Parts of Cuba under hurricane watch; Florida braces
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NEW: Florida starts making preparations for storm
NEW: Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, naval base activates plan for destructive weather
Tropical Storm Fay could reach hurricane strength by Sunday morning
Sustained winds at 45 mph, with higher gusts
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MIAMI, Florida (CNN) -- Tropical Storm Fay had weakened slightly but was reorganizing as it approached eastern Cuba moving westward from Haiti, the National Hurricane Center said Saturday.
An infrared image shows Tropical Storm Fay just off Haiti on Saturday, heading west toward Cuba.
Cuba issued hurricane watches for six provinces, and tropical storm watches remained in effect for other Caribbean islands. Officials in Florida were preparing for a possible hit from Fay within days.
Fay was barely clinging to tropical storm status Saturday afternoon, with maximum sustained winds of near 40 mph (65 km/hr) with higher gusts, forecasters said.
However, "strengthening is forecast during the next couple of days, and Fay could be approaching hurricane strength as it nears western Cuba."
A Category 1 hurricane has sustained winds between 74 and 95 mph.
The forecast track shows Fay becoming a Category 1 hurricane over western Cuba, crossing the Florida Keys on Monday night and heading for the Florida Gulf Coast. However, because hurricane movements are erratic, such long-range forecasts can vary. See Fay's projected path »
Residents of western Cuba, Florida and the Florida Keys should monitor Fay's progress, the hurricane center said. Various computer models put the storm's long-range track "up the western portion of the Florida Peninsula in a few days," while others place it farther west over the eastern Gulf of Mexico.
Preparations were under way Saturday in Florida, where Gov. Charlie Crist said he had pre-emptively declared a state of emergency with the approach of Fay and partially activated the state emergency management office. Crist urged Floridians to ready themselves for the storm.
Shell Oil Co. said Saturday that it was evacuating 200 people from the Gulf of Mexico as Fay approached.
As of 2 p.m. ET Saturday, the center of Fay was about 50 miles south-southeast of Guantanamo, Cuba, and about 175 miles west-northwest of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, the hurricane center said.
The storm was moving westward near 16 mph and was expected to turn west-northwest later Saturday, followed by a turn to the northwest Sunday.
The government of Cuba issued a hurricane watch for Camaguey, Ciego de Avila and Sancti Spiritus provinces, the hurricane center said. A hurricane watch means conditions are possible within the watch area, generally within 36 hours.
Tropical storm warnings were issued for Camaguey, Las Tunas and Holguin provinces on Saturday, the center said. Tropical storm warnings remain in effect for the Cuban provinces of Granma, Santiago de Cuba and Guantanamo.
As of Saturday afternoon, the U.S. naval base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, had seen a few rain bands connected with Fay move through, said Navy Cmdr. Pauline Storum.
The base activated its destructive weather plan, she said, which mainly involves securing loose gear and making sure residents have what they need and personnel are in the right locations.
"The winds are picking up," Storum said, and there were "a lot of clouds." Those on the base expect the conditions to worsen later Saturday, she said, and were warned that Fay could linger for 12 hours.
Tropical storm warnings also were in effect for the Turks and Caicos islands, the southeastern Bahamas and the entire coast of Haiti. A tropical storm warning means tropical storm conditions, including winds of at least 39 mph, are expected in the area within 24 hours.
Tropical storm watches were in effect for Jamaica, the central Bahamas and the Cayman Islands, forecasters said. A watch means tropical storm conditions are possible within 36 hours.
The storm was expected to dump 4 to 8 inches of rain across Hispaniola, the island shared by Haiti and the Dominican Republic; Cuba; Jamaica; and the northern Cayman Islands, the hurricane center said. Isolated amounts of 15 inches were possible in some areas.
The heavy rains could trigger flooding and mudslides, forecasters warned. Also, tides of up to 3 feet above normal can be expected in the warning areas.
The storm, the sixth of the 2008 Atlantic season, formed Friday over the Dominican Republic in the Caribbean Sea.
