TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Gov. Ron DeSantis on Thursday advised Floridians against letting down their collective guard as the forecast “cone” shifted to the east overnight for Tropical Storm Isaias.
“If you read the morning’s advisory from the National Hurricane Center, basically it said, ‘Look, we’re going to need a little bit more time before we really get that track,’” DeSantis said during an appearance at Space Florida headquarters in Merritt Island. “I know they show the cone now. But I think that there’s still a lot of uncertainty with respect to this storm.” He added that the state is “ready to respond as need be.”
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The National Hurricane Center in a late-morning advisory Thursday said heavy rains from Isaias might begin to affect South Florida on Saturday morning, creating isolated flash flooding. But it acknowledged the growing storm system was sending some mixed signals.
“It should be noted that there are models that show hurricane strength near the U.S. but, given the large amount of uncertainty, it is preferred to stay on the conservative side for now,” the center said. “We should have a better idea of how strong Isaias will become near the U.S. after reconnaissance aircraft sample the storm and after it passes Hispaniola later today.”
Isaias formed south of Puerto Rico on Wednesday.
The hurricane center’s advisory forecast the system’s path running along Florida’s East Coast on Saturday and Sunday.