By NBC News and wire reports
Updated at 1 p.m. ET: Tropical Storm Isaac built up strength Friday as it headed toward Haiti, continuing its march across the Caribbean after unleashing heavy rain on parts of Puerto Rico and prompting?Florida officials to urge residents to prepare now.
With sustained winds now at 60 mph, Isaac poses a threat to Florida, where it could pass near the state's Gulf Coast on Monday just as the Republican National Convention is scheduled to start in Tampa.?
Winds at tropical storm strength extend 185 miles out from Isaac's center, making it a very wide storm.
"Some additional strengthening is possible before the center" crosses part of Haiti and the Dominican Republic Friday night, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said in an advisory?Friday morning.
On exiting Haiti, Isaac's center should cross Cuba, and then pass south of the Florida Keys before making landfall as a Category 1 hurricane overnight Tuesday somewhere between New Orleans and Tallahassee, NBC meteorologist Al Roker said Friday on TODAY. Warm waters in the Gulf of Mexico will be "energy for the storm" as it makes its way across the gulf, he added.
Florida has not been hit by a major hurricane since 2005 and officials are concerned that residents there have become complacent.
"I think it's a challenge of getting people to understand their risk and make sure they?ve got a plan," said Craig Fugate, administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
With more than 19 million people living across the Sunshine State, Fugate wants every Florida resident to have enough supplies to last 72 hours and to know when to evacuate.
Click this image to get to our Atlantic storm tracker.
"I think the most dangerous thing is when people keep waiting to see what the next forecast is even if they?re in an evacuation zone. They say, 'Oh, it?s just a Category 1 storm or a minimum hurricane.' We?ve seen significant impacts from tropical storm force winds and rain," Fugate added.
In the Florida Keys, where there are few routes available for evacuation -- U.S. 1, Key West International Airport, and the Florida Keys Marathon Airport -- Mayor Craig Cates said his biggest concern was the storm's timing. Cates said he would need at least 36 hours to begin evacuations of tourists and residents.
"If it (Isaac) comes straight on to Key West, we?re worried about the damage that could happen in Key West. If it goes further up the Keys, it could damage power lines and we could get affected," Cates said. "Even if it hits further up the state, we have got to be prepared with our generators and our supplies. Being on an island, we understand that."
Tampa officials have not ruled out the possibility of postponing the GOP Convention if the storm poses a public safety risk. NBC's Kerry Sanders reports.
Forecasters with The Weather Channel think the evacuation decisions could come quickly. It is anticipated that watches will be issued for South Florida and the Keys by Friday night. In the event of an evacuation, Cates told The Weather Channel that tourists would leave first, followed by special needs citizens.?
Live updates and analysis from weather.com
Live chat now til 2 p.m. ET with weather.com experts on Isaac's path?
The Florida State Emergency Operations Center was activated to a Level 2 on Thursday. The EOC's website defines Level 2 as a limited agency activation.
On average, 87 million people visit Florida's beaches, theme parks and other attractions each year, Gov. Rick Scott said, but in the coming week more will be arriving for the National Republican Convention in Tampa.
Scott said state officials are working with convention organizers, who will ultimately make the call on a delay or cancellation of the event.
"These officials have been working together on the convention for the past 18 months. The possibility of a hurricane has been part of that planning process," Scott said. "All that?s required for those plans to be activated would be for there to be a hurricane and hopefully that will not happen."
State officials?announced Thursday that they will wait to make decisions about moving supplies until after Isaac passes Cuba. FEMA has already placed food and generators in Jacksonville. ?
Follow Isaac's path with our storm tracker
Isaac is forecast to remain a tropical storm after crossing the Dominican Republic and Haiti and then passing over Cuba into the Florida Straits.
The National Hurricane Center?warned it was "important not to focus on the exact track because of forecast uncertainties and the fact that Isaac has a large area of tropical storm force winds."
With nearly 400,000 people still living in evacuation tents, a hurricane or even a tropical storm could lead to deaths and more damage to the already fragile country. NBC's Mark Potter reports.
Isaac was expected to dump between 8 and 12 inches of rain over parts of Haiti and the Dominican Republic, with total accumulations up to 20 inches in some areas. That poses a significant threat to Haiti, which is highly prone to flooding and mudslides because of its near-total deforestation.
Haiti, the poorest country in the Americas, still has about 350,000 people living in tents or makeshift shelters more than 2-1/2 years after a devastating earthquake that took more than a quarter of a million lives.
Red Cross workers toured crowded tent camps of Haitians left homeless by the 2010 quake to warn about Isaac.
Authorities in the Dominican Republic evacuated people living on the banks of rivers, streams and areas vulnerable to landslides in preparation for the approach of Isaac, whose effects were beginning to be felt with showers in the south of the country.
Weather.com and Reuters contributed to this report.
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