Florida Keys Under Hurricane Warning
Posted on: Monday, 19 September 2005, 09:00 CDT
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.
Source: United Press International
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