Storm set for
southern US to
be hurricane

A tropical storm is expected to reach hurricane force before hitting United States gulf states on the seventh anniversary of devastating Hurricane Katrina.

The storm left 21 dead in Haiti and the Dominican Republic but blew past the Florida Keys with little damage. It promised a soaking but little more for the Florida city of Tampa, where the planned start of the Republican National Convention was put back a day.

The National Hurricane Centre predicted the storm, labelled Isaac, would grow to a Category 1 hurricane over the warm Gulf and possibly hit late today somewhere along a roughly 300-mile stretch from south-west of New Orleans to the Florida Panhandle. That would be one day short of seven years after Katrina hit.

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Earlier predictions said Isaac would be a Category 2 hurricane but the National Hurricane Centre said it would not be as strong as they initially thought.

The size of the warning area and the storm’s wide bands of rain and wind prompted declarations of emergency in Louisiana, Mississippi, Florida and Alabama.

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