Ike, now Cat. 2, gathers force for beach assault
UPDATE: Hurricane Ike is now a Category 2 storm with top sustained winds of 100 mph. The storm continues to gather strength in the Gulf of Mexico, headed for a weekend landfall in Texas. Watch Ike grow in this satellite loop. An earlier post follows, below.
Forecasters at the National Hurricane Center note that Ike's cloud pattern is becoming better organized, and some deep convection has developed near the center - both indications that the storm's primary heat engines are still healthy and revving up. Maximum sustained winds have increased from 75 mph as it pulled away from Cuba yesterday to near 90 mph today. Here's how the morning discussion at the NHC put it:
"THE OFFICIAL FORECAST MAKES IKE A CATEGORY THREE HURRICANE BASED ON A BLEND BETWEEN STATISTICAL AND DYNAMICAL MODELS. HOWEVER, THE INTENSITY FORECAST IS UNCERTAIN, AND IKE COULD END UP BEING A CATEGORY HIGHER OR LOWER THAN FORECAST."
A Cat. 3 storm has top winds of at least 111 mph.
The storm was moving toward the northwest at 8 mph, with a slight left turn later today. A weakening high over the eastern U.S. is still expected to curve the storm track more to the right before or soon after landfall.
In the meantime, Tropical Storm Warnings remain in effect for waters west of Key West to the Dry Tortugas, and over portions of western Cuba as Ike's outflow continues to be felt there. They can expect 6 to 12 inches of rain. The Keys could receive another 1 to 3 inches, with 2 to 4 over other parts of South Florida. Isolated tornadoes, waterspouts, storm surge flooding, large and dangerous waves and rip currents are also still on the menu until Ike moves farther off. Here's some more video from Key West. And this, too.
In Texas, folks are preparing for Ike's landfall this weekend.