Tropical Storm Isaac 2012; Threatens Alabama, Mississippi, in UPDATED Analysis; 'Stay Vigilant,' Meteorologist Say
Tropical Storm Isaac 2012 is being watched very carefully, particularly for the effect it is predicted to have in Tampa, Fl. However, meteorologists report that Tropical Storm Isaac is also indicating signs of passing Florida and going into the eastern side of the Gulf of Mexico - striking at the border of Alabama, Mississippi, and neighboring states. Weather.com advises locations between the far southeast of Texas to Florida to "stay vigilant" of storm's behavior.
"Confidence is high that Isaac will eventually affect the U.S. possibly beginning as soon as Sunday and continuing into next week," according to Weather.com. "Our hurricane threat index graphic shows that locations from far southeast Texas to Florida should stay vigilant and monitor the progress of Isaac very closely."
Experts on AccuWeather also agreed that Gulf Coast states may face bigger threats than Florida.
"Given Isaac's current position and momentum in the Caribbean, the storm is much more likely to track into the Gulf of Mexico than to track along the east coast of Florida," said Dan Kottlowski of AccuWeather.com.
Eric Blake, a forecaster with U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami, explained that since the storm did not gain as much momentum in the Caribbean as was predicted by meteorologists, Tropical Storm Isaac will not become a hurricane until it enters the Gulf of Mexico.
"We think it could become a hurricane on Monday," Blake said on Aug. 23. "It would be somewhere over the Gulf of Mexico."
News of the storm comes around the time of the Republican National Convention, scheduled for Monday, Aug. 27, in Tampa.
Thus far, the RNC has not been cancelled or delayed. Convention spokesman James Davis assured everyone that Hurricane Isaac is being evaluated and everyone's safety will be protected.
"We will release information as we get it. Right now we are looking forward to having a great convention," Davis said. "We are confident we will be able to get the business done of our convention which is to nominate Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan."
