Katrina Grows To Cat. 3 Storm, Targets Gulf States

ORLANDO, Fla. -- Hurricane Katrina, which strengthened into a Category 3 storm Saturday, continued to track west toward the Gulf states with the potential to become one of the most powerful hurricanes ever seen in the Gulf, according to Local 6 meteorologist Michele Cimino.

"There is nothing out there to slow it down," Local 6 meteorologist Michele Cimino said. "There are no waters to churn it up, no lands to slow it down, so what is going to happen is it will continue to build as it makes that turn."

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The path of Katrina remained on a westerly track Saturday pushing the system more toward the Gulf Coast states instead of the Panhandle area.

Local 6 meteorologists Michele Cimino and Tom Sorrells said the storm could grow even stronger than a Category 4 storm if it remains in the Gulf.

"Now we are talking about a very dangerous Category 4 storm," Sorrells said. "It could become the nastiest thing in the Gulf of Mexico since Camille in the 60s. This is a bad storm."

Hurricane Camille, which hit the Mississippi Gulf Coast in August of 1969, is said to be the worst storm ever to hit mainland United States.

"There is no doubt in our minds here at the Hurricane Center that this will become a major hurricane given enough time," National Hurricane Center Director Max Mayfield said.

Katrina's eye continued to develop Saturday as the system wobbled down to the south west. The movement keeps the dangerous northeastern quadrant far enough into the Gulf of Mexico that it should not have a major effect on Central Florida.

The storm should make landfall at about 2 a.m. early Monday at the current track, Cimino said.

"This storm is very, very impressive," Cimino said.

The Latest

At 8 a.m. Saturday, the eye of Katrina was located by radar and reconnaissance aircraft near latitude 24.4 north, longitude 84.6 west or about 430 miles southeast of the mouth of the Mississippi River and about 180 miles west of Key West, Fla.

Katrina is moving toward the west near 7 mph. A gradual turn toward the west-northwest is expected during the next 24 hours.

Maximum sustained winds are near 115 mph, with higher gusts.

Deaths Blamed On Storm

Officials said seven people have died in Florida because of Hurricane Katrina. The following describes the deaths:

A man died after a tree fell on his car while it was parked near Stranahan High School in Fort Lauderdale.

A 54-year-old man was killed outside his house by a falling tree in the Fort Lauderdale suburb of Plantation. The victim was pronounced dead at the scene, according to Broward County authorities.

A woman who was struck by a tree died at Memorial Regional Hospital in Hollywood.

A 79-year-old man and his dog were killed when his car struck a fallen tree in Cooper City.

James Paolillo was driving when he crashed into a tree that had fallen on the roadway during the storm, the Broward Sheriff's Office said. He then drove around the debris, continued driving eastbound in a westbound lane, and crashed into a standing tree on the shoulder of the road.

Paramedics found Paolillo and his small dog dead inside the car, the sheriff's office said.

A man from injuries suffered when the storm buffeted his boat, which drifted to Grove Island Key in Miami.

A man died at Dinner Key when his boat capsized.

A Florida City man died when he was struck by a falling tree.

5 Missing Boaters Found

The Coast Guard said Friday that they found the family that was lost at sea.

Officials said the Larsen family had been missing since their 24-foot boat left Marathon at 6:45 a.m. Thursday. They were rescued off Everglades City.

Officials said Edward and Tina Larsen were spotted by a Coast Guard helicopter along with their children, ages 17, 14 and four. They were hoisted to safety and taken to Naples. Officials haven't released their medical conditions.

Hurricane Katrina had hindered the search because officials say the hurricane was sitting right on top of the search area.

Bush Requests Disaster Aid

Meanwhile, utility crews scrambled to restore power to more than 1 million customers.

Florida has been hit by six hurricanes since last August. The Panhandle was slammed by Hurricane Ivan last year, then again by Hurricane Dennis this year, both Category 3 storms.

Katrina was a Category 1 with 80 mph winds when it hit South Florida on Thursday; it could return by Monday as a Category 4 with 130 mph wind, forecasters say.

Colleen Singleton, 45, a bartender at Bobby D's Beach Bar in Pensacola Beach, said Katrina could be the final straw.

"If it's anything near Ivan and I lose everything I've worked for -- with the blood, sweat and tears in the house and the furnishings and everything -- I've just got to move off the coast somewhere," she said.

Gov. Jeb Bush said he expected a response Saturday to his request for disaster aid for Florida. Risk modeling companies have said early estimates of insured damage from Katrina's first landfall range from $600 million to $2 billion.

Scenes of Katrina's impact were everywhere Friday -- work crews sawing trees crippled by the wind; a 727 cargo plane pushed along a runway fence; sailboats resting askew on a sandy shore.

The death toll included four people killed by falling trees and two boaters who tried to ride out the storm in their crafts.

The military will begin moving aircraft and personnel out of some Panhandle bases Saturday to avoid the storm, and Bush said 1,000 National Guard troops that had been activated in South Florida may be deactivated or moved to a new target area.

In at least one location spotted on radar, 20 inches of rain fell, and 10 inches were reported in several areas across the state.

The governor said the death toll and severity of damage, from a toppled highway overpass to mass power outages, showed the danger of underestimating hurricanes.

"There is no such thing as a good hurricane," Bush said. Katrina's first swipe across Florida left about 50 homes flooded in Homestead and 40 mobile homes damaged in Broward County.

At a 12-unit apartment complex in Davie, Beverly Johnson, 41, and her 7-year-old son used pots to hold all the dripping water after their roof caved in during the storm.

"Water came in and then the ceiling collapsed," she said. Pat Jackson, whose Homestead apartment building was flooded with several inches of water, said a hurricane seems to come every other week. "This is the worst because of the water. It's just swimming at you," said Jackson, an interior decorator.

The hurricane emptied the usually bustling streets of Miami Beach. The city is hosting celebrities and partygoers in town for Sunday's MTV Video Music Awards. MTV called off its pre-awards festivities Thursday and Friday.

At 5 a.m. Saturday, the eye of the hurricane was located about 165 miles west of Key West. It was moving west at nearly 7 mph.

Katrina nearly doubled in size as it slowly wobbled over open waters, forecasters said.

Katrina is the 11th named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season, which began June 1. That's seven more than typically have formed by now in the Atlantic, Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico, the hurricane center said. The season ends Nov. 30.

Watch Local 6 Weather with Tom Sorrells, Michele Cimino and Larry Mowry for more on this story.