ORLANDO, Fla. -- Computer models showing the predicted path of Hurricane Dennis continue to push the powerful storm west and away from Central Florida, making landfall anywhere from Pensacola, Fla., to New Orleans, according to Local 6 meteorologist Tom Sorrells.

Hurricane Dennis weakened to a Category 2 hurricane as it approached the Straits of Florida early Saturday, according to the National Hurricane Center.

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Maximum sustained winds decreased to near 110 mph but the storm is expected to intensify into a major hurricane Saturday.

The latest path has Dennis bringing tropical storm force winds approaching the Tampa, Fla., area.

"By 2 p.m. Saturday, I think the feeder bands will be lashing through Central Florida at that time as the Category 3 storm is out in the Gulf," Sorrells said. "It will be a very active day."

Dennis is forecast to make landfall as a Category 3 or 4 hurricane Sunday.

"It's going to strengthen from here because the water is really, really warm," Sorrells said. "But the northern Gulf is not nearly as warm. Keep in mind, Tropical Storm Cindy just rolled through there and churned the waters up so as it rolls up, it's not going to jump to Category 5 status."

Dennis is the earliest Category 4 storm to develop in the Caribbean and the strongest storm ever this early in the hurricane season, Local 6 News reported.

At 5 a.m., the eye of Hurricane Dennis was located near latitude 23.9 north, longitude 82.9 west or about 85 miles southwest of Key West, Fla. and about 525 miles southeast of the mouth of the Mississippi River.

More Warnings Issued

A hurricane warning was put in effect for the lower Florida Keys from the Seven Mile Bridge westward to the Dry Tortugas.

A tropical storm warning and a hurricane watch are in effect for the remainder of the Florida Keys east of the Seven Mile Bridge to Ocean Reef and Florida Bay.

Also Friday night, a hurricane watch was issued for portions of the northeastern Gulf Coast from the Steinhatchee River westward to the mouth of the Pearl River.

A tropical storm warning has been issued along the Florida west coast from Anclote Key southward.

What To Expect

Showers and thunderstorms from Hurricane Dennis are expected to hit Central Florida as early as Saturday morning.

Saturday, Central Floridians can expect gusty winds reaching 20 to 30 mph to move into the area.

There will be rough seas and dangerous rip currents on both coasts of Florida. Seas are expected to reach 8 feet in Brevard and Volusia counties.

"We do expect to see showers and thunderstorms throughout the weekend and maybe some isolated tornadoes tomorrow," Larry Mowry said. "It would not be out of the realm of possibility to see a tornado watch issued for tomorrow."

Highs will be in the upper 80s Saturday and Sunday.

Keys Hit With Heavy Rain, Winds

Hurricane Dennis dropped rain, whipped up seas and generated gusty winds Friday in the Florida Keys as the deadly 135-mph storm threatened to hit or brush by the island chain on the way into the Gulf of Mexico.

Many residents weren't taking the strong Category 4 storm for granted after four hurricanes pummeled the state last year -- they boarded up windows, filled their cars with gas and heeded orders to flee vulnerable areas.

About an inch of rain fell Friday in the Keys as winds stayed breezy, but conditions were expected to worsen as Dennis barreled over Cuba and closed in later in the day.

"If things hold together, the storm should pass west of Key West by about 75 miles," said Chris Hennon, a meteorologist at the National Hurricane Center in Miami. "I would say (a direct hit) is not likely but you can't rule it out yet."

Hurricane-force winds of at least 74 mph extended up to 65 miles from Dennis' center, and tropical storm-force winds stretched up to 160 miles out, so the Keys could be damaged even if they are spared a direct hit. Tornadoes, up to 8 inches of rain and storm surges of up to 6 feet were also expected. Flooding was also possible in much of the state because the ground is saturated from recent heavy rains.

About 45,000 tourists, mobile home residents and people living in the southern part of the low-lying Keys were told to evacuate. In Key West, normally busy shops were covered with plywood as crews trimmed tree branches near power lines to limit the unavoidable outages that will come.

Although traffic heading north out of the Keys was about double normal levels as thousands fled Friday, many people decided to ignore the evacuation order. David and Linda Keeley, of Peterborough, England, were among about a dozen people having beers and food at Sloppy Joe's bar in Key West.

"We've never been in a hurricane before, or even near one," said David Keeley, 57. They planned to return to their hotel, "lock the door, pull the blinds and hope for the best."

"We've got some provisions in our room. If the power stays on, we've got the TV. We've got the minibar. We've got each other," he said.

At a nearby marina, Timothy Behan was tying up his 34-foot sailboat named Gemini and planned to check into a hotel for the night.

"You tie it up, you pay your insurance, what else can you do," he said. "If the hurricane comes, the hurricane comes ... at least with this you get a warning. With an earthquake, you don't get a warning."

Some Panhandle gas stations had run out of fuel Friday, and cars lined up at those that still had supplies. State officials said they were working to ensure those dry pumps would be restocked by Saturday.

"We're also encouraging residents to use fuel supplies wisely," said Gov. Jeb Bush, who has declared a state of emergency and cut short a Maine vacation to return to Tallahassee.

Key West was last hit by a major hurricane with winds of at least 111 mph in 1948. Not many around here remember those days, when frequent visitor President Harry Truman joked with his wife that he wanted to move the U.S. capital to Key West.

The island city's last direct hit from a hurricane was 1998's Georges, which hit with 105-mph winds and 8 inches of rain, damaged hundreds of homes and closed the city to tourists for two weeks.

As of Friday, there were 9,300 travel trailers in Florida as temporary housing for people whose homes were damaged or destroyed by last year's hurricanes, down from a high of 16,000, said Scott Morris, the Federal Emergency Management Agency's long-term recovery director for Florida.

Escambia, Santa Rosa, Okaloosa and Walton counties in the Panhandle urged an undisclosed number of people living in low-lying areas to leave. Pinellas County, which contains St. Petersburg, and Collier County, where Naples is in the southwestern part of the state, did the same.

At Cape Canaveral, NASA decided Friday that Dennis would be far enough west to let the space shuttle Discovery stay on its launch pad, and the liftoff of the first shuttle mission since the 2003 Columbia disaster remained on track for Wednesday.

Watch Local 6 Weather with Tom Sorrells, Michele Cimino and Larry Mowry for your forecast.