{"id":162549,"date":"2026-02-20T13:19:30","date_gmt":"2026-02-20T13:19:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/162549\/"},"modified":"2026-02-20T13:19:30","modified_gmt":"2026-02-20T13:19:30","slug":"morning-briefing-tampa-february-20-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/162549\/","title":{"rendered":"Morning Briefing Tampa February 20 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 dense fog this morning, it will become partly sunny to mostly sunny today.<\/p>\n

Expect another warm day.<\/p>\n

Highs will range from the mid 70s at the coast to the mid 80s inland.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Sea fog could linger over the waters with a south to southwest wind 5 to 15 mph.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Fog comes in again tonight with lows in the mid 60s.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The weekend starts out very warm but\u00a0a cold front arrives Sunday with a chance of scattered showers<\/a>.<\/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.\u00a0Bradenton River Regatta back with more high-speed racing<\/a>
The biggest event of the year for the cities of Bradenton and Palmetto kicks off Friday with a high-energy start before a weekend packed with racing.\u00a0<\/p>\n

2.\u00a0Pinellas County schools add ‘pay to play’ fee for athletics<\/a>
Parents who talked to Spectrum Bay News 9 say they support school sports, but the price to play keeps rising and they worry some families won\u2019t be able to afford it.<\/p>\n

3.\u00a0Historic Pass-a-Grille shuffleboard clubhouse demolished<\/a>
The 90-year-old building was originally a beach shelter in Gulfport, before being moved by barge to St. Pete Beach in the late 1920s. It was damaged by Helene and Milton in 2024.<\/p>\n

4.\u00a0E-Bike concerns result in more enforcement on Legacy Trail in Sarasota<\/a>
Deputies are using traffic radar guns, monitoring the 15 mile per hour speed limit, watching for riding after sundown, and warning that violations can lead to fines or arrest.\u00a0<\/p>\n

5.\u00a0Interactive Map: Tracking wildfires across Florida<\/a>
The Florida dry season usually runs from November through May, and with that comes fire danger.
\u00a0<\/p>\n

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

1. Trump warns of ‘bad things’ if Iran doesn’t make a deal, as second US carrier nears Mideast<\/a><\/p>\n

2.\u00a0NASA labels Starliner danger level as Type A, same as Challenger<\/a><\/p>\n

3.\u00a0U.S. applications for jobless aid fell to 206,000 last week as layoffs remain low<\/a><\/p>\n

4.\u00a0Social media companies face legal reckoning over mental health harms to children<\/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 dense fog…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":162550,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[2126,275,135,137,136],"class_list":["post-162549","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\/162549","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=162549"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/162549\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/162550"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=162549"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=162549"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=162549"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}