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Focus Shifting From Gustav And Hanna To Ike

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By NEIL JOHNSON | The Tampa Tribune

Published: September 3, 2008

Updated: 09/03/2008 12:36 pm

TAMPA - Floridians' attention may shift from Tropical Storm Hanna to Tropical Storm Ike if forecasts from the National Hurricane Center hold.

Hanna, expected to reach minimal hurricane strength, is forecast to scoot east of Florida on Friday and barrel toward the Carolinas. Forecasters say Hanna started the expected move north after hovering near Haiti the past two days.

If the forecast track holds, and models have been ticking Hanna slightly farther east each day, the storm should move past the state during the weekend.

Ike, however, may be a different story.

Ike could reach hurricane strength before Thursday and is expected to continue gaining strength.

Ike could be a Category 3 hurricane by the end of the weekend, with winds of 115 mph, the National Hurricane Center says. Forecasts have Ike heading steadily west on a track that could take it between Cuba and the Keys early next week.

That path would place Southeast Florida on the fringe of the cone of possible strike zones by Monday.

Forecast models are fairly uniform, keeping Ike moving west through Saturday, with the only real questions being its forward speed and how far north or south the track drifts during the next five days.

Some project Ike heading to the south of Cuba, and others have it moving toward the Straits of Florida, between Cuba and the Keys.

Those paths could take Ike into the Gulf of Mexico or Caribbean Sea as a major hurricane.

The third storm in the tropical parade, Tropical Storm Josephine, is forecast to remain below hurricane strength through Monday -- far out in the Atlantic.

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