While Tropical Storm Isaac's path is subject to change, current computer model predictions put Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama in the storm's potential trajectory.
According to Eric Blake, a forecaster with the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami, while the storm's westward shift could impact the Alabama-Mississippi border, it was "too early to know" for sure.
Blake reiterated that Tampa, Florida was still directly in the forecast cone for late Monday and Tuesday.
Todd Baron of the National Weather Service says that isolated tornadoes may organize in Tampa, formed from the gusty winds and rain bands that Isaac brings along with it. Baron insisted that Isaac is "going to affect us one way or another."
It remains to be seen to what extent Isaac organizes as it shifts from Cuba towards the Florida Keys at around 8 am Monday, as its strength will largely depend on the storm's behavior as it starts heading north.
Blake notes that this shift is the transition which could result in a hurricane classification, specifically when it passes "over the Gulf of Mexico."
Len Ciecieznski, spokesman for Pinellas County's emergency services in Florida asserts that "Cuba is the turning point."
On Thursday Florida governor Rick Scott set the state's emergency operation center at level 2, in hopes of preparing citizens for the storm as well as gathering supplies before the storm hits.
One computer model shows Isaac making landfall in Florida Tuesday morning, after which the rain would shift to Southern Georgia on a path towards the Louisiana and Mississippi border by Tuesday night. Isaac is predicted to leave Georgia Wednesday, with rainfall ranging from 4-8".
In the case that Isaac organizes into a stronger storm, it may make landfall near Pensacola, Florida on Wednesday afternoon.
Jeff Rent, spokesman for the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency urged people to be prepared for possible evacuation measures, stating: "The message is to prepare for this like you would any emergency...Even if this one avoids us, we might not be so lucky with the next one. Listen to your local officials. They are the ones who make the decisions about evacuation.
Bay News 9's meteorologist Brian McClure stresses the unpredictability of the storm.
"We're still six to eight days before any landfall in the northern central Gulf," said Christopher Bannan, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in New Orleans. "The best advice is to watch it and be prepared," says McClure.
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