People are preparing for a worst-case scenario as Tropical Storm Isaac approaches. NBC's Danielle Leigh reports.
By NBC News, Weather.com and wire reports
Updated at 5:30 p.m. ET: Tropical Storm Isaac brought rain and gusty winds to Puerto Rico and the eastern Caribbean Islands and was expected to gradually strengthen as it moved west through the northeastern Caribbean on Thursday.
Forecasters said it was too soon to gauge Isaac's potential impact on Tampa on Florida's Gulf Coast, where the Republican National Convention is to run from Monday through Thursday.
Related: Track Tropical Storm Isaac
Some computer models showed Isaac shifting slightly to the west and eventually moving parallel to Florida's western coastline. Others forecast the storm to make landfall in South Florida and then move inland.
Isaac was centered late Thursday afternoon about 180 miles southeast of San Juan, Puerto Rico,?the U.S. National Hurricane Center said.?Isaac had top sustained winds of 40 miles per hour, down from 45 mph earlier in the day. The storm was moving northwest at 16 mph. Tropical storm force winds extended outward up to 140 miles, the center said.
TODAY's Al Roker tracks Tropical Storms Isaac's current path as it takes aim at Puerto Rico and the eastern Caribbean.
The storm center was expected to reach the south coast of the Dominican Republic on Thursday night and approach Cuba on Friday, the center said.
The Bahamas issued tropical storm warnings for its southeastern areas;?Cuba issued tropical storm warnings for several provinces, including Guantanamo.
Forecasters predicted Isaac will become a hurricane by Friday morning, but perhaps the more ominous threat in the short term is the potential for extremely heavy rainfall over the islands near Isaac's path, weather.com reported.
More than a foot of rainfall, and potentially as much as 20 inches in some places, was possible on the island of Hispaniola, home to Haiti and the Dominican Republic, where Isaac is expected to be a hurricane on Friday. Life-threatening flash floods and mudslides could result from that amount of rain.
The Red Cross was ready in Haiti to help evacuate people to shelters and camps but was in a "wait and see" mode, Jerry Anderson, senior director of international services, told?NBC News.??
Residents and visitors of the northern Caribbean, Yucatan Peninsula, southeastern United States and the central/eastern Gulf Coast should watch the progress of Isaac closely over the next week or more, weather.com reported.
Get the latest on this story from weather.com
As the storm approached, Puerto Rico Governor Luis Fortuno declared a state of emergency, canceled classes, closed government agencies and activated the National Guard.
The government also froze prices on basic necessities such as food, batteries and other supplies and prepared emergency shelters at schools and other facilities.
Despite Tropical Storm Isaac's threatening winds and rains ahead of the GOP convention in Florida, Mitt Romney and running mate Paul Ryan are taking aim at President Obama and his handling of the economy. NBC's Peter Alexander reports.
Heavy rainfall, flooding and mudslides will be threats in all of the northern Caribbean islands regardless of how strong the system becomes, weather.com reported.
Isaac may also threaten U.S. energy interests in the Gulf of Mexico, weather experts said.
From weather.com: Isaac's looming US threat
At the Guantanamo Bay U.S. Naval Base in southeast Cuba on Wednesday, authorities said Isaac forced the postponement of pretrial hearings that were to begin on Thursday for five prisoners accused of plotting the Sept. 11 attacks.
The U.S. military was preparing flights to evacuate the base of lawyers, paralegals, interpreters, journalists, rights monitors and family members of 9/11 victims who had traveled there for the hearings.
In Key West, Fla., Mayor Craig Cates told NBC News that?officials were monitoring Isaac but hadn't made any decisions about evacuating because the storm hadn't yet strengthened.?All agencies were preparing in case an evacuation would be needed if the storm gets strong, he said.
From weather.com: Track Isaac's path
Coordinating Meteorologist Tom Moore at The Weather Channel said it was difficult to predict how Isaac would affect Tampa when the Republican National Convention to nominate Mitt Romney gets under way on Monday.
Because the storm was tracking farther south than earlier predictions, it could track to the west side of the Gulf of Mexico over the weekend, he said. That would leave Tampa facing rain and thunderstorms with20-30 mph winds gusting up to 40 mph on Monday.
Tropical Storm Isaac churns over Caribbean, could threaten GOP convention
Orange juice prices rise
Florida has not been hit by a major hurricane since 2005 and forecasts showed Isaac was not expected to strengthen beyond a weak Category 1, with top sustained wind speeds of about 80 mph.
The threat to Florida triggered a nearly 6 percent jump in orange juice prices on Wednesday as they surged to a six-week high in trading in New York.
Florida produces more than 75 percent of the U.S. orange crop and accounts for about 40 percent of the world's orange juice supply.
Lurking behind Isaac, the hurricane center said another tropical depression grew into Tropical Storm Joyce on Thursday.
Located about 1,280 miles east of?the Leeward Islands, it was packing winds of 40 mph and was moving northwest at 14 mph on Thursday afternoon.
Forecasts predicted it will eventually veer toward the open Atlantic and away from the Caribbean. No coastal watches or warnings were in effect for Joyce.
Reuters and weather.com contributed to this report.
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