Evening briefing: January 14, 2022

Good evening Tampa Bay. We end the day for you with the top stories you need to know and your weather forecast.

your weather planner

After a chilly morning, winds from the south will pick up to give us a warmer afternoon. Highs are in the low to mid 70’s with higher humidity.

The chance of rain and thunderstorms will increase rapidly late Saturday evening into Sunday morning. Stronger winds will cause dangerous boating conditions to develop.

The next cold front will move in on Sunday. Showers and storms are likely ahead. The rest of the day will be mostly cloudy, windy, cooler with a few showers.

Even colder air follows this front.

Sunday brings us a good chance of showers and thunderstorms.

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risk of severe weather

A strong winter storm will hit the Southeast this weekend, bringing severe weather and significant snow showers to parts of Florida in the southern Appalachians.

The storm center will be well north of Tampa Bay, but it will swing a strong cold front our way Sunday morning. This will result in thunderstorms, some of which may be strong or violent, gusty winds and the risk of coastal flooding.

Today’s great stories

1. Americans can order free rapid home COVID-19 tests on January 19
The tests typically take 7 to 12 days to ship, the White House said, but Americans can request them on COVIDTests.gov starting Jan. 19. They are also shipped free of charge.

2. 2 Central Florida men among those facing charges of seditious conspiracy in Capitol riot
Kenneth Harrelson of Titusville and Kelly Meggs of Dunnellon, who had already been arrested on riot-related charges, were among 11 Oath Keepers included in the newly unsealed 48-page indictment.

3. Clearwater Marine Aquarium staff release Winter’s ashes into the Gulf
Clearwater Marine Aquarium officials released a urn of Himalayan sea salt containing Winter’s ashes from the back of a US Coast Guard response boat into the Gulf of Mexico.

4. Despite the pandemic, Habitat for Humanity continues to build affordable housing
Habitat for Humanity in Pinellas and West Pasco counties built 70 new homes last year despite the pandemic, and more are on the way for 2022.

5th study: COVID in pregnancy linked to infant mortality, preterm birth
Researchers in Scotland are urging pregnant women to get vaccinated after publishing a study that found women who contract COVID-19 late in pregnancy are more likely to suffer serious complications, including the death of their babies.

6. Biden holds the first press conference of 2022 on Wednesday
President Joe Biden will hold a formal news conference next week, his first such event in 2022, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said Friday.

7. Florida politics: Gov. DeSantis questions ‘backbone’ of John Roberts and Brett Kavanaugh after judges uphold public health vaccination mandate
Gov. Ron DeSantis on Friday offered a mixed review of the two Supreme Court decisions on vaccine mandates, challenging the ruling of two GOP-appointed judges.

Your notes for tonight and tomorrow

In case you missed it

The Philadelphia Eagles are a better team than the one that lost to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 6. Still, there are plenty of reasons the defending Super Bowl champion is an 8-1/2 point favorite in Sunday’s NFC wildcard game. Of particular note was the fact that the Bucs easily handled the Eagles in the team’s first matchup.