mile (270-km) stretch of Florida's densely populated southern Atlantic Coast from Florida City to Vero Beach, alerting residents to expect hurricane winds within 24 hours. The area includes Miami, Fort Lauderdale and Palm Beach -- all of which were largely spared in last year's unusual series of storms. Storm warnings and watches were also posted for part of the Florida Keys, Lake Okeechobee in central Florida, other parts of Florida's coasts and some islands of the northwest Bahamas. After crossing the southern tip of Florida, Katrina is expected to head north through the Gulf of Mexico, strengthen again into a hurricane and hit north Florida on Monday. Its projected path would miss the oil and natural gas rigs farther west in the Gulf of Mexico, but inflict more misery on the region pummeled by Hurricane Dennis in July and Hurricane Ivan last year. White House spokesman Trent Duffy said President George W. Bush and federal authorities were ready to provide any needed relief. "The government's ready, we're watching and we're taking steps to make sure that people get to safe areas or take the proper precautions from the storm," Duffy told reporters in Crawford, Texas. Forecasters have predicted an unusually high number of storms this year because the Atlantic has swung into a multi-decade period of more intense storm activity. The June-through-November Atlantic hurricane season has already seen 11 named storms, a record so early in the year.
