Cuba Forecasters Say Storm Headed for Florida Keys

HAVANA  TIMES, July 22 — The tropical depression moving north of Cuba is heading for the Bahamas and the Florida Keys reported the Cuban Meteorological Institute late Thursday afternoon.

The Cuban weather experts as well as the US National Hurricane Center (NHC) in Miami noted that the depression could easily become a Tropical Storm by late tonight or on Friday.

A Tropical Storm warning is already in effect for the Bahamas and southernmost Florida.  The NHC currently predicts that tropical storm winds will reach the Florida Keys by sometime Friday afternoon.

INSMET thus far maintains that the tropical depression —located 320 kms southeast of Nassau, Bahamas and 205 kms northwest of Puerto Padre, Las Tunas, Cuba— does not pose a threat to Cuba.

The stormy weather has led the US Coast Guard to prepare to temporarily abandon the BP oil clean up effort in the Gulf of Mexico where the storm is expected to cause turbulent waters throughout the weekend.

As of Thursday afternoon, the NHC predicts a medium possibility that tropical storm winds will reach the US Gulf Coast.