The National Hurricane Center issued a tropical storm watch for parts of southeast Florida early Wednesday as Tropical Storm Sandy churned toward Jamaica, gaining speed and strength as it crossed warm Caribbean waters.
The watch, which meant tropical storm-like conditions may bear down on Florida within the next 48 hours, includes the upper Keys from Jupiter Inlet to Craig Key.
Sandy was churning in the Caribbean about 120 miles south of Jamaica as of 5 a.m. Wednesday, moving northward at about 14 mph, with winds about 70 mph, according to the hurricane center. A relatively big storm, winds extended about 140 miles from Sandy's center.
The storm was expected to strengthen and become a Category 1 hurricane as it crossed the island Wednesday and continued over Cuba and the eastern Caribbean into Thursday.
By the end of the week, Sandy should be moving north along Florida's east coast. Though it's difficult to predict what the storm would look like after crossing Jamaica and Cuba, forecasters said its impact on southeast Florida may include tropical storm-strength winds, rough surf and rain.
As it moves by the state, Sandy may bring stronger winds and lower rain chances to the Tampa Bay area, according to Bay News 9.
Meanwhile, hurricane experts have also been tracking Tropical Storm Tony, a smaller system about 1,400 miles southwest of the Azores.
Tony, moving east-northeast about 16 mph with winds of about 45 mph, was not expected to pose any threat to land.
Marissa Lang can be reached at mlang@tampabay.com or (813) 226-3386 or on Twitter @Marissa_Jae.
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