[h=3]By ARIAN CAMPO-FLORES[/h]
European Pressphoto Agency A contractor works installs a sign for the Republican National Convention in Tampa, Fla. this week.
Tropical storm Isaac could potentially strike Florida, hurricane forecasters say, triggering concern that it could cause problems for the opening of the Republican National Convention in Tampa.
It is still too early to predict whether the storm could make a direct hit on the city. Forecast models show Isaac's center following a path as far west as the Gulf of Mexico and as far east as the Atlantic Ocean.
On Wednesday afternoon, the storm, packing 45 mile-per-hour winds, was moving west across the Leeward Islands and expected to pass near Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic in the next few days, according to the National Hurricane Center. Isaac was expected to strengthen and could become a hurricane by Thursday, the center said.
On Wednesday morning, Tampa mayor Bob Buckhorn raised the prospect that the GOP convention might have to be cancelled. "Absolutely, we're prepared to call it off," he said in an interview on CNN.
Such a move "would be a last resort," he told The Wall Street Journal later in the day. "I don't think it will come to that," he said. "We are full speed ahead with the RNC."
Write to Arian Campo-Flores at [email protected]
European Pressphoto Agency A contractor works installs a sign for the Republican National Convention in Tampa, Fla. this week.
Tropical storm Isaac could potentially strike Florida, hurricane forecasters say, triggering concern that it could cause problems for the opening of the Republican National Convention in Tampa.
It is still too early to predict whether the storm could make a direct hit on the city. Forecast models show Isaac's center following a path as far west as the Gulf of Mexico and as far east as the Atlantic Ocean.
On Wednesday afternoon, the storm, packing 45 mile-per-hour winds, was moving west across the Leeward Islands and expected to pass near Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic in the next few days, according to the National Hurricane Center. Isaac was expected to strengthen and could become a hurricane by Thursday, the center said.
On Wednesday morning, Tampa mayor Bob Buckhorn raised the prospect that the GOP convention might have to be cancelled. "Absolutely, we're prepared to call it off," he said in an interview on CNN.
Such a move "would be a last resort," he told The Wall Street Journal later in the day. "I don't think it will come to that," he said. "We are full speed ahead with the RNC."
Write to Arian Campo-Flores at [email protected]