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Images: Tropical Storm Erika heads toward Florida

Deadly Tropical Storm Erika may weaken as it passes over the mountains of the Dominican Republic Friday before continuing on a forecast path toward Florida, where a state of emergency has been declared by Gov. Rick Scott.

Erika was 65 miles (105 kilometers) south-southeast of Santa Domingo with maximum winds of 50 miles per hour, and is running into shear that is tearing at its structure, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said Friday. The storm is blamed for the deaths of at least 12 people on the Caribbean island of Dominica, Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit said on his Twitter account.

The wind shear, which can rip a storm apart, will last for most of Friday.

"This, combined with land interaction, suggests that the cyclone should weaken, and there is a chance the system could degenerate to a tropical wave while crossing Hispaniola," Jack Beven, a senior hurricane specialist at the center in Miami, wrote in a forecast analysis.

The chance Erika could survive a pass over Hispaniol's mountains and hit Florida by Monday has prompted Scott to declare an emergency across the entire state.

Erika's path across Hispaniola, home to Haiti and the Dominican Republic, may rob the storm of much of its strength as its structure is further torn apart by the islands mountains, some of which reach 10,000 feet. The center now says the storm will not grow into a hurricane, after earlier outlooks said such strengthening was possible.

Erika already looks more like a tropical wave than a storm, said David Streit co-founder of Commodity Weather Group in Bethesda, Maryland.

"It is really struggling,"Streit said by telephone. "It has lots of stuff stacked against it right now."

There is only about a 5 percent chance it could enter the eastern Gulf of Mexico, Streit said.

Forecasts show Erika striking the tip of Florida Monday and traveling the length of the state through Wednesday. The Florida Division of Emergency Management has warned residents to be ready.

Erika, the fifth named storm of the six-month Atlantic season, has brought flooding rains across the Caribbean. The storm was forecast to drop from 3 to 6 inches (8-15 centimeters) of rain across the Dominican Republic and Haiti, the center said.

Some areas may get as much as 10 inches from Erika. High winds and rain are also forecast to reach the Turks and Caicos, as well as the central and northwestern Bahamas through the weekend.

A large navigation buoy hit by strong winds and waves, floats near the coast, as Tropical Storm Erika moves away from the area in Guayama, Puerto Rico, Friday, Aug. 28, 2015. The storm was expected to dump up to 8 inches of rain across the drought-stricken northern Caribbean as it carved a path toward the U.S. (AP Photo/Ricardo Arduengo)
A surfer walks into the ocean as Tropical Storm Erika approaches the island in Luquillo, Puerto Rico, Thursday, Aug. 27, 2015. Tropical Storm Erika pummeled the eastern Caribbean island of Dominica, unleashing landslides and killing at least four people. The storm knocked out power and water supplies and had dumped 15 inches of rain on Dominica by early Thursday, according to the weather service in the nearby island of Antigua. (AP Photo/Ricardo Arduengo)
People walk on South Beach on Thursday, Aug. 27, 2015, in Miami Beach, Fla. Tropical Storm Erika which was forecast to near Florida as a hurricane on Monday, knocked out power and water supplies and had dumped 15 inches (38 centimeters) of rain on Dominica by early Thursday, according to the weather service in the nearby island of Antigua. (AP Photo/Alan Diaz)
A couple walks in a pier as Tropical Storm Erika approaches the island in Naguabo, Puerto Rico, Thursday, Aug. 27, 2015. Tropical Storm Erika pummeled the eastern Caribbean island of Dominica, unleashing landslides and killing at least four people. The storm knocked out power and water supplies and had dumped 15 inches of rain on Dominica by early Thursday, according to the weather service in the nearby island of Antigua. (AP Photo/Ricardo Arduengo)
Jack Beven, senior hurricane specialist, tracks the movement of Tropical Storm Erika as it moves westward toward islands in the eastern Caribbean, at the National Hurricane Center, Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2015, in Miami. Tropical storm warnings have been issued for Puerto Rico, the U.S. and British Virgin Islands, and the Leeward islands. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
James Franklin, chief hurricane forecaster, looks at an image of Tropical Storm Erika as it moves westward toward islands in the eastern Caribbean, at the National Hurricane Center, Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2015, in Miami. Tropical storm warnings have been issued for Puerto Rico, the U.S. and British Virgin Islands, and the Leeward islands. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
Luis Rodriguez jogs at Hobie Beach, Thursday, Aug. 27, 2015, in Key Biscayne, Fla. Tropical Storm Erika which was forecast to near Florida as a hurricane on Monday, knocked out power and water supplies and had dumped 15 inches (38 centimeters) of rain on Dominica by early Thursday, according to the weather service in the nearby island of Antigua. (AP Photo/Alan Diaz)
A woman walks her dog on the beach on a cloudy day Thursday, Aug. 27, 2015, the South Beach area of Miami Beach, Fla. Tropical Storm Erika which was forecast to near Florida as a hurricane on Monday, knocked out power and water supplies and had dumped 15 inches (38 centimeters) of rain on Dominica by early Thursday, according to the weather service in the nearby island of Antigua. (AP Photo/Alan Diaz)
A man fishes from a pier as Tropical Storm Erika approaches the island in Naguabo, Puerto Rico, Thursday, Aug. 27, 2015. Tropical Storm Erika pummeled the eastern Caribbean island of Dominica, unleashing landslides and killing at least four people. The storm knocked out power and water supplies and had dumped 15 inches of rain on Dominica by early Thursday, according to the weather service in the nearby island of Antigua. (AP Photo/Ricardo Arduengo)
A river overflows, affecting some homes along its banks, due to Tropical Storm Erika in Roseau, Dominica, Thursday, Aug. 27, 2015. Streets across Dominica turned into fast-flowing rivers that swept up cars as the storm pummeled the eastern Caribbean island. (AP Photo/Carlisle Jno Baptiste)
A life guard station displays the yellow, Medium Hazard, and the purple, Dangerous Marine Life, warning flags Thursday, Aug. 27, 2015, in the South Beach area of Miami Beach, Fla. Tropical Storm Erika which was forecast to near Florida as a hurricane on Monday, knocked out power and water supplies and had dumped 15 inches (38 centimeters) of rain on Dominica by early Thursday, according to the weather service in the nearby island of Antigua. (AP Photo/Alan Diaz)
A woman walks into the ocean as Tropical Storm Erika approaches the island in Luquillo, Puerto Rico, Thursday, Aug. 27, 2015. Tropical Storm Erika pummeled the eastern Caribbean island of Dominica, unleashing landslides and killing at least four people. The storm, which was forecast to near Florida as a hurricane on Monday, knocked out power and water supplies and had dumped 15 inches of rain on Dominica by early Thursday, according to the weather service in the nearby island of Antigua. (AP Photo/Ricardo Arduengo)
Tourists enjoy the beach as Tropical Storm Erika approaches the island in Luquillo, Puerto Rico, Thursday, Aug. 27, 2015. Tropical Storm Erika pummeled the eastern Caribbean island of Dominica, unleashing landslides and killing at least four people. The storm knocked out power and water supplies and had dumped 15 inches of rain on Dominica by early Thursday, according to the weather service in the nearby island of Antigua. (AP Photo/Ricardo Arduengo)
Rio Batan Matienzo takes a leap while skim boarding Tropical Storm Erika approaches the island in Luquillo, Puerto Rico, Thursday, Aug. 27, 2015. Tropical Storm Erika pummeled the eastern Caribbean island of Dominica, unleashing landslides and killing at least four people. The storm knocked out power and water supplies and had dumped 15 inches of rain on Dominica by early Thursday, according to the weather service in the nearby island of Antigua. (AP Photo/Ricardo Arduengo)
The Beran protestant church is partially collapsed due to Tropical Storm Erika in Roseau, Dominica, Thursday, Aug. 27, 2015. The storm, which forecasters said could reach Florida as a hurricane on Monday, knocked out power and water supplies on Dominica as it dumped 15 inches (38 centimeters) of rain on the small island and headed west into the Caribbean Sea. (AP Photo/Carlisle Jno Baptiste)
People look at sink holes in the road next to the capital's main market, caused by Tropical Storm Erika in Roseau, Dominica, Thursday, Aug. 27, 2015. About 80 percent of the island was without electricity, and water supply was cut off, authorities said. (AP Photo/Carlisle Jno Baptiste)
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