The National Hurricane Center expects Hurricane Isaac to land on Florida's coast on Monday morning just as the GOP's national convention gets underway. Currently, the storm is churning over the Caribbean Ocean on a fast track for The Dominican Republic.

Because the tropical storm system is still many hundreds of miles away from U.S. soil, meteorologists say it is impossible to predict its track. However, ABC meteorologist Mac Golembo asserted that it will hit southern Florida.

 "Any way you take it, it's going to be a wind and rain event in Tampa. We don't know if it's going to be damaging to Tampa, canceling the convention or just delaying it."

Puerto Rico, CNN reported, is already bracing for the worst. Gov. Luis Fortuno declared the island in a state of emergency and activated the National Guard. He also prepped the 433 shelters on the U.S. commonwealth so that they are ready for activation by each local mayor.

Florida and the Republicans, however, remain secure in their ability to handle the storm in a "multitude of scenarios." ABC News reported that they have been planning and preparing for a year, and that even the Secret Service has been involved. In a worst case scenario, The CS Monitor described, an evacuation of the 70,000 delegates, party officials, journalists, protesters and others is planned. A mock hurricane drill was also held back in May in preparation for the convention.

For the Republicans, this worrisome scenario comes with a strong sense of deja vu since at the St. Paul, Minn. convention in 2008, the event was delayed by a day because of Hurricane Gustav. Then-President George W. Bush cancelled his onsite speech (and his trip) and instead gave one via satellite from DC.

 

Reach Executive Producer Francesca Martens here.