According to a Friday-released report by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the computer simulations, based on wind and ocean current data spanning a decade and a half, there is a 61-80 percent possibility of the oil spill reaching within 20 miles of the coasts of the Florida Keys, Fort Lauderdale and Miami, most probably in the form of weathered tar balls.

The NOAA scientists, disclosing the agency’s forecasts for the next four months, said that shorelines that have the greatest chance of being soiled by oil – that is, an 81-100 percent possibility – are the ones stretching from the Mississippi River Delta to the western Florida Panhandle, which has already reportedly noticed tar balls wash up on beaches.

In addition, the NOAA also said that the there are less than 1-20 percent chances of the oil reaching east-central Florida and the Eastern Seaboard; and that it is “increasingly unlikely” that areas above North Carolina will be affected by the spill.

Meanwhile, Coast Guard Adm. Paul Zukunft revealed that officials were moving skimming vessels back to sea and were making all possible efforts to protect the ecologically sensitive Chandeleur Sound area.

Zukunft said on Friday: “It's going to be a long weekend from an oil spill response perspective. All skimming boats from Louisiana to the Florida Panhandle had been idle for three days because of dangerously high waves.”