Both the location and the timing of the impacts on Florida remain very uncertain.

We expect that will continue for the next couple of days,

People should be aware that the hurricane season doesn’t end till November and we could get more activity.

We are expecting Rita to hurl some very bad weather toward Miami-Dade and even Broward.

We want to improve our ability to convey uncertainty in our forecast to various users.

The center could cross anywhere on the Florida Peninsula, but most models show it crossing between Tampa south to the Keys anytime Monday or Tuesday.

Even though it will be moving fairly quickly, it still could be a significant rainmaker, in part because it is such a large system,

It’s really our poster child for forecast uncertainty in terms of the track.

In any case, it looks like it’s strengthening and it’s not going to be far behind our intensity forecast.

We’re looking at a major hurricane in the east-central Gulf later this week.

Our best estimate of the track possibilities are that anywhere from Louisiana to the Florida Panhandle could expect the center to be approaching them by the middle of the weekend.

Atmospheric conditions are expected to gradually become more conducive for strengthening.