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Hurricane Ike Reaches Category 4 Strength

The Associated Press

People wait in a long line for one of the last planes to get off the Turks & Caicos Islands Saturday.

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By KEITH MORELLI | The Tampa Tribune

Published: September 6, 2008

Updated: 09/06/2008 10:59 pm

Hurricane Ike bulked up to Category 4 strength today as the storm took aim at the British territory of Turks and Caicos.

The National Hurricane Center said today that Ike's projected path appeared to be south of the one taken by Hanna last week, and that's good news for Tampa Bay residents.

That route would take Ike into the Gulf of Mexico by Tuesday, but on a northwest track away from the Bay area. The Louisiana coast, recently hit by Hurricane Gustav, appeared to be a target, but the possibilities also included the coasts of Florida, Alabama and Mississippi.

Forecasters cautioned that it was still too early to tell where the storm eventually would strike.
Ike's fierce winds grew to 135 mph Saturday as the storm took a southwesterly shift that could send it to the Florida Keys by Monday or Tuesday after the storm bumps along the north coast of Cuba. At 11 p.m. Ike's center was near Caicos and Grand Turk Island as the storm moved west-southwest at about 15 mph, the National Hurricane Center in Miami said.

Along its route, Ike likely will fluctuate in strength as it scales the mountains of Cuba and skates through the Florida Straits before entering the open warm waters of the Gulf, forecasters say.

Most predictions agree that once Ike enters the Gulf, it will head west-northwest and gain strength. Most hurricane computer models show Ike barreling into the Gulf, missing the Tampa Bay area.

"This current track is good news for the Tampa Bay area since it takes Ike well off the coast," said Hillsborough County Emergency Operations Center spokeswoman Holley Wade on Saturday afternoon. Still, she remained skeptical.

"It's too early to say," she said. "Just a small wiggle could put us back in very different situation."

The Florida Keys will catch the brunt of the storm in a day or two, forecasters predicted. Today, Monroe County ordered a mandatory evacuation: Tourists were to leave immediately, and residents in low-lying areas were told to evacuate Sunday.

State transportation officials suspended tolls on major highways stretching into South Florida to help move people out of harm's way.

Tolls on northbound lanes of Florida's Turnpike, from its southern tip in Florida City to its northern end in Wildwood, were waived, as were the tolls of northbound lanes of the Sawgrass Expressway. Tolls on the Alligator Alley portion of Interstate 75 were suspended in both directions.

Gov. Charlie Crist, who on Friday signed a state-of-emergency order, toured South Florida today and cautioned all Floridians to be wary of Ike.

"If it jogs one way or the other, particularly to the north," Crist said, "it could have a significant impact on Florida."

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report. Reporter Keith Morelli can be reached at (813) 259-7760 or kmorelli@tampatrib.com.

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