Miami ? Tropical Storm Katrina threatened to dump more than a foot of rain on parts of water-logged Florida as it approached the state Wednesday, with forecasters expecting it to strengthen to a weak hurricane before hitting the coast.

Katrina was expected to strike Florida’s east coast early Friday.

Many in the area – hit by two hurricanes last year – didn’t seem too worried about the slow-moving storm whose worst threat appeared to be flooding. Hardware stores noticed a slight increase in sales, but there didn’t appear to be a crush of customers looking for plywood, water and other supplies.

Only a handful of people were buying hurricane supplies at a Home Depot in Davie. When asked if he was scared about Katrina, Joel Litman said: “Not this one. I think the next one is going to be the big one.”

A 150-mile stretch of Florida’s coast including Miami, Fort Lauderdale, West Palm Beach and Vero Beach was under a hurricane watch, meaning sustained winds of at least 74 mph were possible by Friday.