Tropical Storm Issac poses threat to southern coast of Florida

August 23, 2012 – CARIBBEAN – The churning center of Tropical Storm Isaac spun over tiny islands at the eastern entrance to the Caribbean, where many seafront bars and restaurants stubbornly remained open Wednesday evening as lightning and thunder crackled and choppy surf slapped against piers and seawalls. U.S. forecasters said Isaac was likely to approach Hispaniola, the island shared by the Dominican Republic and Haiti, as a hurricane late today or early Friday after intensifying over the Caribbean Sea. It was predicted to move on to Cuba as a tropical storm and perhaps eventually menace Florida as a hurricane. By late Wednesday, the storm was 270 miles southeast of San Juan, Puerto Rico, with maximum sustained winds of 45 m.p.h. Isaac was moving west at 20 m.p.h., the U.S. National Hurricane Center said. Forecasters also said a tropical depression formed far out in the Atlantic Ocean and was expected to strengthen into a tropical storm today. It was about 1,045 miles west of the Cape Verde islands. But most eyes were on Isaac. The storm unleashed downpours on Guadeloupe, said local chief meteorologist Norbert Aouizerats. In Martinique, officials warned of swollen rivers and flooding. Dominica Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit urged people to stay home from work Wednesday. “I want us all to be safe,” he said. “I don’t want lives to be lost.” Military authorities in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, canceled several days of pretrial hearings in the case of five prisoners charged in the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. They also planned to evacuate about 200 people, including legal teams and relatives of 9/11 victims. In the foothills of Dominica’s Morne Aux Diables volcano, Tess Hunneybell, owner of Manico River Eco Resort, said most of the day was “weirdly quiet’ after she and others wrapped the resort’s signature tree houses in tarpaulin and nailed shut louvre doors. In Puerto Rico, Gov. Luis Fortuno declared a state of emergency and activated the National Guard. He canceled classes and closed government agencies. Federal officials also closed the popular San Felipe del Morro castle. The storm was expected to pass south of Puerto Rico today. The U.S. Coast Guard closed all ports in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands to incoming commercial ships. The U.S. Virgin Islands commissioner of public works, Darryl Smalls, said crews distributed sandbags to residents in St. Croix, where schools and government offices will close today. St. Kitts also announced similar closures for Wednesday. –Weather Watch