Little change in Isaac's path or power, as it heads to Haiti - MiamiHerald.com

Little change in Isaac's path or power, as it heads to Haiti - MiamiHerald.com

Tropical Storm Isaac continued on Thursday churning toward a potentially destructive landfall on the island of Hispaniola on Friday, an encounter that may go a long way toward determining what impact it will have on Florida.

At 11 a.m. Thursday, the National Hurricane Center reported that Isaac appeared to be becoming better organized, though its maximum winds remained steady at 40 mph. The poorly defined center had shifted south but Isaac remained generally on a track that put most of Florida in its cone. The storm, though still relatively weak, was so large that South Florida was likely to feel some impact no matter which way Isaac eventually turns.

The storm, located some 200 miles south-southeast of San Juan, appeared to have spared Puerto Rico but authorities feared that the slowing storm still could flood cities around the island.

“We are worried about flooding,” Gov. Luis Fortuño said at an early morning press conference. “The storm slowed to 12 mph, so we could be getting a lot of rain in the next 12-24 hours. We ask the citizenry: don’t lower your guard.”

By 6 a.m., only 58 people had turned to one of the island’s 422 shelters. The vast majority of the island still had water and power, he said. All the ports in the south remained closed, although the San Juan port remained open. Flights to the Caribbean were canceled. Fortuño said Isaac had claimed one victim, a woman preparing her home in Bayamon had slipped and fallen off a second floor.

The biggest concern, however, remained Haiti. The capital city of Port-au-Prince, where some 400,000 earthquake refugees still live in tents, sat dead-center in Isaac’s path. Beginning Friday, Haiti and the Dominican Republic could both see a foot or more of rain. Far less has historically triggered deadly flooding and mud slides.

It appeared increasing likely that South Florida would feel some effect from Isaac, but whether it would amount to soggy side-swipe or a damaging direct hit from a hurricane remained uncertain. Models predict just abut equal chances of the storm skirting either coast or going directly up the peninsula.

“Really, the whole state of Florida has an equal chance of feeling tropical storm-force winds,” said Robbie Berg, a hurricane specialist at the National Hurricane Center in West Miami-Dade County

Tampa, where the Republican National Convention is scheduled to begin Monday in a low-lying section of the city vulnerable to storm surge, also could potentially feel impacts. If the center’s forecast remained unchanged, which is unlikely, Isaac would be churning just off the coast early Tuesday.

Gov. Rick Scott said Thursday that the state was preparing for the worstâ€"a major hurricane bearing down on Tampa Bay during the convention.

The governor said “hopefully that will not happen” and “everything’s going to work out,” but he’s also planning for the opposite. He has directed the state’s division of emergency management to activate the emergency operations center.

Convention organizers will have the final say over whether to cancel or shorten the convention because of Isaac. But local, state and federal officials will be at the table as well during twice daily briefings.

“The goal is to make sure everyone has the best information available, a complete picture of the situation,” Scott said.

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