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'Dangerous' Ike Shifts, Takes Aim At Cuba, Keys

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By KEITH MORELLI

The Tampa Tribune

Published: September 7, 2008

TAMPA - An "extremely dangerous" Hurricane Ike bulked up to Category 4 strength Saturday and the storm lurked "near or over" the British territory of Turks and Caicos islands.

The National Hurricane Center said Saturday that Ike's projected path appeared to be south of the one taken by Hanna last week, which was good news for Tampa Bay area 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 possibilities included the coasts of Florida, Alabama and Mississippi.

Saturday evening, Ike's center was just east of Grand Turk Island as the storm moved west-southwest at about 15 mph, the National Hurricane Center in Miami said.

The center also said a hurricane warning was in effect for several Cuban provinces and parts of the southeastern and central Bahamas.

Ike, whose fierce winds grew to 135 mph Saturday, was characterized as "extremely dangerous" by the hurricane center. The storm took a southwesterly shift that could send it to the Florida Keys by Monday or Tuesday after it bumps along the north coast of Cuba.

Ike likely will fluctuate in strength as it scales the mountains of Cuba and skates through the Florida Straits before entering the 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. Still, she remained skeptical. "It's too early to say," she said. "Just a small wiggle could put us back in a very different situation."

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

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.

Saturday, a WP-3D Orion Hurricane Hunter aircraft and, later, a Gulfstream IV jet took off from MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa to gather data on the storm's winds, humidity, temperature and pressure. Once analyzed, the data will help forecasters predict Ike's path.

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

@tampatrib.com.

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