Maya: Good morning, Sarasota. It's Sunday, October fourth, twenty twenty-six, and you're listening to the Sarasota Morning Briefing. I'm Maya.
Devon: And I'm Devon.
Maya: It's going to be a hot and steamy week, so let's start with the weather. Today is mostly sunny with a high near ninety, but the humidity makes it feel as hot as one hundred and five. Winds are out of the east-southeast at seven to ten miles an hour. Storm chances stay low during the day, but watch for isolated thunderstorms after five P M.
Devon: Monday stays hot with a high near eighty-eight, and rain chances climb to fifty percent as showers build after eleven in the morning. Tuesday brings the real shift: a high near eighty-six, rain chances up to eighty percent, and possibly heavy thunderstorms. Wednesday is the wettest day of the week, with a high of just eighty-four and scattered storms at an eighty percent chance of rain.
Maya: So the pattern is simple: enjoy the heat today and tomorrow, and plan for a soggy middle of the week.
Devon: Now to the water. The seven-day tide outlook from the Noah predictions shows nothing unusual. On the bay side, today's high is two point three feet just after six A M, with a low of two tenths of a foot around three forty-five P M. The Gulf side at Hayden Roberts Bay is nearly identical: two point two five feet just after six A M, and a low of two tenths around three twenty P M.
Maya: And nothing in the next seven days reaches our three-foot above-normal flag, so tides are within the normal range all week.
Devon: One quick tropical note while we're on the water. The National Hurricane Center says there are no tropical cyclones anywhere in the Atlantic right now. They are watching the southwestern Gulf, where a broad low could form in a few days, but the chance of development is only thirty percent, and nothing is heading our way.
Maya: For our golfers: today is a perfect early tee-time morning. Winds are light out of the east-southeast at seven to ten miles an hour and the fairways are dry, but that heat index near one hundred and five will sneak up on you, so bring water. Storms build after five P M, so get out before lunch.
Devon: And here's some good news from the local golf world. Cardinal Mooney's high school golf team just made history in Scotland, becoming the first American team ever to compete in the World School Games. Shane Russell, Chase Adams, and Callahan Peloquin all finished in the top thirteen, and sophomore Brooke Stevens won the senior girls championship.
Maya: The moon is a waning crescent, only about a third lit, and it doesn't rise until after midnight, so the evening sky is dark. And here's the headline: Saturn reaches opposition tonight, which means it rises around sunset and stays up all night, shining at its brightest and biggest of the whole year. Look east after dark for a steady golden glow.
Devon: Before sunrise, the show keeps going. Brilliant Jupiter climbs the eastern sky, with red Mars above it and Regulus, the brightest star in Leo, below. Tomorrow morning at dawn, Mars gets a close visit from the moon, and Tuesday morning the moon will pass directly in front of Jupiter, a rare occultation visible across the eastern and central United States. One honest warning: scattered storms tonight could block the view, so keep an eye on the clouds.
Maya: Venus is out of the picture this month, and the Orionid meteors are still a couple of weeks away from their October twenty-first peak, so tonight is all about Saturn.
Devon: On to arts and entertainment. Today at six P M, The Bay hosts Sundays at The Bay with Jesse Daniels, a free concert on The Oval. It's the perfect way to close out your Sunday.
Maya: If film is more your thing, today is the final day of the Fabulous Independent Film Festival, with independent L G B T Q plus features, shorts, and filmmaker conversations at Burns Court Cinema.
Devon: And looking ahead to tomorrow night, the Grammy-winning vocal ensemble Roomful of Teeth joins enSRQ at the First Congregational Church for an evening of contemporary music. Tickets are forty dollars, with a ten-dollar livestream option.
Maya: Three local stories to know. First, Florida's dengue count has climbed to four hundred and eighty-five cases this year, up ninety-three in a single week, with Hillsborough County leading the state at two hundred and thirty. Sarasota and Manatee counties haven't recorded a local case yet, but Manatee County is running helicopter spraying missions every two weeks. Your move: dump standing water in your yard and use repellent at dawn and dusk.
Devon: Second, federal disaster money is finally flowing to the Suncoast. FEMA is sending more than six hundred thousand dollars to North Port for Hurricane Ian law enforcement costs, over seven hundred and fifty thousand to Sarasota for the Indian Beach Park restoration, and nearly forty-four million to Manatee County to haul away storm debris left by Hurricanes Milton and Debbie.
Maya: And third, a federal jury has found a Sarasota man guilty of conspiracy to distribute fentanyl while armed with a machine gun. Agents recovered a loaded rifle with his DNA on the grip and trigger, plus vacuum-sealed fentanyl. He faces enhanced penalties as a repeat violent offender.
Devon: That's your Sarasota Morning Briefing for Sunday, October fourth. Maya, any parting advice?
Maya: Tee off early, charge your phone before those storms build, and look east tonight for Saturn at its finest. Have a great Sunday, Sarasota.