{"id":161099,"date":"2026-02-19T12:12:24","date_gmt":"2026-02-19T12:12:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/161099\/"},"modified":"2026-02-19T12:12:24","modified_gmt":"2026-02-19T12:12:24","slug":"morning-briefing-tampa-february-19-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/161099\/","title":{"rendered":"Morning Briefing Tampa February 19 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"

Good morning, Tampa Bay.\u00a0Here’s what you need to know today.<\/p>\n

Your Weather Planner<\/p>\n

After areas of fog and clouds this morning, it will become mostly sunny this afternoon.<\/p>\n

Highs will reach the low 80s.<\/p>\n

An onshore wind will keep it in the 70s near the coast.<\/p>\n

Expect areas of dense fog and sea fog tonight and Friday.<\/p>\n

Get the full forecast here<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

High:\u00a080<\/p>\n

Low:\u00a061<\/p>\n

Rain Coverage:\u00a00%<\/p>\n

Check your hour-by-hour forecast here<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0Share your weather photos<\/a><\/p>\n

Around Tampa Bay<\/p>\n

1.\u00a0SNAP food restrictions\u00a0coming to Florida<\/a>
On April 20, some items including soda and candy will be ineligible for SNAP in the Sunshine State.\u00a0<\/p>\n

2.\u00a0Hillsborough County’s school zone speed camera tickets up more than 1,000%, but program has critics<\/a>
A Spectrum Bay News 9 investigation found that the program has led to a massive spike in tickets and raised questions from drivers about whether it\u2019s improving safety or generating revenue.<\/p>\n

3.\u00a0FDOT seeks public input on options for Longboat Key Bridge<\/a>
State transportation officials are asking the public for input on the future of the State Road 789 Bridge on Longboat Key \u2014 a decision that could significantly affect traffic and businesses on the island.<\/p>\n

4.\u00a0Grant to revitalize North Greenwood area gets boost<\/a>
Clearwater City Council recently approved a boost to the\u00a0North Greenwood CRA Residential Exterior Improvement Grant Program. Our story includes a link to the application.<\/p>\n

Around the Nation & World<\/p>\n

1.\u00a0Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office<\/a><\/p>\n

2.\u00a0DHS funding impasse: Jeffries says ball is in White House court as it calls latest Democratic proposal ‘unserious’<\/a><\/p>\n

3.\u00a0States sue Trump administration over canceled energy infrastructure grants<\/a><\/p>\n

4.\u00a0U.S. and Canada reach Olympic men’s hockey semifinals after dramatic overtime wins<\/a><\/p>\n

Don’t Miss This<\/p>\n

16 months later, customers pack Tampa restaurant that just reopened after damage from Milton<\/a>
\nGavin Lux ready to fill big shoes at second base for Rays<\/a>
\nStefanie Ingram helped lead USF through late coaching change<\/a>
\nBLACK HISTORY MONTH: St. Pete woman shares how she helped desegregate St. Pete beaches<\/a><\/p>\n

Quote of the Day
\n\"\"<\/p>\n

Mikaela Shiffrin’s fourth trip to the Olympics\u00a0came with a golden ending<\/a>. The skiing star won the slalom on the world’s biggest stage for the first time in 12 years with a triumphant performance in Cortina. The 30-year-old Shiffrin said she’s learned to block out the noise and pressure that comes with competing at the Games.<\/p>\n

She instead has tried focus on the joy of skiing that drew her to the sport in the first place. Shiffrin says she knows she would have invited more criticism if she had faltered, but added the challenge of finding her best was worth the risk.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Good morning, Tampa Bay.\u00a0Here’s what you need to know today. Your Weather Planner After areas of fog and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":161100,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[2126,275,135,137,136],"class_list":["post-161099","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tampa","tag-app-morning-briefing","tag-spectrum-news-staff","tag-tampa","tag-tampa-headlines","tag-tampa-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/161099","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=161099"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/161099\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/161100"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=161099"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=161099"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=161099"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}