Barreling toward the Texas coast, Hurricane Ike is regaining strength as officials along the Texas coast began evacuations of the first of millions of residents in the forecast path of the storm Sept. 10.
Warm gulf waters contributed to renewed strength for Hurricane Ike after it passed over Cuba during the night, and Airmen aboard a WC-130J Hurricane Hunter were in the storm pinpointing the center and sending flight-level and surface-level readings back to the National Hurricane Center via satellite.
Citizen Airmen of the 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron from Keesler Air Force Base, charged with flying directly into the eye of nature's most powerful storms, continue around-the-clock flights into Ike giving forecasters at the NHC the best possible data.
Hurricane Ike, now a Category 2 on the Safir-Simpson Scale, is a large tropical cyclone and is expected to intensify before making landfall the morning of Sept. 13. The storm has killed already 80 people in the Caribbean and took a significant toll on parts of Cuba, especially areas previously affected by Hurricane Gustav. At this time, the storm has hurricane force winds extending outward up to 80 miles from the center and tropical storm force winds extending to 205 miles, according to the NHC.
The latest reports from the Hurricane Hunters show the storm is strengthening with the minimum central pressure dropping and surface winds increasing.
Residents in the projected path and near those regions are urged to pay close attention to government and news sources in their areas for critical watches and warnings.
