Florida Keys Under Hurricane Warning

Florida officials ordered tourists to leave the Keys as Tropical Storm Rita gathered strength Monday and appeared to be bound for a Florida strike.

At 5 a.m. EDT, forecasters at the National Hurricane Center in Miami said Rita had winds of 60 mph and was located about 250 miles southeast of Nassau, or 425 miles east-southeast of Miami, moving west at nearly 9 mph.

Tropical storm-force winds are expected to affect … Miami-Dade and … Broward counties as early as Tuesday and last all day, forecasters said. Strengthening was expected, as the system moved over waters well over 80 degrees, which fuels the wind. A storm becomes a Category 1 hurricane when sustained winds reach 74 mph.

Florida Gov. Jeb Bush declared a state of emergency Sunday, activating National Guard troops, authorizing the use of public buildings as shelters and invoking state laws against price-gouging.

A storm surge of up to 8 feet is forecast for the Keys. The storm surge could reach up to 5 feet in extreme southeastern Florida and the northwestern Bahamas.