Hurricane Watch Issued For Keys As Isaac Becomes Better Organized
MIAMI (CBSMiami) – Tropical Storm Isaac became better organized Friday night, prompting forecasters at the National Hurricane Center to issue a Hurricane Watch for the Florida Keys and a Tropical Storm warning for South Florida.
At 11 p.m., the center of the storm was located about 65 miles south-southeast of Port au Prince, Haiti. The storm's maximum sustained winds were 70 mph with some higher gusts and it was moving to the west-northwest at 14 mph.
A Hurricane Watch is in effect for the Florida Keys including the Dry Tortugas, the Florida Bay, the Florida east cost from Ocean Reef southward, and the Florida west coast from Bonita Beach southward.
A Tropical Storm Watch is in effect for: the Cuban provinces of Matanzas and Cienfuegos, Jamaica and the Florida East Coast north of Jupiter Inlet to Sebastian Inlet and the Cayman Islands.
A Tropical Storm Warning is in effect for all of the Florida Keys including the Dry Tortugas along with the Florida East Coast south of Jupiter Inlet, the Florida west coast south of Bonita Beach, Florida Bay, and Lake Okeechobee along with the Cuban provinces of Matanzas, Cienfuegos, Andros Island, and Jamaica, the the Cuban provinces of Ciego De Avila, Sancti Spiritus, Villa Cara, the Dominican Republic; Haiti; the Cuban provinces of Camaguey, Las Tunas, Granma, Holguin, Santiago de Cuba and Guantanamo; the southeastern Bahamas including the Acklins, Crooked Island, Long Cay, the Inaguas, Mayaguana and the Ragged Islands and Turks/Caicos Islands; the central Bahamas including Cat Island, the Exumas, Long Island, Rum Cay, and San Salvador.
Forecasters at the National Hurricane Center said Isaac should take a turn to the northwest on Friday. On the forecast track, the center of Issac should pass over Haiti Friday night. The storm will then move near or over southeastern Cuba on Saturday and Sunday.
The storm could drop as much as 12 inches of rain, with isolated amounts of up to 20 inches, over Hispaniola. These rains could cause life threatening flash floods and mud slides.
Rainfall amounts of 14 to 8 inches are possible over eastern Cuba and Jamaica with some areas seeing as much as 12 inches.
>> Visit the CBS4 Tropics Page for an interactive Tropical Tracker, the newest computer model tracks and more.
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