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Tropical storms threaten Florida

Lightning strikes over the Halifax Harbor Marina during a late afternoon thunderstorm Wednesday in Daytona Beach, Fla. Storms are expected to continue through the weekend as Tropical Storm Bonnie and Hurricane Charley approach Florida. Gov. Jeb Bush has declared a state of emergency for all of Florida. (Associated Press / The Spokesman-Review)
John Pain Associated Press
Lightning strikes over the Halifax Harbor Marina during a late afternoon thunderstorm Wednesday in Daytona Beach, Fla. Storms are expected to continue through the weekend as Tropical Storm Bonnie and Hurricane Charley approach Florida. Gov. Jeb Bush has declared a state of emergency for all of Florida. (Associated Press / The Spokesman-Review)

MIAMI – Florida braced for a potential double dose of hurricanes today, ordering Florida Keys visitors to get out of Hurricane Charley’s path and preparing for possible flooding as Tropical Storm Bonnie approached the already soaked Panhandle.

Bonnie, which was approaching hurricane strength Wednesday, was forecast to hit the state early today, at least 12 hours earlier than Charley. The prospect of back-to-back hurricanes prompted Gov. Jeb Bush to declare a state of emergency for all of Florida as schools and government offices announced closures and forecasters warned residents to prepare for the worst.

Such a double-whammy hasn’t happened in Florida since Oct. 17, 1906, when two tropical storms hit the state, said Ken Reeves, the senior meteorologist at AccuWeather, a commercial forecasting center.

The National Hurricane Center issued a hurricane watch or warning for most of northwest Florida, from the Alabama border to the Suwannee River, because of Bonnie. The warning means hurricane conditions are possible within a day, while the watch means within 36 hours.

Charley grew to hurricane strength around midday Wednesday before spinning by Jamaica. A few rooftops were reported damaged in the capital of Kingston, where residents rushed to supermarkets to buy bottled water, flashlights and other emergency items before the storm hit. The country’s main airports were shut down and cruise lines were diverted.

Charley prompted a hurricane watch for the Florida Keys and Florida Bay, at the state’s southern tip, north to Anna Maria Island, on the southern edge of Tampa Bay. Watches also were issued for the southwestern Florida mainland from Flamingo to just north of Naples, and western Cuba. A hurricane warning was issued for the Cayman Islands.

Charley was forecast to hit or pass close to the lower Keys late today, then hit the southwestern Florida mainland early Friday with winds of 85 to 105 mph, forecasters said.

Monroe County emergency officials told visitors to evacuate the entire 100-mile-long island chain. The trip can take several hours because there’s only one road, the Overseas Highway, from Key West to Key Largo and only two linking Key Largo to the mainland. Residents were not being told to leave.

Key West Mayor Jimmy Weekley asked bars, shops and restaurants to shut down at 10 p.m. today, saying the city would offer new guidance after the storm blew by.

Lisa Kaminski, a manager at a Days Inn in Key West, was telling the hotel’s approximately 200 guests they had to leave, as well as warning those with reservations.

“We’re telling people that the hurricane will probably be here Friday and it’s in their best interest not to come,” she said.

The Key West native said she and her employees weren’t too worried about Charley, though: “We’re staying. This isn’t a big one.”