(Newser)
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Florida is getting its first taste of Tropical Storm Isaac, with strong wind and rain pelting the Florida Keys beginning this morning as the vast 200-mile-wide storm picks up strength and moves in on the continental US. Isaac's path after the Keys is still uncertain: Forecasters warned he could strike anywhere from New Orleans to the Florida Panhandle, reports the AP. South Floridians, however, largely shrugged. "This isn't a storm," snarked one man who hadn't put up storm shutters. "It's a rain storm."
But Key West wasn't messing around, with a long line of taillights moving north, windows boarded up, and shuttered airports and businesses. A storm surge of up to 4 feet was expected, and Isaac could spawn tornadoes before picking up speed in the warmer Gulf waters. Florida Gov. Rick Scott has declared a state of emergency and is ducking out of the scaled-back Republican National Convention in Tampa. Isaac is expected to be a forceful Category 2 hurricane when it reaches the Gulf Coast Tuesday or Wednesday, the AP reports. Follow its path here.
