Hurricane center a tropical depression. However, it is expected to strengthen. Which is why we have some advisories for our area actually continuing up along the panhandle of florida. Let me zoom in here and show you, we have a Tropical Storm warning now. Now thats upgraded from a Tropical Storm watch. The difference is, that a watch means its 48 hours out. A warning means its 36 hours. Meaning its just getting closer to us. The warning goes for citrus, hernando and pasco. Theres offshore. This system is not expected to become a hurricane but you could see wind gusts at hurricane strength. Which is again why the watch 48 hours remains offshore. Tomorrow morning, about this time, 50 Miles Per Hour winds. Still well offshore. And in fact, this advisory has slowed this thing down. 2 00 in the afternoon, tomorrow, 6 aMiles Per Hour winds still. Relatively far offshore. Now i believe its going to come onshore around midnight thursday into friday. Right around the big bend of shaded line there, down to pasco county. Thats a Tropical Storm warning. And then the system heads out into the atlantic and we dont have to worry about it anymore. Watch the Tropical Stormforce winds. Thats this yellow shaded area. For the most part, it stays offshore tomorrow afternoon. And look at the tampa metro area, we get the onshore southwest flow which means our tide cant really go out. When high tide happens at 2 41 combined with 48 hours of rain, we could be dealing with intense flooding around the area. Already in pinellas down to manatee and sarasota counties. At 6 80 in weather and traffic on the 8s, i take you hourby hour through the day. And leslee is going to take through you the commute. Thats right. And it is a wet one. A lot of accidents popping up. Lets go ahead and take a look northbound on the Sunshine Skyway bridge towards the Pinellas County side. And look at the delays here, an accident southbound 275 away from st. Pete. And all eastbound i4 right before mcintosh road. And then another crash, this tampa road. Thats a look at weather and traffic. A handcuffed suspect is on the loose this morning. They are looking for this man. He was arrested in a traffic stop near fowler avenue and 22nd street. He and another suspect were in the car when he somehow escaped. Now inside his car, deputies found 20 bags of heroin drug charges this morning. And new this morning, ai School Closing in Hillsborough County. The literacy Leadership Academy in Progress Village closed today after a Lightning Strike causing damage there. The lightning injuring two Staff Members were at the time both leaning up against a building. Good news here, they should be okay. And more good news, no students were hurt. We are tracking the tropics of course and tropical depression nine. Starting to see some of the effects of the tropical moisture in the atmosphere, especially along the coastal areas. News channel 8s mary mcguire is live from st. Pete beach. And mary, the last time you were out there, the thunder and lightning we were both, wow, what is it like right now . Reporter since the last live shot, we have moved to get away from the lightning. That was a little bit scary if the last half hour. The rains have been heavy this morning. And we have seen a lot of lightning and a thunder. And i know a concern for a lot of people as they head out the doors this morning is going to be the road conditions. And while we were driving over here from tampa to pinellas, we did see a lot of roads covered in water. And as you can see across the street from here, youre seeing a lot of puddling, a lot of big puddles of water. So folks definitely need to stay safe as theyre going out their doors maybing their morning commutes. By Tropical Storm colin. Residents here were under a sewer system emergency because that system was so indated by those flood waters. And since then, they have made upgrades to that system. They have increased the capacity so hopefully no sewage water will go into residents homes during this potentially Severe Weather. And i can tell you that its raining out here very hard this morning. But i want to show you, we have been outside for about 10 minutes and i want my boot thats how much water has accumulated in my boot just walking through the puddles. So certainly a wet morning. Stay safe on those roads. Back to you. Lets hope that sewage stays where its supposed to in that area. Mary mcguire live in st. Pete beach this morning, thank you so much. People in south tampa are bracing for lots of rain and the flooding that typically happens in tomorrows. News channel 8s ryan hughes is may meet, it might be canceled with the bad weather, to talk about flooding. We can see it starting to happen behind you there. Theres a new fee. Reporter yeah. Exactly. This flooding issue, gayle, is something thats lingered for quite some time. There was a fee put in place last year. And theres a new one on the table that would replace the drains like the one you see right here here in tampa. City officials tell us they are certainly needed because of all the rain. And lets go it shows parts of south tampa after heavy rains, roads, parking lots and roads were submerged. City leaders insist there will be more scenes like this without replace. S and repairs. In some case, a complete overhaul is needed. Now last year an assessment rose from 36 to 28 for many residents to pay for clearing and cleaning. We got reaction to that. Listen here. Were never going to get rid do a better job of managing the water and managing these big storms. Reporter that was the city council. This is an issue obviously taking center stage today, tomorrow and friday because this area is certainly prone to flooding. It will also take center stage at a City Council Meeting slated for tomorrow evening where they are expected to discuss the fee. But we will let you know if that meeting goes on, gayle. Back to you. Something needs to be done because its a g south tampa. Thanks, ryan. A reminder for bucs fans this morning. The Stormy Weather forced the team to move the preseason game against the redskins to tonight. We are your official bucs station. And of course, you can watch the game right here on news channel 8 at 8 00. In your vote 2016 this morning, Election Results from last night florida primary. Look at the numbers right there. U. S. Senator marco rubio easily defeats the republican challenger to move on to the general election in november. Thats compared to the challengers 19 . Senator rubio will face off with representative Patrick Murphy come november. In case you missed last nights election result, we have all of it posted online. Head over to wfla. Com. All right, its 6 08. The weather is really heating up. It certainly is. And we have an update that just happened at the top of the hour. I wanted to bring that to you first off. Theres now a Tropical Storm warning for all of citrus county, all of Hernando County and all of pasco county. Now again the Tropical Storm warning means that Tropical Stormforce conditions could be felt within 36 hours. Earlier, about 20 minutes ago when the National Hurricane center september the original update out, it had inland areas still under the watch. All that county now, citrus, hernando and pasco under the orange shaded area, thats a hurricaneforce gusts within 48 hours. Different kind of watch though on land. Flood watch will go into effect at 2 00 p. M. Because weve seen just a ton of rain throughout Pinellas County, heading over the bay bridges into Hillsborough County, fish hawk, plant city, downtown tampa, down into manatee and sarasota counties, heavy rainfall. Hourbyhour, cloudy, rainy, you get the drift. 28 at noon. 85 at 3 00. 80degrees around 7 00 p. M. Pockets of heavy rain really flooding tomorrow. Widespread 6 to 9inch of rain could fall through friday. And locally, higher threats there. Wind threats, the strongest wind north of i4 closer to the Tropical Storm. And rough surf, isolated tornadoes also an issue. We will check with traffic on the 8s where i know its going to start to get very slippery. Yeah, definitely very slippery. And we are seeing more accidents. Theyre not tying up lanes. Nonetheless, sarasota around the shoulder. Palm harbor, about 16 minutes. Im focusing on 19 because we have a crash right at tampa. Allow for extra time through the area. And lets head over here. We have an did he want here. You can see a delay, accident reportedly northbound on the Sunshine Skyway bridge. But im seeing southbound delays there where the crash is. Thats a look at weather and traffic. Now back to paul and gayle. Thank you so much, leslee. Singer chris brown in trouble with the law again. Thats right. Coming up, the Reason Police had to the take him arrest him. We have the new information this morning. And concussions in high school sports. Up next, what bay area schools are doing to keep students safe. Its 6 10 the. Youre watching news channel 8 in this mornings get schooled report, the seris you know, they are becoming a reality for any student who takes part in sports l its football, soccer, cheer leading. Leslee lacey has a look at what we need to know when it comes to sports related concussions. Reporter well, our brains control everything about us. And with over 1. 6 million sports related concussions occurring each year, it makes sense that parents would be concerned and thats one reason why the Shriners Hospital just created the first concussion the goal of the clinic is to have kids safely return to sports but its tough knowing whether your child has a concussion. There is no golden test to do the test. Oh, you have a concussion. Reporter but there are symptoms. Hyperactivity after impact, balance issue, headaches, irritability, restlessness and sleepiness, nausea and or vision impair. He states 80 of sports football. With one out of five con cussed each year. So how are Hillsborough County schools reacting . It is mandatory that they take a concussion awareness video online before theyre allowed to even practice with us. Reporter and players must take the nationally recognized impact test. What about preventative measures on the field . We can certainly decrease the possibility by teaching shoulder tackling. Reporter females have more concussions than boys in the now the doctor tells me that womens necks are weaker than boys. And even with a mild concussion, you get rotation in the neck. And of course theres a key ingredient to heading the ball. But most soccer concussions actually occur from player to player contact. So play the ball not the person. The idea is not to let a child go back to sports before theyre ready because if they get another concussion while recover the first mortality then. Reporter but the good news is 98 of children with sports related concussions recover fully and 80 can be back on the field in two weeks. The key is time for recovery. The doctor tells me the clinic has adopted the middle school to research and treat and is attempting to adopt middle schools as well. What do you do . Just not send your kids to do the that. There was a lot of studies that say kid cans suffer from depression and negative affects if you keep them out of sports and most concussions happen for other reasons, not sports. Car wrecks and other things president. Keep your kids in sports. Just make sure you get them to the doctor. All right. Love that shriners clinic though. Thank you. Singer chris brown has been released from jail after a bizarre standoff with ce its likely you couldnt avoid the coverage, even if you arent into top 40 or r b music. Meredyth censullo is here to tell us what happened overnight. What do you got . Reporter yeah, and whether or not you should just stay off social media again today. Chris brown was holed up at his home in los angeles all day tuesday while police waited for a search warrant. And this start when had a woman accused him of pointing a gun at her early Tuesday Morning when she was partying at his to question him and he wouldnt come out. So they got a search warrant and scoured his home. And he was taken into custody and charged with assault with a deadly weapon. He posted 250,000 bond early this morning. Now brown has denied any wrongdoing. He actually posted a series of profanityfilled videos on instagram yesterday talking about how hes a great dad and attacking authorities. When i call th endangering my life, they dont come to the next day. Let somebody make a [ bleep ] upped allegation about me and oh, yeah, the [ bleep ] s. W. A. T. Team. Reporter in 2090, chris brown was arrested for assaulting his then girlfriend rihanna. He was sentenced to probation, Community Service and Domestic Violence classes. What do you mean . Come on. Thank you so much. You can weigh in on social media. Use the 8alert. A lot of folks waking up and wants to know what is going on weatherwise. And it is busy. Yeah, probably hearing a lot of rain and thunder outside your window right now. And let me focus on what just changed. The latist advisories. Citrus, hernando and pasco. And now the entire county is under a Tropical Storm warning and that means that tropical or could be felt within 36 hours. At the same time, theres a hurricane watch in effect for just offshore as well. Now that doesnt mean the storm is going to be a hurricane, it means that theres a chance that it could reach up to hurricaneforce gusts. The other thing is, theres a flood watch that will go into effect around 2 00 today. No doubt puddles are forming in Pinellas County where for the last six hour, it has been pouring. Now the entire county including over into Hillsborough County, southern portion of plus county, 2 to 3 inches. Even an inch in portions of Hillsborough County. Rain coming down, fish hawk, plant city, farther down to the south. Spotty rain but rain nonetheless. Throughout the day, inland areas will be drier than the coastal communities. Overcast, rain, off and on all day, 82 at noon. 85 rain coming onshore. Theres the tropical depression. So not necessarily a rain band, more just the fact that everything is moving around it. So drawing up the tropical moisture. If its not raining on you all day, there will be rain around all day off and on, cloudy skies. Setting the the stage unfortunately for the even heavier rain coming through tomorrow. When we have the Tropical Storm off the coast. So we are saturating the ground today. Flooding rains will be possible tomorrow. And rough surf. Closer to the center of circulation north of i4. 80 rain chance tomorrow. And still a 60 rain chance on friday before its drier and the weekend. But its wet now. We have so many accidents just popping up left and right. This is new. And its tying up lanes here. You got to squeeze by in the left two lanes. This is southbound 275 at 28th south. You can see well got a fire truck there. And weve got a car, looks like its into the guardrail and other emergency this is southbound traffic here in Pinellas County. So ill be keeping an eye on the roadways. Stay tuned. Thats weather and traffic. A big change for a star wars character. Yeah, that story is still ahead. And freebies from chipotle . What the chain is doing to win back customers. Youre watching news channel 8 chipotle is offering some freebies starting next month which is tomorrow. On suns, kids will get a free meal with the purchase of an entree and high school and College Students with a valid school id will get a free drink when they buy an entree. The force of luke sky walker and his beard the buzz online. Now he has shaved it off. In fact, he shared the process on twitter. The beard is gone until at least episode nine. All right, shifting gears. Donald trump will meet with mexicos president today. How this could impact his immigration speech today. Thats in the next half hour. And a very emotional reunion, a gravely ill mother and her daughter hug each other after years aa twoday part. In downtown tampa. We will have more of that in weather and traffic on the 8s . Amazing sleep stays with you all day and all night. Sleep number beds with Sleepiq Technology give you the knowledge to adjust for the best sleep ever. The time is now for the biggest sale of the year, where all beds are on sale save 50 on the labor Day Limited Edition bed. The rain is coming down here at 6 28. A flood watch will go into effect at 2 00 p. M. But i have no doubt we are seeing ponds on th 2 to 3 inches, especially in the southern part of the county. Heavy downpours across the bay bridges and down into manatee and sarasota. When you send the kids to the bus stop today, send them out with the rain gear. Already rain this morning. And its not letting up any time today, leslee. All right. Well looking at the roadways, theyre very slick. A lot of accidents. Most of them are getting cleared pretty quickly. This one looks like its still tying up the right lane. 28th street. And also a crash right on u. S. 19 around tampa road. Ive got more accidents coming tracking the tropics. A Tropical Storm warning has just been issued for part of our coastline. The latest on tropical depression nine and how it could affect our area next. Crossing the border, meet with mexicos president today. How this could impact his immigration speech later on today. Final goodbye. One of tampas most respected religious leaders will be laid to rest today. Details of the funeral mass just ahead. Well, good morning and welcome to news channel 8 today. Im gayle guyardo. And im paul mueller in many thunder sleet morning for gene. All right, lets get you out the door. Folks are waking up wanting to yes, and interestingly enough, still a tropical depression. Tropical depression nine in the gulf of mexico. And now when i look at the satellite imagery, it looks relatively well formed. However, the Hurricane Center said when they flew into it, they didnt see the organization enough to upgrade it yet. Now heres the interesting part, yes, it is expected to strengthen and that is why as gayle just mentioned, we have Tropical Storm warnings now for the entire big bend of florida including the entire counties of citrus, hernando and pasco. And again that is an upgrade from a all of these orange shaded areas, inverness, rocksville, new port richey, zephyrhills, youre under a Tropical Storm warning. And that means you could feel Tropical Stormforce winds within 36 hours. A hurricane watch is offshore. Not that the storm is going to make it to hurricane status but there could be wind gusts up to hurricane strength. The latest advisory came in about an hour and a half ago. Thursday morning, tomorrow morning, a Tropical Storm storm Miles Per Hour but i notice that really slowing this system down, we were thinking it was going to make land fall tomorrow afternoon. And now it looks more like tomorrow night into early friday morning. This is 2 00 a. M. On friday which unfortunately means we have even longer to deal with the rain associated with it. Even though the system itself is going to pass to our north. And were already seeing rain. This is unfortunately setting the stage for what could be a pretty big flooding event over the next 4648 hours. Heavy down, now moving into tampa, along 75, south through manatee and sarasota counties for quite some time. A flood watch at 2 00 p. M. After the pockets of heavy rain today. And add in todays rain, tomorrows rain and what could happen on friday, widespread 6 to 9 inches of rain locally. Wind threats of course strong wind gusts close to Tropical Storm strength north of i4, rough surf, isolated tornadoes. Thats mainly for tomorrow. In weather and traffic on the what will happen with the tropical system. Most of the accidents are off to the side of the roadway and getting cleared quickly. This does look better. We only have the left lane open southbound on 275 right around 28th street south. So i want you to keep that in mind. And lets go to the maps now, u. S. 19 at tampa road, a collision in the palm harbor area. A little bit of a slow down. And northbound on the Sunshine Skyway bridge, right underneath a little icon fhp says accidents still in lanes there. And look at this, see where its orange . Fhp telling me theres a lot of water on the roadway. Now this is coming out of downtown st. Pete. And this is 275 northbound. Apparently a lane or two is taken away. Use caution. Thats a look at weather and traffic. And now back to paul and gayle. We are tracking the tropics Team Coverage continues. Parts of the bay area prone to flooding as we know. One of the worst, south tampa. You later. The area seems to get played with high water and heavy rain during severe storms. News channel 8s ryan hughes is live on bay shore boulevard in hyde park this morning. Boy, the rain is coming down there. As the tropical depression approaches, theres a whole lot of concerns and one of them is that the drains may back up. Reporter exactly. Good morning to you once again, paul. Last year a new fee was implemented to clean and clear the drains a like the one you see behind me. Now this was the scene after heavy rain in south tampa not too long ago. Roads, pathing lots and yards are under water. Tampa city leaders insist there will be more scenes like this without a big increase in storm water fees. Last year, the assessment rose from 36 to 82 degrees for many residents to pay for the cleaning of drains. And now a complete overhaul is a big concern now that tropical depression nine is right on our doorstep. Listen here. We have water up to everybodys front door because of clogged drains. Reporter and it really gets bad out here. Residents expected to be the city council is xerox copied to talk about the potential new fees 9 a meeting tomorrow. That is if the meeting goes off without a hitch. So a big deal here. T accidented with the meeting tomorrow. We will see if the meeting even takes place. Ryan hughes live for us this morning. Ryan, thank you so much. Places like st. Pete beach learned lessons from the Tropical Storm back in june when it it caused massive flooding and sewage problems. Mary mcguire is now live from there. Mary, how are folks in Pinellas County getting ready for the potential Severe Weather . It seems to be happening right pete beach. We have experienced really heavy rain, winds, a lot of thunder and also a lot of lightning. And i know a concern for a lot of folks as they step out the door and embark on their morning commute is street flooding. And we have seen some localized street flooding out here in st. Pete beach. The readies are cofered with puddles. So definitely take it slow. Turn around, dont drown. We always say that in flooding events like this. And residents are on edge be during the Tropical Storm. The sewer system actually was so plugged up that folks here couldnt use their water for days. Im told that they have made upgrades to the sewer systems since then. They have increased the capacity. So hopefully no raw sewage is flowing into residents homes out here. And another concern are the home bound residents here, those who cannot leave their home on their own. Im told that 400 residents here in Pinellas County have theyre in case they need to get rescued in the event of a flooding emergency or anything like that. But certainly, the weather, its calmed down a little bit. Its not raining as hard right in this moment as it has been this morning. But certainly the winds have been picking up. And you can see over here in the bay, the waves are crashing up as well. So a lot of tropical moisture going on out here this morning in st. Pete beach, gayle. Hopefully people are preparing themselves. Thank you so much, mary. Happening today, thousands of people expected to attend the funeral mass for the priest. The service slated to start at 11 30 this morning at st. Lawrence catholic church. After the service, he will be laid to rest at memory cemetery. He is one of tampas most respected and religious and civic leaders. He was 87 years old. Today beginning at 11 30 a. M. A big day for republican president ial candidate donald trump. Tonight he will deliver a speech outlining his immigration policy at a unity rally in arizona. But before that, he will meet with the president of mexico. Late last night trump tweeted, i have accepted the invitation of president Enrique Pena Nieto of mexico and look very much forward to meeting him tomorrow. Trumps running mate governor mike pence will be if the bay area today. Pence will attend lunch in st. Petersburg and after that, he will travel to sarasota for a campaign rally. That rally is scheduled to start at 4 00 p. M. It will be a busy day for the clinton campaign. Today the fbi is expected to release the report it sent to the Justice Department recommending that no charges will filed against Hillary Rodham clinton. The democratic candidate will campaign in ohio today. Right now, lets check in with leigh spann. A lot of stuff going on there. Mexico. But the outer reaches of it, that counterclockwise spin, starting to bring us some heavy rain. And you know when tropical rains fall, they fall hard. The flood watch goes into effect for the coastal areas at 2 00 today. But no doubt that were seeing big puddles in Pinellas County where its been raining for almost six hours. And its lighter there now than earlier. And we still picked up anywhere from an inch to 2. 5 inches of rainfall in thats really doing a number on our roadways. Moderate continues to fall toward plant city and fish hawk. And spotty downpour, tropical downpours throughout manatee and sarasota as well. I expect off and on rain which means no sign and not a lot of warmer means no sun and not a lot of warmer. An afternoon high of 85. The bucs rain game today, heavy downpours when its. We will when it starts. Now again some places higher than that, some places lower. A broad brush. It soaks the ground, saturated the ground so that tomorrow when the most rainfalls, between tomorrow and friday, thats when we could see the rainfall totals stack up. And thats when we could see the flooding conditions on top of the fact that we have e rain doesnt have anywhere to go. We rely on the low tide to bring the rain away from the streets. Next two days, could be quite troublesome. And now we will check on the roadways because we know theyre wet and troublesome. They are. And you know, its fun to play in the rain and football but not fun in traffic. Its a mess. Lets look northbound on the Sunshine Skyway bridge. Fhp tells me this accident out here tying up lanes. Not seeing slow downs. Oh, behind the icon theres a slow down. Bridge. Also due to an overturned vehicle. And look at this, slick roads here and fhp is telling me theres a lot of water on the roadway right here, 275 folks. And then thats in downtown st. Pete. And then also southbound. Still only got the left lane getting by on 275 at 28th street south. And now back to paul and gayle. All right. Thank you, leslee. An emotional reunion between a mom and her daughter who lives in cuba, yeah, so beautiful. Coming up, you dont want to miss the its 6 41. Youre watching news channel 8 f0 happening today, a historic flight to cuba. Jetblue begins flights today. It makes it the First American airline with regularly scheduled flights from the island. It will take off from fort lauderdale. Jetblue one of several Airlines Transportation for roundtrip flights to the island. Now an update to a story we first told you about in may. A desperate plea for help. A gravely ill womans dying wish to be reunited with her daughter seemed impossible. Red tape and the florida straits keeping them miles apart. Well now as gene ramirez shows us, her daughter is in the bay area after her travel from cuba was finally approved. Reporter an emotional motherdaughter reewe i dont know. Her wish came true for the first time in nearly four years, her daughter is at her side. She doesnt let me leave for a single second she tells us. The its been a long road. While she worked to overcome complications from kidney failure that left her partially paralyzed, her daughter worked to overcome legal road blocks to obtain a nonimmigrant visa she wanted to see her mother, possibly for the last time. And now theyre working on catching up. Im happy, happy because my daughter came she says. She could barely utter a word in may. And now her breathing tube is gone and physical therapy is helping her move again. She tells us her daughters hugs and kisses what she needed most. Her daughter urges others in similar situations to never give up. Assuring them what theyre going through. You feel trapped. In a place where others have control and decide for you. This morning, the big story is tropical depression nine. We are reminding you to prepare now. Just in case. News channel 8s Meredyth Censullo now with important reminders about your number one communication, your tool. And thats in many thunder sleet mornings eight alert. Reporter for many of us, our phones are our connection storm. And of course we recommend you download the free news channel 8 weather max app. There you can tailor alerts to receive Severe Weather notifications from news channel 8 as well as the National Weather service. Theres also a live radar option. Thats really helpful this morning. Now of course is the time to charge your phones and other devices. If you have an extra power source, charge that too. And if you dont have one, pick one up today. Theyre super cheap and theyre great to have around at any time. Or to your cellphone in case local service goes down. Limit your social media networking. If theres major storm damage. Thats going to clear the network for Emergency Communications and of course its going the save your battery. And remember, in an emergency, Text Messages may go through faster than phone calls. And of course, you can stay connected with wfla 14 7 through our facebook, website and twitter. Paul good stuff. Thank you so much. And of course ; share the 8alert. The time right now just seconds away from 6 48 on this wednesday morning. Whats going on with depression nine . Well, still out there in the gulf of mexico. And the general flow around it is counterclockwise. Were over here on the east side of it. Notice winds are coming from the south. Think about the backwards of a clock, coming around like this and its drawing up tropical moisture. A flood watch will go into effect at 2 00 through today and continue through friday evening. But no doubt, theres ponding on e Pinellas County where places have seen 2 to 3 inches of rain, already not good considering the fact that were expecting another 48 hours more of rain. Now the heavy rain is. Cooing down all of pinellas, over the bay bridge, into downtown tampa. Air force base, eastern portions of Hillsborough County, plant city, sneaking a little bit into polk county. But most of us in hillsborough, manatee and sarasota. And thats where its been all morning long. Again, all moving from south to spin. Sky cast, dont expect much sunshine. Cloudy, showers, 78 degrees at 8 00 a. M. 82 with storms. Breezy at times at lunchtime. And 77 degrees, excuse me 70 rain chance with a high of 85 degrees later today. So there you see the forecast model starting around 7 00 a. M. Pockets of rain. Now watch what happens, billion really never get out of this track of rain off the gulf. Higher rainfall totals along and west of 75. Drier to but again, theres not a time thaw see 1 00, 2 00, when someone isnt seeing rain. It may not rain on you all day but you could see widespread areas near the coast of 1 to 2 inches of rain. Tropical depression nine should become a Tropical Storm through the northern gulf of mexico. Slowing down now. Still expected to make land fall not until midnight into friday morning. So this whole time, we have the threat of seeing rainfall coming in. There is actually a tropical hernando and pasco. That means within 36 hour, Tropical Stormforce wins are possible. Rain chances remain high through friday. Bad news for flooding conditions, leslee. Very bad news out there. Just got word of a crash in pinellas, 38th avenue north. That is at 58th street. And look at this, this is the interstate. We have the collision trying to wrap up here. They now have the two left lanes, better than just the left lane. And two lanes back open now. This is southbound 275 around 28th south. All right,t this. Eastbound i4 before mcintosh, its near the scales. And look at this, westbound i4 getting busy through plant city as well as new tampa southbound on 75. And weve got a collision here kathleen road at galloway road to be on the lookout for. And on 75 from bruce b downs down to i4, about 17 minutes. Traffic is heating up. Bearss avenue down to i4, thats about a 30 minute commute. And through ybor, 301 to 275, on the veterans expressway, here is i75 southbound at fowler. Theres no accident here folks. Just really stacking up. And now back to paul and gayle. Incredible. What you need to know before you walk out the door is nine and what you need to know about its track and all of that flooding. And remembering a man who dedicated his life to making the bay area a better place. How the community is saying as we have been telling you all morning long, the bay area bracing for tropical weather. Already seeing heavy downpours. Yeah, its been nasty in parts. News channel 8s ryan hughes is live in south tampa where residents are worried about flooding. Reporter gayle, paul, good morning to you. Place to help pay for the repair and replace. Of storm drains like the one you see right here at bay shore boulevard. This part of hyde park is susceptible to flooding and thats something people around here fear over the next few daughter urgeses. Tampa city leaders insist there could be more scenes like this if there are no big increases to pay for replace. S and repairs. In some cases, a complete overhaul is needed. Last year an assessment rose from 36 to 82 residents to help pay for the cleaning and clearing of the storm drains. But new ones are needed in parts of the city. City council alreadies expected to discuss this at a meeting tomorrow. In tampa, ryan hughes, news channel 8. Im mary mcguire reporting in st. Pete beach where we have seen a lot of tropical moisture this morning. The rains have been heavy. Theres been thunder. A lot of lightning and also a lot of winds. You can see that the choppy morning. Another big concern out here is localized street flooding, especially as people get out on the roads on the morning commute. And we have some large puddles developing. Definitely stay safe and stay slow on the roads this morning. Reporting live in st. Pete beach, mary mcguire, news channel 8. A handcuffed suspect escaped from hillsborough deputies. He is on the loose this morning. Deputies arrested him in a and fic stop near fowler avenue somehow he escaped. Inside his car, deputies found 20 bags of heroin. The literacy Leadership Academy in progressive village closed today. A Lightning Strike caused damage there and injured two Staff Members. They are okay. Crews will assess the damage today and figure out when classes will resume. Bay area will say goodbye to a pillar of the community. Funeral services are today at st. Lawrence catholic church. Today beginning at 11 30. And reminder, the bucs game against the redskins tonight at Raymond James stadium. The team moved the game forward a day because of the weather. And we are your official bucs station. Watch beginning at 8 00 right here on news channe8. Was just an official if the bucs. And he was asking what was happening. Its going to rain like this all day long. There will be some embedded Lightning Strikes so please, please wear your buccaneers rain slicker because its going to rain. Seeing the rain throughout Pinellas County, manatee county, Sarasota County at this point and the rainfall totals just stacking up. So with the heavy rain today, combined with the rain through friday, widespread 6 to 9 inches of rain. Local spots higher than that. And flooding obviously going to be an issue. Along with the wind threats north of i4. Strong wind gusts tomorrow as the Tropical Storm gets closer. Rough surf of, isolated heed my warning, usually congested, its very congest add cross the bay area. Now the crash northbound on the Sunshine Skyway bridge. Take 75 depending on where youre going. Due to an overturned vehicle. Its an overturned semitruck. So delays there. And theres a lot of water in the roadway there causing some delays, 275 and st. Pete. And also the 554th avenue south offramp is closed due to water. All t. Long with your breaking weather, traffic and news and good morning, crossing the border. Donald trump announces a surprise trip to mexico for a private conversation with the mexican president on the same day hes set to make a major speech on immigration. Could this unexpected meeting hint at a dramatic policy reversal well ask his Campaign Manager live. In the path. A major storm in the gulf strengthens overnight as tens of millions in florida brace for winds and flooding. Stars stand off. Chris brown out on bail on weapons charges after a stalemate with police that played out on social media