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There’s no need to raid Publix for water, hurricane shutters, vodka and “Golden Girls” DVDs just yet, but you might as well prepare yourself for a miserable end of the week thanks to Tropical Storm Sandy.
The strengthening storm is set to become a Cat 1 hurricane before walloping Jamaica later today, and the National Weather Service has now put South Florida under a Tropical Storm Watch starting tomorrow.
As of last night, Sandy was already packing 70 mph winds and drenching rain bands; many rural parishes in Jamaica have already evacuated, anticipating damaging floods and landslides.
Forecasters call for the storm to become a hurricane before passing right over the island today. Its path will then take it over eastern Cuba — including the U.S. base at Guantanamo Bay, where ongoing military trials will likely face delays.
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Since passing over that land will probably weaken Sandy, it’s expected to be back to a tropical storm as it passes just east of Miami on Thursday.
As you can see from the full map, Dade isn’t in the path for a direct hit, but could still see 25 to 35 mph winds gusting up to 50 mph and drenching rain bands from the storm.
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