Meteorologists said there was a slight chance Arlene could build into a Category 1 hurricane by landfall, with its heaviest wind and rain north of the storm's center. It was expected to make landfall during the mid to late afternoon, the hurricane center said.
"We anticipate that Arlene will probably stay at a very strong tropical storm this afternoon," Ben Nelson, Florida's state meteorologist, said Saturday afternoon. "Those warnings are up just in case."
Bob Garcia checked into a Red Cross shelter at Gulf Shores, Ala., with his son, Tommy.
Garcia said they live in a mobile home in Summerdale, Ala., and there was "no sense in taking chances" with the possibility of tornados developing as the storm plowed ashore. He was one of only 13 people in the shelter Saturday morning.
One death had been blamed on the storm, a Russian exchange student pulled from the rolling surf off Miami Beach on Friday.
The worst fears were in the Florida Panhandle, still reeling from Hurricane Ivan nine months ago. Piles of debris, gutted homes and storm-damaged roofs covered by plastic blue tarps are vivid reminders of Ivan's wrath.
"I was pretty shocked to see how bad it still was," said tourist Roddy Rogers, 46, of Springfield, Mo. "I've been in third-world countries and it looks kind of like that in some places."