[h=3]By William M. Welch and Doyle Rice, USA TODAY[/h]Updated
As Tropical Storm Isaac approaches hurricane strength and threatening to dampen their party, Republicans say their national convention will go on in Tampa next week anyway, formally nominating Mitt Romney for president.
[h=2]Find a Forecast[/h]
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By Alan Diaz,, AP
Carlos Eduardo Perez loads water into the trunk of his car Thursday as he prepares for Tropical Storm Isaacin Hialeah, Fla.
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"The weather's fine. Come on down," Republican National Convention CEO William Harris said, insisting the GOP can handle any problems a storm throws its way. The convention opens Monday.
"There's no such thing as canceling," Sean Spicer, Republican National Committee spokesman, said on CNN.
Law enforcement officials said they were adjusting security planning in case some of the thousands of officers scheduled to arrive from elsewhere in the state are are forced to cancel due to the hurricane. More than 3,500 officers from 59 law enforcement agencies from around the state are scheduled to come to Tampa to patrol the streets. About half would come from outside the Tampa area.
Hillsborough County Sheriff David Gee said about 1,700 National Guard troops were scheduled to assist, and that their number could be increased if other Florida agencies need to keep officers at home.
"We're in a situation right now where we don't know what's going to happen," Gee said. "My primary concern right now is that we will lose resources."
Florida Gov. Rick Scott said the state has much experience with hurricanes and will be ready.
"It's still too early to predict where Isaac could make landfall," Scott said. "It could strike almost anywhere in Florida or in some of our neighboring states."
The convention at the Tampa Bay Times Forum runs through Thursday, when Romney will accept the Republican nomination.
"We're hoping for the best. We've got the plans in place should anything occur and that's how we're going forward," Spicer said. "We're going to keep looking forward to having a great convention."
After lashing the islands of the eastern Caribbean with wind and rain, Isaac was forecast to roar into Haiti today and tonight, potentially as a Category 1 hurricane with 75-mph winds. The storm could dump from 8 to 20 inches of rain on the impoverished nation, National Hurricane Center spokesman Dennis Feltgen said, creating possible flash flooding and mudslides.
Forecasters expect it to weaken over Haiti but emerge over waters near the Florida Keys late Sunday or early Monday, potentially regaining strength in the mid-to-upper-80-degree water temperatures, Feltgen said.
"Given Isaac's current position and momentum in the Caribbean, the storm is much more likely to track into the Gulf of Mexico than to track along the east coast of Florida," AccuWeather meteorologist Dan Kottlowski said.
It has been almost seven years since a major hurricane — Category 3 or higher — struck the United States, the longest period the nation has gone without a hit since the government began keeping records in 1851. Hurricane Wilma came ashore with 125-mph winds near Naples, Fla., in 2005, the third Category 5 hurricane of that season.
Forecasters said a direct hit on Tampa is unlikely, however. The latest wind-probability forecast from the hurricane center gives Tampa a 12% chance of receiving tropical storm-force winds and a 1% chance of receiving hurricane-force winds on Monday, said Weather Underground meteorologist Jeff Masters.
"I put the odds of a mass evacuation occurring during the convention at 1%," Masters said. "A limited evacuation of people in the Tampa Bay area living in mobile homes in low-lying areas is probably about 5%-10% likely."
The National Weather Service issued a tropical storm warning for both Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The Federal Emergency Management Agency said it was working with Florida officials and has large stockpiles of water, meals, blankets and other provisions in Florida and the Caribbean.
Contributing: Cat Camia, Gregory Korte; AP
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As Tropical Storm Isaac approaches hurricane strength and threatening to dampen their party, Republicans say their national convention will go on in Tampa next week anyway, formally nominating Mitt Romney for president.
[h=2]Find a Forecast[/h]
Find your local weather with The Weather Channel zip-code lookup:By Alan Diaz,, AP
Carlos Eduardo Perez loads water into the trunk of his car Thursday as he prepares for Tropical Storm Isaacin Hialeah, Fla.
[h=2]Sponsored Links[/h]
"The weather's fine. Come on down," Republican National Convention CEO William Harris said, insisting the GOP can handle any problems a storm throws its way. The convention opens Monday.
"There's no such thing as canceling," Sean Spicer, Republican National Committee spokesman, said on CNN.
- [h=3]INTERACTIVE: Track the hurricanes, tropical storms of 2012[/h]
Law enforcement officials said they were adjusting security planning in case some of the thousands of officers scheduled to arrive from elsewhere in the state are are forced to cancel due to the hurricane. More than 3,500 officers from 59 law enforcement agencies from around the state are scheduled to come to Tampa to patrol the streets. About half would come from outside the Tampa area.
Hillsborough County Sheriff David Gee said about 1,700 National Guard troops were scheduled to assist, and that their number could be increased if other Florida agencies need to keep officers at home.
"We're in a situation right now where we don't know what's going to happen," Gee said. "My primary concern right now is that we will lose resources."
Florida Gov. Rick Scott said the state has much experience with hurricanes and will be ready.
"It's still too early to predict where Isaac could make landfall," Scott said. "It could strike almost anywhere in Florida or in some of our neighboring states."
The convention at the Tampa Bay Times Forum runs through Thursday, when Romney will accept the Republican nomination.
"We're hoping for the best. We've got the plans in place should anything occur and that's how we're going forward," Spicer said. "We're going to keep looking forward to having a great convention."
After lashing the islands of the eastern Caribbean with wind and rain, Isaac was forecast to roar into Haiti today and tonight, potentially as a Category 1 hurricane with 75-mph winds. The storm could dump from 8 to 20 inches of rain on the impoverished nation, National Hurricane Center spokesman Dennis Feltgen said, creating possible flash flooding and mudslides.
Forecasters expect it to weaken over Haiti but emerge over waters near the Florida Keys late Sunday or early Monday, potentially regaining strength in the mid-to-upper-80-degree water temperatures, Feltgen said.
"Given Isaac's current position and momentum in the Caribbean, the storm is much more likely to track into the Gulf of Mexico than to track along the east coast of Florida," AccuWeather meteorologist Dan Kottlowski said.
It has been almost seven years since a major hurricane — Category 3 or higher — struck the United States, the longest period the nation has gone without a hit since the government began keeping records in 1851. Hurricane Wilma came ashore with 125-mph winds near Naples, Fla., in 2005, the third Category 5 hurricane of that season.
Forecasters said a direct hit on Tampa is unlikely, however. The latest wind-probability forecast from the hurricane center gives Tampa a 12% chance of receiving tropical storm-force winds and a 1% chance of receiving hurricane-force winds on Monday, said Weather Underground meteorologist Jeff Masters.
"I put the odds of a mass evacuation occurring during the convention at 1%," Masters said. "A limited evacuation of people in the Tampa Bay area living in mobile homes in low-lying areas is probably about 5%-10% likely."
The National Weather Service issued a tropical storm warning for both Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The Federal Emergency Management Agency said it was working with Florida officials and has large stockpiles of water, meals, blankets and other provisions in Florida and the Caribbean.
Contributing: Cat Camia, Gregory Korte; AP
For more information about reprints & permissions, visit our FAQ's. To report corrections and clarifications, contact Standards Editor Brent Jones. For publication consideration in the newspaper, send comments to [email protected]. Include name, phone number, city and state for verification. To view our corrections, go to corrections.usatoday.com.
We've updated the Conversation Guidelines. Changes include a brief review of the moderation process and an explanation on how to use the "Report Abuse" button. Read more.