FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Anxiety-riddled South Florida started returning to normal on Sunday, taking down shutters and tuning in football instead of storm updates, now that Hurricane Ivan appears headed toward the Panhandle.

“Definitely, the stress level is down,” said Larry Ellis, a manager at Mango’s Restaurant & Lounge in Fort Lauderdale, where business was brisk on Sunday. “The customers seem comfortable.”

But across the Caribbean, the monster storm was still inspiring terror in its path and leaving tragedy in its wake.

After battering the Cayman Islands on Sunday, Ivan was to bear down on western Cuba by Monday morning and possibly with Category 5 intensity. Havana could see severe weather because tropical storm conditions extend 175 miles from the core.

Ivan was to be about 350 miles southwest of Miami by Monday morning. Late on Sunday, the system was about 165 miles southeast of the western tip of Cuba. It was moving northwest at almost 10 mph with sustained winds of 150 mph, a strong Category 4.

There were no immediate reports of deaths in the Caymans, a British territory with 45,000 residents. Ivan already has left 60 dead in the Caribbean, with 15 of those in Jamaica and much of the rest in Grenada.

In Florida, Ivan could make landfall near Panama City either late on Wednesday or early on Thursday as a strong Category 3 system, with winds of about 125 mph. Because the forecast track has subtly been shifting west, it also could aim near Pensacola, the area that Category 3 Hurricane Opal slammed in October 1995.

Hurricane watches or warnings might be issued for the state’s north Gulf Coast by Monday, which would trigger evacuations. Ivan threatens to pound the Panhandle with a 20-foot storm surge and 5 to 10 inches of rain.

After landfall, Ivan was forecast to weaken substantially and turn northeast toward Georgia and the Carolinas.

Meanwhile, a tropical storm watch has been issued for the lower Keys, from the Seven-Mile Bridge west to Dry Tortugas, even though the projected path keeps the system about 250 miles west of Key West on Tuesday morning.

In Key West, many locals considered Ivan to be over. They flocked to bars for a celebratory drink. Others prayed and gave thanks at the hurricane grotto, an enclave of roses and candles, erected in memory of an estimated 800 people who died during the “Atlantic-Gulf” hurricane of 1919.

“We’re grateful, again,” said Roy Stone, referring to a string of storm systems that have steered wide of the island recently. “I really believe there’s some special energy here.”

Because of Hurricane Frances, about 95,000 people in Palm Beach County still were without power Sunday. Curfews still are in affect from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. on the barrier islands, and West Palm Beach and North Palm Beach have midnight curfews. Several cities have asked residents to flush toilets only when necessary to avoid sewage spills.

Although county-run emergency distribution centers have closed, the American Red Cross was operating about 15 mobile feeding stations throughout the county. Two shelters, the Palm Beach County Convention Center and the Pahokee Civic Center, remain open.

Statewide, tolls remain suspended on Alligator Alley, eastbound and westbound, the Sawgrass Expressway and Florida’s Turnpike from Florida City to the Interstate 75 exchange in Wildwood.

State officials do not anticipate any fuel shortages because of Ivan. In the past week, 590 million gallons of fuel and diesel were shipped to Florida, and the state consumes about 26 million gallons a day.

Although the Port of Tampa is preparing to shut down operations, Gov. Jeb Bush said tankers would be diverted to Port Everglades and Jacksonville.

“It is really important for people not to create a self-fulfilling problem,” he said. “The idea that somehow there is going to be rationing has created a run on people going to top their tanks at every possible moment. According to news reports, people are just not acting rationally about this.”

Because Ivan has slowed down, South Florida could see rains and strong breezes from the system by Monday evening and through Tuesday, the National Weather Service in Miami said.

Winds were forecast to increase to 20 to 25 mph, and possibly stronger in the coastal areas, and the region could see 1 to 2 inches of rain, mostly on Tuesday.

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“It’s not going to be an all-day wash out, but we’ll have these feeder bands that pass through, and we’ll get these good bursts of thunderstorms and rain,” said meteorologist Barry Baxter.

Also, Monday and Tuesday, Ivan was expected to produce dangerous rip currents along the southeast coast.

While stormy conditions should subside by Wednesday, low-pressure trailing behind Ivan was expected to continue generating sporadic afternoon storms on Thursday and Friday, Baxter said.

“It looks like it’s going to be a nice weekend,” he said.

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Florida’s southwest coast, bashed by Hurricane Charley last month, could see 2 to 4 inches of rain from Ivan on Monday and Tuesday.

“There is a potential the southwest coast might see a coastal flood watch,” Baxter said. “That’s from the piling of water behind Ivan.”

While in the Central Caribbean, after battering Jamaica on Saturday, Ivan spun up to 165 mph, or Category 5 force. Based on its low-pressure readings, it became the sixth strongest storm on record, even stronger than the 160 maximum winds in Hurricane Andrew, which destroyed south Miami-Dade County in 1992.

Because Ivan could slip into the Yucatan Channel, and just miss the west end of Cuba, a hurricane watch was issued for the northeastern Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico.

The sparsely populated and rural western Cuba is no stranger to savage storms. In 2002, it was pounded by two Category 2 hurricanes in two weeks: Isidore in late September and Lili in early October.

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The reason Ivan has taken a more westerly track: High pressure built to the north of its path, preventing it from moving north, forecasters said.

After being threatened by three intense hurricanes in Charley, Frances and Ivan, South Florida has been frazzled for the past month.

Although Ivan’s threat has been substantially reduced for South Florida, Bill O’Brien, Palm Beach County’s emergency management director, said residents shouldn’t fully relax until the system makes landfall.

“You know how unpredictable these things are,” he said Sunday. “I’m not in a big hurry to get my shutters down.”

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(South Florida Sun-Sentinel correspondents Ruth Morris, Scott Wyman, Tania Valdemoro and Bill Hirschman contributed to this report.)

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(c) 2004 South Florida Sun-Sentinel.

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GRAPHICS (from KRT Graphics, 202-383-6064): 20040912 Storm Ivan, 20040912 Ivan damage death

AP-NY-09-12-04 2055EDT