Tropical Storm Isaac appears to be headed to New Orleans, but Gov. Rick Scott said the system remains wobbling and could bring up to 16 inches of rain to parts of Floridas western Panhandle.
The governor, who was appearing at the Florida delegations Fresh From Florida breakfast at the Innisbrook Resort and Spa on Monday morning, said he has yet to make plans regarding the Republican National Convention on Wednesday and Thursday.
But later, his office issued a press release saying he wouldbe back at the Emergency Operations Center in Tallahassee for the 6 p.m. storm briefing.
With Isaac now spinning through the Gulf of Mexico, the focus for Florida -- outside of restoring areas already hit -- will be the pending impact to the Panhandle.
Our biggest risks right now continue on the west coast --tornadoes, rain and storm surge, Scott said.
Scott has been focused on the storm and had canceled his Monday night speech at the Tampa Bay Times Forum prior to the convention being scrubbed for the night.
The Republican National Committee has so far shortened the convention into three nights beginning on Tuesday.
For Florida's delegates, plans for the day had yet to be set by many as the Tampa region continued to be hit by occasional bands of rain and remained under heavy clouds. Scott advised the delegates to avoid the beaches and low lying areas due to the potential for flooding.
The storm passed the Florida Keys Sunday night, leaving about 100,000 without power in Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties.
Few outages were reported in the Keys.
At 8 a.m. Monday, Isaac was cruising through the Gulf of Mexico, about 185 miles west-southwest of Fort Myers, with the center of the system moving 14 miles per hour on a path to New Orleans, making landfall along the Gulf Coast on Wednesday, according to the National Hurricane Center.
Maximum winds were 65 mph.
Scott urged people who want to help to donate to the Red Cross.
Reach Jim Turner at jturner@sunshinestatenews.com or at (772) 215-9889.
