Citrus County Road Department employee Tim Newhart (CQ) throws down a sandbag Monday at the Coastal Heretige Museum in Crystal River, Fla. County crews sandbagged numerous county and city structures on the west side in preparation of a high storm surge. Photo by Ron Thompson/AP

  @ugusta storm coverage

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By Shirish Date
Associated Press

ST. MARKS, Fla. - Boat owners rushed to secure their vessels as Tropical Storm Josephine swirled over the Gulf of Mexico, aiming to hit Florida's western coast at high tide Monday night with close to hurricane-force winds.

Josephine's 70-mph winds were most likely to come ashore near this remote fishing village about 30 miles south of Tallahassee, weaken as it cuts across southeastern Georgia and stay inland as it sends rain up the Atlantic Coast.

``I will probably stay as long as I can. If things get too rough, I'll be the first one out the door,'' said Rich Gray, maintenance chief at Shell Point Resort near St. Marks, about 30 miles south of Tallahassee.

Ruth-Marie Fincher, vice dean for academic affairs, leaves the Medical College of Georgia Administration Building Monday. The rains that lasted through most of the Monday will continue today. Photo by Natalee Water/Staff

Evacuations were ordered for the beaches and barrier islands of nine coastal counties, where flooding was expected. The storm could dump up to 5 inches of rain on the region following a wet weekend across most of Florida.

The most likely target for Josephine's eye was the remote fishing village of St. Marks, about 15 miles south of Tallahassee. At one dock Monday afternoon, boaters struggled in gusts and driving rain to double up their lines.

With the storm's landfall expected at about midnight Monday - the same time as high tide - a bulldozing storm surge of 6 feet to 9 feet was anticipated.

Bob Tweedie, 67, thought his 31-foot sailboat would be safe ``unless the surge goes over 10 feet. Then we're all in trouble.''

Tropical Storm Josephine is shown in this satellite map taken at the National Hurricane Center in Miami. Josephine was 50 miles south-southwest of Apalachicola, Fla., moving near 23 mph with maximum sustained winds near 70mph. AP Photo

Although Josephine strengthened quickly after forming Sunday night, forecasters doubted the storm would build to hurricane-force winds of at least 74 mph.

``Flooding will be a problem with this one,'' said National Hurricane Center meteorologist Mike Hopkins in Miami. Once Josephine gets to South Carolina, he said, ``what you're going to have mostly is a big blob of moisture right over that area.''

At 2 p.m. EDT, the tropical storm's center was about 110 miles south-southwest of Apalachicola, moving northeast at 23 mph.

Kate, in 1985, was the last full-fledged hurricane to hit the Tallahassee area directly. It caused property damage and power outages, but no deaths in the area.

After landfall, Josephine was forecast to head across lightly populated countryside through southeastern Georgia - skimming west of Jacksonville, Fla. - and shooting into the Atlantic Ocean about 24 hours later near Beaufort, S.C.

Stephanie McMurray clears a clogged storm drain near her home after heavy rains caused extensive flooding in the Murray Hill section of Jacksonville, Fla., Monday. Hers is one of the few neighborhood homes laid on a slab, rendering it prone to flood damage. McMurray cleared each of four drains at the corner every 45 minutes. She started at 5 a.m. Photo by Tara McParland The Florida Times-Union

Forecasters said tropical storm force winds could hit the Gulf Coast as far south as Sarasota and as far west as Fort Walton Beach. On the Atlantic side, the warnings went out from Cape Canaveral to Little River Inlet, S.C.

Josephine formed deep in the Gulf of Mexico, but its influence was soon felt far away. A tornado blew out the display windows at a vintage car dealership in Naples but caused no injuries, and much of the state was under a tornado watch into the evening.

Schools closed early in some low-lying communities. Shoppers snapped up bottled water and canned goods, and commuters stewed in traffic snarls aggravated by street flooding.

Jason Remnet, using his cellular phone to notify people expecting him at a business meeting that he won't be making it, after he stalled his car out on flooded Palm Avenue in the San Marco section of Jacksonville, Fla., Monday. Forecasters are warning that Tropical Storm Josephine could drop up to 5 inches of rain on a state drenched by weekend showers Photo by Ricardo Romagosa The Florida Times-Union

Jacksonville was soaked Sunday by more than 5 inches of rain and Miami by 2 inches.

``People are underwater all over town,'' said Holly Williams, a driver for A-2 Wrecker Service in Jacksonville, as she hitched a red sports car to her truck. Her hair was dripping with water. ``I've had water up to the door of my truck,'' she said.

Dexter Rowland, owner of Rowland's Upholstery in Jacksonville, wasn't taking any chances as employees lined his two doors with putty. Plywood was next.

``High tide is what concerns me the most,'' he said. ``I've been flooded three times in 20 years, but two of them were this year.''