KEY WEST, Fla. -- The latest projected path of Ernesto moved east again early Monday, and now shows the storm making landfall in South Florida and moving through Central Florida as a Category 1 hurricane, according to Local 6 meteorologist Larry Mowry.

"The cone is still pretty large (extending) into the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico but we are right over top of the center of the cone as we head into Wednesday afternoon," Mowry said. "With the storm heading over us, if this track holds true, we would be seeing the possibility of a Category 1 storm riding right through Central Florida."

The models and paths continued trending eastward Monday.

"And lets hope that trend continues because that keep it a little farther east and away from Central Florida," Mowry said.

Bush Issues State Of Emergency

With state and local officials urging Floridians to be ready, Tropical Storm Ernesto edged closer Monday to the peninsula as Miami, Fort Lauderdale and the Keys were under a hurricane watch.

A watch from Deerfield Beach southward on the east coast and from Chokoloskee southward on the west coast was issued at 5 a.m., meaning hurricane conditions of at least 74 mph are possible within 36 hours. The Keys were put under a watch on Sunday afternoon.

Gov. Jeb Bush issued a state of emergency Sunday for all of Florida, because forecasters said Ernesto could potentially threaten a large swath of the state by late in the week. Immediate concern, though, centered on the Keys, where visitors were ordered out and plans were enacted to evacuate special-needs residents to Miami.

In the Keys, three shelters were set to open Monday. All travel trailers and recreational vehicles were ordered out of the Keys, and mobile home residents were also urged to evacuate.

Some residents of the low-lying island chain flocked to grocery stores and home-supply warehouses to stock up on canned goods, bottled water and other storm essentials.

"Key Westerners are used to this," said Jim Bernard, assistant manager at a Home Depot in Key West.

At 8 a.m. EDT, Ernesto was on the coast of southeastern Cuba about 20 miles west of Guantanamo.

Ernesto was 1 mph above the threshhold to be a hurricane Sunday, but weakened as it plodded toward Cuba's southeastern corner. Still, the hurricane center cautioned that Ernesto may strengthen significantly as it moves toward Florida.

"I don't want anyone to overly focus on the downgrading. ... It has a good chance to regain hurricane status," said Max Mayfield, director of the National Hurricane Center.

The state of emergency directs counties to activate their emergency management offices and activates the National Guard, among other things. Bush canceled several meetings scheduled in New York Monday, and will remain in Tallahassee to monitor storm developments.

Ernesto lashed Haiti and the Dominican Republic with heavy rain Sunday and threatened to bring as much as 20 inches of rain to parts of Haiti, prompting fears of mudslides and flooding. The storm was expected to move over Cuba, then bring rain and wind toward Florida, forecasters said.

"You don't know where to go. You don't know where it's going to blow," said tourist Jim Rogers of Lodi, N.J., who spent Sunday preparing to leave the Keys. "You don't want to be in Key West."

Florida's emergency management center in Tallahassee was partially activated Sunday, and several counties around the state were expected to follow suit Monday. Emergency officials encouraged people across the state to monitor the storm, check emergency supplies and disaster plans -- a familiar theme, considering seven hurricanes have hit Florida and one has brushed by in the past two years.

"Ernesto bears watching," said Mike Stone, spokesman for the Florida Division of Emergency Management.

Watch Local 6 News for more on this story.