ORLANDO, Fla. -- The latest projected path of Tropical Storm Rita shows the storm hitting the Keys as a possible Category 2 storm and then heading out into the Gulf of Mexico on a possible path toward Louisiana, according to Local 6 meteorologist Michele Cimino.

The National Hurricane Center has forecast Rita to continue on a path west for the next 24 hours as it gains strength. Rita is then expected to hit the Keys by Wednesday.

On its current path, the storm's impact on Central Florida will be minimal.

"Right now, where the storm is tracking, its effect (on Central Florida) will be pretty minimal," Cimino said. "But we know how these things can wobble. If it wobbles a bit north of the current path, that could bring us in more rainfall."

At 5 p.m., the center of Rita was located near latitude 23.3 north, longitude 76.5 west or 345 miles east-southeast of Key West, Fla. Maximum sustained winds are near 70 mph with higher gusts.

"This is not going to be a long, drawn out event over a couple of weeks with this system moving across our state," Cimino said. "Instead, it is going to continue the track that pulls it to the west over the next 24 hours. Then Rita is expected to gain some strength. I think at a Category 2 is expected by the time it does make landfall in the Keys."

Residents were ordered evacuated from the lower Florida Keys on Monday.

"I don't think the Keys are going to escape getting pretty much the brunt of this storm," Cimino said.

Rita is expected to hit around the Keys by Tuesday night and then turning into a Category 3 by Thursday as it works its way across the Gulf of Mexico.

The National Hurricane Center shows the storm hitting around the Corpus Christi, Texas, area or even around Houston by the weekend.

Also, projections of its track raised the possibility that the Louisiana coast could be targeted less than a month after Hurricane Katrina devastated the area.

The projected path shows a curve in the storm's path as it moves in the Gulf of Mexico.

"Here is what we don't want to see," Cimino said. "Take a look at where the cone has extended out to. It has extended out toward include Lousiana. The northern hook in the Gulf of Mexico will be critical to see if more rain moves into an area that definately does not need anymore rain."

People in areas ravaged by Hurricane Katrina in Louisiana were warned it also could veer in their direction. Katrina crossed South Florida into the Gulf last month before it turned northward to Louisiana and Mississippi.

Warnings

Hurricane warnings were posted for the Keys and Miami-Dade County, and the storm's eye was expected to pass between the islands and Cuba on Tuesday, the National Hurricane Center said.

Voluntary evacuation orders were posted for about 134,000 Miami-Dade residents who live in coastal areas such as Miami Beach and Key Biscayne. A hurricane warning remains in effect for all of the Florida Keys from ocean reef to the Dry Tortugas, including Florida Bay.

A hurricane warning is also in effect for the northwest Bahamas, excluding Grand Bahama and the Abacos.

A tropical storm warning and a hurricane watch remain in effect from Deerfield Beach southward to Florida City and continuing westward to East Cape Sable.

A tropical storm warning remains in effect for the Turks and Caicos Islands, for the southeast and central Bahamas, and for Grand Bahama and the Abacos.

A tropical storm watch remains in effect from west of east Cape Sable to Chokoloskee, Fla.

Storm surge flooding of 6 to 8 feet above normal tide levels, along with large and dangerous battering waves, are possible in the Florida Keys in areas of onshore flow.

Coastal storm surge flooding of 3 to 5 feet are possible along the extreme southeastern Florida coast, and in the northwestern Bahamas.

Thousands Flee Keys

Thousands of tourists jammed the highways Sunday after they were told to evacuate the lower Keys ahead of Tropical Storm Rita, which developed over the Bahamas and moved toward the vulnerable island chain.

"We're happy to get out of here before the storm comes," said Joan Taylor, 73, of Midland Park, N.J., who was planning to fly out of Key West on Monday.

Gov. Jeb Bush declared a state of emergency for Florida, which gives the state authority to oversee evacuations.

Despite the evacuation order, however, some hotels and restaurants in Key West remained open, and few businesses were boarded up early Monday.

Rita is the 17th named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season, the fourth-busiest since record-keeping began in 1851. In 1933, a record 21 tropical storms formed, according to the National Hurricane Center.

Four hurricanes struck Florida last year, killing dozens of people and causing $19 billion in insured losses in Florida. Hurricane Dennis brushed by the Keys in July, flooding some Key West streets, toppling trees and knocking out power, before slamming the Florida Panhandle.

Florida was also hit this year by Hurricane Katrina. Eleven people died there.

Farther out in the Atlantic, Hurricane Philippe formed late Sunday well east of the Lesser Antilles.

The hurricane season started June 1 and ends Nov. 30.

Watch Tom Sorrells, Larry Mowry and Michele Cimino for more on this story.