(Published August 12‚ 2004)

KEY WEST, Fla. (AP) - A state of emergency was declared for all of Florida on Thursday as the one-two punch of a tropical storm and then a hurricane raged closer, the first time the state has faced such a potentially messy plight in almost a century.

Tropical Storm Bonnie was forecast to hit the state Thursday afternoon, and Hurricane Charley early Friday. Schools and government offices were closed, and Gov. Jeb Bush activated the Florida National Guard.

Tropical storm warnings were posted along the Panhandle for Bonnie. For Charley, hurricane warnings and watches were posted for the Keys and the state's southwest coast. A steady line of traffic drove north off the Keys late Wednesday as tourists followed orders to evacuate the entire 100-mile-long island chain. Officials expanded the order Thursday to include a mandatory evacuation of mobile homes in the lower Keys.

The lone road to the mainland, the Overseas Highway, was blocked by an accident for more than an hour Thursday morning, slowing the evacuation.

Because the Panhandle is already soaked from days of rain, some low-lying areas there may have to be evacuated if there's flooding, said Craig Fugate, the state's emergency management director.

"Residents should make sure they're getting prepared," said Daniel Brown, a forecaster at the National Hurricane Center in Miami. "They're both something people should be watching."

Such a double-whammy hasn't happened in Florida since Oct. 17, 1906, when two tropical storms hit the state, said Ken Reeves, the senior meteorologist at AccuWeather, a commercial forecasting center.

According to Hurricane Center projections, both storms could spread rain along the East Coast after hitting Florida, and flood watches extended north to Pennsylvania and New York. For North Carolina, the heavy rain from the storms was coming just a week after Hurricane Alex damaged parts of that state's Outer Banks.

At 8 a.m., Bonnie was centered about 80 miles southwest of Apalachicola and moving northeast near 22 mph. Bonnie was expected to make landfall along the central Panhandle on Thursday afternoon, when isolated tornadoes were also possible, forecasters said.

The storm's maximum sustained winds were at 55 mph as of 8 a.m., down from 65 mph Wednesday. Bonnie could dump 4 to 6 inches of rain, leading to coastal storm surges 1 to 3 feet above normal, forecasters said.

A steady rain was falling at daybreak in Apalachicola in the Panhandle, expected to absorb a big part of Bonnie's brunt. There was only a light breeze, with storm-force winds not expected to arrive until later in the day.

Charley had top sustained winds of about 85 mph and was expected to strengthen. It was centered about 40 miles east of Grand Cayman, and was moving northwest near 16 mph.

Charley was expected to make landfall in Florida early Friday. A hurricane warning was issued in the Keys from the Dry Tortugas to the Seven Mile Bridge and in southwest Florida from East Cape Sable to Bonita Beach.

Charley was expected to remain at hurricane force when it passes over mainland Florida, forecasters said. Three to 6 inches of rain were expected, with higher amounts possible, Brown said.

In Key West, the electronic sign at the Waffle House scrolled a message to the storm, "Stay Away Charley." Plywood and metal storm shutters graced only a few homes and businesses and most streets were quiet.

Lisa Kaminski, a Key West native who manages a Days Inn there, said that while guests were told to leave, she and her employees weren't too worried about Charley. "We're staying," she said. "This isn't a big one."

Key West Mayor Jimmy Weekley asked bars, shops and restaurants to shut down at 10 p.m. Wednesday, but many remained open past midnight. Raymond Moffitan, who wore a velvet hot dog bun hat, barked out offers of hot dogs and chili dogs for a "Hurricane Special - $2."

In the Caribbean, Charley headed directly for the Cayman Islands and was expected to travel over western Cuba on its track toward Florida. Western Cuba was under a hurricane watch while Jamaica and the Cayman Islands had warnings.

The storms forced ships to change their routes in Florida, which has the world's busiest cruise ship ports. Carnival Cruise Lines reshuffled the ports of call for several ships to avoid the storms, and Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. was doing the same, officials said.

In Islamorada, in the northern Keys, Lou Anne Settle and Jordan Davis shrugged off the hurricane, sipping wine and gazing at the sunset along the marina where they live in a houseboat. They had no plans to leave.

"It's a little early to be worried," Davis said, before raising her glass and toasting, "to the hurricane - to Charley."

Associated Press writers Howard Campbell in Kingston, Jamaica, and John Pain in Miami contributed to this report.