Aug. 18 (Bloomberg) -- Tropical Storm Fay, which killed about a dozen people on its way through the Caribbean, is heading toward southwest Florida after making landfall over Key West earlier today.

The storm may hit the state's southwest coast tomorrow, packing hurricane-force winds of at least 74 miles (119 kilometers) per hour, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said in an advisory on its Web site. Crude oil fell as the storm is expected to miss oil rigs in the Gulf of Mexico.

Fay made landfall over Key West at about 3 p.m. local time, according to the Hurricane Center. By 8 p.m. Miami time, the center of the storm was about 105 miles south of Naples, Florida, and heading north at 9 mph, the center said in an advisory.

``Late tonight or tomorrow we should see it strengthen to hurricane status,'' said Jim Rouiller, a senior energy meteorologist with Planalytics Inc. in Wayne, Pennsylvania.

Fay's maximum sustained winds were about 60 mph, with strengthening expected over the next day, the center said. A storm becomes a hurricane once sustained winds reach 74 mph.

Fay's winds should reach at least that speed when it hits mainland Florida, making it a Category 1 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Scale, Rouiller said.

Rain Forecast

The storm is expected to dump as much as 10 inches (25.4 centimeters) of rain over the Florida Keys and the central and southern Florida peninsula, according to the hurricane center. The storm may produce tornadoes today and tomorrow in parts of Florida, the Center said in its 8 p.m. advisory.

Rouiller said the track will spare most of the oil and natural gas rigs in the Gulf of Mexico, which is home to about a fifth of U.S. oil production.

``It looks like minimal type of risk to the rigs,'' Rouiller said by telephone. ``They have dodged a bullet with this one.''

Crude oil for September delivery fell 0.6 percent to $113.06 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Orange juice rose to the highest price this month. Florida is the world's second-largest orange grower.

Orange-juice futures for November delivery rose 2.3 percent to $1.0865 a pound on ICE Futures U.S., the former New York Board of Trade. Fay probably won't threaten citrus crops because it will weaken once it gets over land, Rouiller said.

Feared Dead

Fay killed four people in the Dominican Republic, the country's Emergency Operations center said on its Web site. At least seven people were killed by the storm in Haiti, Agence France-Presse said.

Two others may have died after a bus overturned while trying to cross a flooded river, the Associated Press reported, citing the United Nations. AP reported earlier that 30 people on the bus were feared dead.

Amtrak canceled services to and from Florida for tomorrow, according to a statement. The Auto Train from Lorton, Virginia, to Sanford, Florida, was canceled as well as the Silver Star and Silver Meteor trains between New York and Miami.

Students in Dade and Monroe counties got a few extra days of summer vacation, as the two school systems said in statements that they put off the start of their school year from today to Aug. 20.

To contact the reporter on this story: Brian K. Sullivan in Boston at bsullivan10@bloomberg.net; Jerry Hart in Miami at jhart@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: August 18, 2008 21:04 EDT