia.

i'm gayle guyardo. >> and i'm gene ramirez. let's get you out the door with a check on the weather with leigh spann. >> you know, it's not too bad. air. yeah, it's still around but the blue and green, the humidity, farther to the south is trying to creep back in. it's not going to feel as nice as yesterday. but for this time of year, it feels good. rain chances just 20% through the afternoon. and that's mostly for areas south of i-4. we need another day to dry out. the anklet river reached stage. cyprus creek, peace river, arcadia, all areas still under flood warnings along the river. in weather and traffic on the 8s, i have an eight-day temperature trend to get you through the weekend. and leslee has the commute. >>> we have an accident in tampa at broadway and 50th. seminole, we have a road closure that's kicked off. northbound, some of the lanes blocked in the middle between east bay and ulmerton. take starkey road and avoid the mess. meanwhile, no delays right now because traffic is light or all. and again, that quick remin

i'm gayle guyardo. >> and i'm gene ramirez. thank you for waking up with us for the day. >> not too bad. last full day of summer and. right now, it's warm but it's dry. notice the showers off of pinellas and pasco counties at this moment. not making their way closerrer to the coast. and i want to show you through the atmosphere though. the red color is nice, dry air. and blue and green, that's a the humid air. but what's been happening in the last few hour, the red color is starting to spread south. and this is upper-level dry air. and what that will do the for us, but it will keep our rain chances slightly lower which is why it's just 10% this morning. and during the afternoon, only a 30% chance. still hot and humid today with a high of 90. coming up in weather and traffic on the 8s, i am tracking the tropics, two systems i'm watching for you. and leslee has her eye on the roads. >>> we have a good drive here. it is just very, very nice out there. seeing more vehicles out on the roadway but it's still very light. here's 275 at

i'm gayle guyardo. >> and i'm gene ramirez. leigh spann has your wake-up weather. >> well, good morning. right now, we're more

video even though gayle guyardo was manning the power tools. >> it worked out. and did you see the sense of accomplishment? >> yes. >> that's awesome. >> you can get more on gayle's guide to pinterest. good stuff on there. >>> and leigh, another gorgeous day. >> it's been so nice. kind of a taste of fall. not going to last long. land o'lakes, 85 degrees. gorgeous out there. 86 in plant city. already warming up to 89 in sarasota. 82 in clearwater. and a high today of 91 degrees. mostly dry and hot. the rain chances 20% today south of i-4. still only a 20% rain chance tomorrow. but those rain chances increase toward the weekend. and i've been hearing everyone just feeling how much better it feels. lower the humidity a little bit and makes such a >> i'll see you again on first at 4:00 and tonight on news channel 8 at 6:00. >> and you can get more on our . . . >>> from nbc news, this is "today" with kathie lee gifford and hoda kotb 1-a in rockefeller plaza. >> we are going to like this song. >> gavin degraw. >> my daughter wants to go to his concert. >> he kicks it.

i'm gene ramirez. >> and i'm gayle guyardo. and let's get you out the door with a quick check of the forecast with leigh spann. >> yeah, grab the umbrella before you leave the door.

i'm gayle guyardo. >> and i'm gene ramirez. thank you for waking up with us

i'm gene ramirez. >> and i'm gayle guyardo. let's get you out the door this thursday morning morning.