Let's start with:the bad news: That little disturbance that boiled up over the Yucatan peninsula isn't going away, and, sometime between Monday night and Tuesday morning, things could get windy in Tampa Bay. And rainy.
Now, the better news: Best guesses — courtesy of the National Hurricane Center, which is the only source of info for hurricanes we trust — put the eye of the storm well-enough north of Tampa Bay to avoid an Irma-like situation, but Tampa Bay will likely get some wind and rain. However, NHC forecasters predict Michael will graduate from tropical storm to hurricane by the time it makes landfall north of Tampa Bay, so those winds could intensify.
And, as for good news? Well, it's a long shot, but the storm could help clear red tide in Tampa Bay and anywhere else it touches. It's a small chance, but some days you have to take hope where you can claw at it.
So grab some batteries, a few cases of beer and fill up those extra water jugs. Good lord willing and the creek don't rise, it's not going to mean devastation for Tampa Bay, but at the least it might screw with your commute and maybe cause a few power outages.
This article appears in Oct 4-11, 2018.