SARASOTA, Fla. (WWSB) – The tropical wave we have been telling you about for the past few days is still just that a tropical wave or line of low pressure. Although storms are starting to fire up around this system there is no sign of a closed low at this time. The system has a 60% chance of developing into a tropical depression or storm late this weekend or early next week. Since the system is not really organizing that quickly it looks like the wave will get into the Gulf of Mexico instead of moving north along Florida’s east coast like the EURO has been suggesting over the past few days.

The EURO along with the American forecast model now shows the tropical wave and moisture moving into the E. Gulf of Mexico late weekend and then possibly developing in the E. Gulf of Mexico. Since the area is slow in developing it now looks more and more likely that it will bring us the potential of some heavy rain late Sunday through early next week. It is still too early to say what we will be dealing with but some heavy rain at times is a real possibility later this weekend and possible stretching into mid week next week.

Nothing to be too concerned about right now but it does need to be monitored closely over the next several days. Right now it looks like it wouldn’t be a strong tropical cyclone if it were to develop but I must remind you that intensity forecasting of any system is difficult especially with a system that hasn’t even formed a center of low pressure at the time of the writing. Water temperatures are very warm now in the Gulf and over the SE Atlantic. It will be battling some wind shear but conditions could become conducive for some more development once in the eastern Gulf. The models will be changing quite a bit so don’t focus just on where the center is projected to be in several days from now.

What you should be doing now is going over your hurricane plan and checking your hurricane supply kit. Even if this system doesn’t impact our weather we still have a long way to go with the peak hurricane months ahead of us. Also know your evacuation level, is it A,B,C,D or F. Evacuation zones are designated from A to F. Generally, Zone A is most vulnerable and most likely to be evacuated first, and Zone F is most likely to be evacuated last.

The area in which the system may develop into a tropical cyclone has shifted to the left or into the Gulf of Mexico.

Our weather for Thursday will be like it was today with a few scattered storms during the afternoon and evening otherwise look for mostly sunny skies in the morning followed by partly cloudy skies in the afternoon.

The weekend weather forecast is going to change based on the future track of this tropical disturbance. We will see our rain chances increasing as the tropical wave or whatever develops moves near or over Florida.

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MARATHON, Fla. – A Florida Keys sheriff’s deputy was arrested by her employer on more than a dozen computer crimes charges Wednesday, officials said.

Monroe County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Jennifer Ann Ketcham, 40, faces 19 felony counts of of misuse of law enforcement computers, computer networks and electronic devices, MCSO spokesperson Adam Linhardt said in a brief news release Wednesday afternoon.

“Ketcham used law enforcement databases to look up information for personal reasons beyond the legal scope of her employment as a Deputy,” Linhardt said.

Authorities didn’t elaborate on the specific nature of the allegations; Local 10 News has requested a copy of her arrest documents.

Linhardt said Ketcham, hired on June 2, 2021, was placed on administrative leave without pay pending an internal investigation; her bond was set at $1.9 million.

“I am committed to keeping this community informed of significant events that occur in this agency — good and bad,” Monroe County Sheriff Rick Ramsay said in Wednesday’s news release.

Jail records show Ketcham, of Cudjoe Key, was taken into custody at MCSO’s Marathon substation at 3103 Overseas Highway and jailed just before 3:45 p.m.

She had not been assigned a jail facility as of Wednesday afternoon.

TALLAHASSEE – Pointing to issues such as traffic safety, the Florida Sheriffs Association and the Florida Police Chiefs Association have announced opposition to a proposed constitutional amendment that would allow the use of recreational marijuana.

The sheriffs association said its members approved a resolution opposing the initiative during a meeting last week.

“The well-being and health of the citizens of Florida are threatened through the legalization and normalization of recreational marijuana,” Sheriffs Association President Bill Prummell, the Charlotte County sheriff, said in a prepared statement. “Our priority is the safety and security of our communities, and the data clearly shows that legalization leads to increased public health issues, road safety concerns, and a rise in youth marijuana use. We must take a stand to protect our citizens, especially our youth, from the negative impacts of marijuana.” 

Similarly, Florida Police Chiefs Association President Charles Vazquez, chief of the Tampa International Airport Police Department, issued a statement that said based on “the experience of other states, we know that law enforcement resources, as well as public health and other governmental services, will be taxed with new call volume due to the nature of marijuana impairment and its relationship to criminality, including victimization, and mental health.” 

But Smart & Safe Florida, a political committee leading efforts to pass the proposed constitutional amendment, disputes arguments that allowing the recreational use of marijuana would lead to increased crime and issues such as traffic safety problems.

“While marijuana can impair driving abilities, the claim that legalization leads to significantly more impaired driving fatalities is not supported by evidence,” information on the Smart & Safe Florida committee website says. “Proper education, enforcement of impaired driving laws, and investment in public safety measures can mitigate any potential increase in marijuana-related traffic accidents.” 

The initiative, which will appear on the November ballot as Amendment 3, says, in part, that it would allow “adults 21 years or older to possess, purchase, or use marijuana products and marijuana accessories for non-medical personal consumption by smoking, ingestion, or otherwise.” 

Voters in 2016 passed a constitutional amendment that allowed medical marijuana.