Tropical Storm Issac better organized, still threat for South Florida
BY CURTIS MORGAN
CMORGAN@MIAMIHERALD.COMTropical Storm Isaac grew better organized overnight and continued on a track that potentially could put it some where off the South Florida coast by early Monday.
The threat to Caribbean islands was clear and more immediate, with Isaac closing in on the chain of Leeward Islands. Warnings and watches were also posted for Puerto Rico to the Dominican Republic, which along with Haiti could see heavy rains, flooding and mud slides.
At 5 a.m., the National Hurricane Center said Isaac was moving west at 18 mph with maximum winds of 45 mph. Forecasters said the conditions were favorable for continued strengthening. Forecasters expect the storm to reach hurricane strength by Thursday as it approaches Puerto Rico and continue west until Saturday, when Isaac would be near or crossing Hispaniola.
From there, computer models predict Isaac will begin turning more to the northwest, with the timing of that turn dictating whether it will make landfall in South Florida or brush it on either side – a direction determined the strength of a high-pressure ridge to its north and a trough digging down from the southeastern U.S.
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