MIAMI, Sept. 25 (UPI) -- Isidore, a tropical storm that covers much of the Gulf of Mexico, was expected to roll ashore in Louisiana after midnight Thursday with near hurricane force winds of near 65 mph.
Rainfall of 10-20 inches is possible over the South the rest of the week and tornadoes are possible.
In the Caribbean, tropical storm Lili was getting organized again south of the Dominican Republic and looked like it would survive a wind shear that threatened to tear it apart.
A hurricane watch for Isidore remained in effect from Cameron, La., to Pascagoula, Miss., the National Hurricane Center in Miami said. A tropical storm warning is in effect from High Island, Texas, to St. Marks, Fla., but forecasters said everybody on the northern Gulf Coast should be ready for some rough weather.
Some slight strengthening was forecast before Isidore reaches the coast and begins to move through the southeastern United States.
"It will take off to the northeast and there will be some very heavy rainfall amounts up to the Tennessee Valley toward the Appalachians and eventually up towards New England," said Max Mayfield, director of the hurricane center.
He said many of the deaths from storms come from inland flooding and warned residents to be careful.
"Most of the time it's because people are driving their cars through flooded out roadways and being swept away. If you can't see the road, please don't drive there," he said.
Gulf Coast residents continued to prepare for a tropical storm and the 10-20 inches of rain and the 3-6 foot storm surge expected to come with it.
Rainfall totals of 10-12 inches have been reported in the New Orleans area, according to the center.
Grand Isle, La., the state's only barrier island, was evacuated Tuesday and oil rigs sent workers to shore, leaving only skeleton crews. Fishermen hauled in their nets and returned to port.
"Some very large swells have been generated. We already have some roads under water from Louisiana to Alabama," Mayfield said.
At 11 p.m. EDT, Isidore was centered at 28.1 north, longitude 90.3 west or about 125 miles south of New Orleans. It was moving north at 13 mph.
Forecaster Lixion Avila said rain bands will diminish over parts of the Yucatan Peninsula and southeastern Mexico where the storm had spent nearly two days. Officials said two people were killed and 300,000 were left homeless.
Lili caused mudslides on St. Vincent in the Caribbean Tuesday that killed a mother and three of her children. It damaged hundreds of homes on St. Vincent, Barbados and St. Lucia.
But forecasters feared early Wednesday the system would weaken entirely, but that wasn't the case.
"An Air Force hurricane hunter aircraft investigated the storm this afternoon and found that while the low-level center was still broad, it had become a little better organized farther to the east near the strongest thunderstorms," forecaster Stacey Stewart said.
A tropical storm watch remained up for Jamaica and for the southern coast of Haiti and of the Dominican Republic.
The system was still considered a possible threat to Florida because of its location and the uncertainty of its future intensity.
At 11 p.m., the center of tropical storm Lili was estimated at latitude 14.2 north, longitude 70.3, 300 miles south of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. It was traveling west at about 7 mph, but expected to turn toward the west-northwest.
Kyle has been rejuvenated into a hurricane and was moving west-southwest in the Atlantic Ocean 590 miles east-southeast of Bermuda. Its coordinates at 11 p.m. were latitude 28.6 north, longitude 57.0 west.
Top winds were near 75 mph but the hurricane is not considered a threat to land.
