Isaac projected to hit several U.S. southeastern states

Forecasters at the National Hurricane Center in the United States have issued a hurricane watch that extends from Louisiana to the Florida Panhandle for Tropical Storm Isaac.

The storm, which had reached the Florida Keys by late Aug. 26, is expected to become a category 1 or 2 hurricane when it makes landfall over the northern Florida Gulf Coast by Aug. 28 or 29, the center notes.

The storm has top sustained winds of about 100 km/h and was moving from the Florida Keys toward the west-northwest at 31 km/h on Aug. 26.

“How much stronger Isaac will become will depend in part on the storm’s track – that is, how much time it will spend over the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico,” Scott Stransky, senior scientist at AIR Worldwide, notes in an Aug. 26 advisory.

The storm’s centre made landfall on Aug. 25 in Cuba, downing trees and power lines. At least eight people were reported dead in Haiti, the country’s Civil Protection Office noted.

The Haitian government also reported “considerable damage” to agriculture and homes.