Tropical Storm Isaac Heads Toward Florida, Cuba - East Idaho News
National

Tropical Storm Isaac Heads Toward Florida, Cuba

  Published at

GETTY N 082512 Hurricane?  SQUARESPACE CACHEVERSION=1345902347876Stockbyte/Thinkstock(NEW YORK) — A hurricane warning has been issued for the Florida Keys and the parts of the Florida panhandle, as Tropical Storm Isaac makes its way toward the U.S.

Isaac made landfall in Haiti overnight.

Hurricane Specialist Jessica Schauer at the National Hurricane Center in Miami told ABC News Radio that the storm had maximum sustained winds of 60 miles per hour and brought drenching rains.

“It has passed to the west of Port-au-Prince and it is now heading to the northwest at around 14 miles an hour,” Schauer said.

In Florida, residents have been told to stock up enough food and water for three days.

Several counties have declared local states of emergency.

In South Florida, some retailers are temporarily out of water and some residents are installing hurricane shutters, other tying up boats.

Tropical Storm Isaac could strengthen into a hurricane and cause headaches for those attending the Republican National Convention in Tampa next week.

“The forecast calls for Tampa to start feeling tropical storm force winds sometime late on Sunday, early Monday, and that could last through Tuesday,” said Schauer.

Susan Muetzel, a Red Cross volunteer from Ohio, is headed to Tampa to help with relief efforts as Tropical Storm Isaac approaches.

Muetzel said her main role will be feeding residents displaced by the storm.

“We’ll make just an assembly line and we’ll just start feeding as many people as we have to,” she said.

Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio

SUBMIT A CORRECTION