Here's the latest on what's happening with Hurricane Michael — and what it could mean for Tampa Bay.
As of the 5 p.m. EST update:
Michael has sped up — from 7 MPH to 9 MPH. This is good; the faster a storm moves, the less time it has to gather mass.
Michael's pressure has stayed the same — 978 millibars. Which is good, except it's still sorta low, and the lower the pressure of a hurricane, the more severe the storm.
Michael's wind speed has increased — from 75 MPH to 80 MPH. This is not great, but it's still a Category One.
Although it won't be the eye of the storm — the National Hurricane Center still projects that fairly north of us — we're still going to get some rain (2-4") and rain. Expect the brunt of that to hit the Tampa Bay area about 8 a.m. Tuesday morning.
Stay dry, Tampa Bay!
