Tropical Storm Fay Aims Florida

Tropical storm Fay has top winds of 50 miles per hour. The National Hurricane Center said the storm could become Hurricane Fay by Tuesday. Florida governor declares a state of emergency to free up federal funds. Hurricane watches are posted in parts of the state.

The National Hurricane Center said tropical storm Fay could become a hurricane during the next 36 hours. The storm is expected to build after emerging from Cuba on Monday.

Parts of Florida, including the Florida Keys and the southwest region of the state, are under a hurricane watch. A posted watch means that hurricane storm conditions are possible within 36 hours.

Forecasters expect the storm to move up the Florida west peninsula on Tuesday.

The Florida state governor has declared an emergency in an effort to free up federal funds to deal with the storm's aftermath.

Hurricane forecasters warn that populated areas around Miami and Fort Lauderdale are still a possible target of the storm, should it steer more to the east than expected. Forecasters say that it was difficult to predict the storm's path using a variety of different computer programs.

Programs used by the National Hurricane Center produced several scenarios while predicting the storm's path. While the Gulf of Mexico does not seem to be an immediate target, some oil companies are already evacuating workers. Shell Oil Co said it was pulling 200 workers from offshore operations.