Florida gears up for fury of Fay

The storm was predicted to hit the state’s west coast just shy of hurricane strength.

South Florida Sun Sentinel

Sprawling, sloppy Tropical Storm Fay is expected to pelt South Florida with more gusty winds and heavy downpours through much of the day today, but it threatens to save its worst punch for Florida’s west coast.

Although Fay has been erratic for days, making it a tricky forecast, the National Hurricane Center was confident the system would strike between Naples and Sarasota this morning either as a strong tropical storm or a minimal hurricane.

No matter where it lands, the system could cause extensive flooding across a large swath of the state, including this region, said Bill Read, director of the hurricane center. He warned that high waters pose a deadly danger.

“A lot of people drive into water of unknown depths,” he said, adding that if you don’t know how deep water is, don’t go through it.

South Florida should feel the brunt of the storm overnight and into this morning, including gusts to 50 mph and torrential rains, the National Weather Service in Miami said.

Fay threatened to produce 4 to 8 inches of rain across Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties between Monday and today, and some isolated pockets could be swamped with up to 12 inches, weather service meteorologist Dan Dixon said.

The weather service placed the region under a flood watch until 8 tonight.

On Monday evening, Fay’s core was over the Gulf of Mexico about 75 miles southwest of Fort Myers. It was moving north at about 12 mph with sustained winds of 60 mph.

Fay plowed over Cuba on Sunday, damaging roofs and causing minor flooding mostly in the southeastern portions of the island, according to government reports.

The storm steamed over Key West about 3 p.m. Monday as a 60 mph tropical storm, although a weather station at Sand Key reported a gust of 71 mph. Other than some flooding and downed power lines, there were no reports of major damage or injuries.

Many islanders didn’t let the storm interfere with their normal routines.

“It’s just a shower, and it’s keeping me cool,” said Rosa Bautiste, 29, as she jogged Monday, in the hours before the storm hit.

Fay was projected to hit the state’s west coast about 8 a.m. today with 70 mph winds, just shy of hurricane strength.

Forecasters don’t expect the storm to become a hurricane because dry air and wind shear weakened it on Monday.

In any case, forecasters said, it is highly unlikely Fay will rapidly intensify into a major hurricane, as did Hurricane Charley, which exploded into a Category 4 system and unexpectedly veered into Punta Gorda in August 2004.

The reason: Fay “doesn’t have a very strong center of circulation,” Corey Walton a meteorologist with the hurricane center, said.

Keeping Charley’s surprise turn in mind — the storm was initially forecast to hit Tampa Bay — the hurricane center urged all communities along the west coast as far north as Tampa to be on guard.

“Even a small deviation in the forecast track would cause a large difference in when and where it makes landfall along that coast,” Walton said.

Gov. Charlie Crist said 500 National Guard troops have been activated but would not be dispatched unless needed. Although Fay does not appear to be as powerful as other recent Florida storms, Crist said people shouldn’t be complacent.

“We want every, every Floridian and guest to be a survivor,” he said during a news conference.

The sixth named storm of the 2008 Atlantic season, Fay has left at least five people dead in Haiti and the Dominican Republic.