Rick Scott Cancels his Tuesday Convention Plans for Isaac

Gov. Rick Scott has canceled his activities planned for Tuesday around the Republican National Convention to focus on Tropical Storm Isaac.

On Saturday, Scott announced that he wouldnt participate in Mondays opening day of the four-day convention, where he was scheduled to speak.

With the center of the large systemexpected to go west of Tampa, the Republican National Committee would later cancel Mondays activities as a safety measure.

At 2 p.m. on Sunday, Isaac was about 50 miles from Key West, with winds at 60 miles per hour, moving west-northwest at 18 mph. The system is expected to reach the northern Gulf of Mexico, making landfall Wednesday morning as a hurricane, according to the National Hurricane Center.

The following release was from the governors office:

TALLAHASSEE Today, Governor Scott announced that we would cancel his Tuesday activities related to the Republican National Convention in order to monitor and respond to issues related to Tropical Storm Isaac. Tropical Storm Isaac is expected to continue to impact Southwest Florida today before continuing into the Gulf of Mexico. Floridas emergency officials encourage all Floridians to stay informed and finalize emergency preparations.

At 11 a.m. EDT Sunday, Tropical Storm Isaac was approximately 80 miles southeast of Key West, Fla. The official forecast takes Tropical Storm Isaac near or over the lower Florida Keys today and tonight and into the eastern Gulf of Mexico on Monday. Tropical storm force winds are already impacting the Keys and South Florida with hurricane conditions possibly arriving this afternoon. Additionally, there is a threat for severe weather including isolated tornadoes over much of Central and South Florida.

All Floridians should be closely monitoring this storm, and be prepared to act if necessary. Families and businesses can visit www.FloridaDisaster.org to build their emergency plan and learn about what to stock in the disaster supply kits, including water, food, medications, important papers and other essential items. Supplies should be able to sustain your family for up to 72 hours after a disaster.

For more information on preparation for and response to Tropical Storm Isaac, call the Florida Emergency Information Line at 1-800-342-3557. Hearing-impaired persons may call the Florida Telecommunications Relay at 1-800-226-4329 to receive information and access TDD systems.

The Atlantic hurricane season runs from June 1 to Nov. 30. To GET A PLAN! visit www.FloridaDisaster.org. For the latest information on the 2012 hurricane season, follow us on Twitter at www.Twitter.com/flsert and on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/FloridaSERT.