Residents of the Florda Keys, fearing impact from the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, might want to cross their fingers and toes.

Researchers at the University of South Florida say the oil from the Deepwater Horizon spill in the Gulf of Mexico is flowing toward the loop current that could bring it to the Florida Keys and the state's eastern shores, if it hasn't entered the current already, the Press Association of the United Kingdom reports.

One model created by marine scientists at the University of South Florida shows the oil has entered the loop current. Another shows it is a mere three miles away.

Over the weekend BP used a mile-long tube to start siphoning the oil onto a boat. The company says the tube has allowed containment of a fifth of the leak from the well that has been unleashing what could be more than 210,000 gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico each day.