AccuWeather.com Hurricane Center meteorologists anticipate that Tropical Storm #9, also known as "Isaac," is curving to the north later this weekend.

Exactly where it makes that turn will be the key to its impact on Florida and the southeastern part of the country next week.

Alex Sosnowski, senior meteorologist for AccuWeather.com, reports:

We can say at this point that there is the potential for periods of heavy rain, severe thunderstorms, gusty winds, flooding, rough surf and heavy seas as Isaac turns to the north and moves near or over Florida spanning Monday into Wednesday.

At present forward speed (approximately 20 mph), the greatest impact in the Tampa area is likely to occur Monday afternoon into Tuesday with conditions potentially deteriorating during Sunday night, depending on the nature of spiral bands preceding the system.

The worst case scenario from a Tampa standpoint would be if Isaac were to swing over the Gulf of Mexico, strengthen, then curve northeastward toward or just north of the city on the Florida west coast. However, even a northward path directly over the Florida Peninsula could still yield nasty local effects produced by squalls.

It's sort of absurd to speculate what this might mean for the RNC next week, and Republican Party chairman Reince Preibus opted not to do that when asked at a news conference this afternoon.

Four years ago the Republicans cancelled the first day of their convention in St. Paul when there were reports of a major storm in Texas, over 1,000 miles away. That was three years after Hurricane Katrina, a low moment in George W. Bush's second term in office.

But it's been seven years since Katrina, so it's doubtful that the GOP is still so sensitive about storms. Then again, knowing how the roads can flood in Tampa with just an hour of hard rain, it's not too early for party officials to worry about how this might affect transportation for the delegates, many of whom will be traveling via the Howard Frankland from the beaches of Pinellas County.

This article appears in Aug 23-29, 2012.