Tracking Ike through Cuba today
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- 09 / 08 / 2008
Hurricane Ike made landfall in Cuba yesterday with winds of 125 mph. Ike will spend about 48 hours crossing over the island. This will lead to some weakening of Ike and Ike could be down to a category one storm by the time it moves away from Cuba into the Gulf of Mexico.
The factors in our weather will be how strong Ike is in the Gulf, how big Ike is in the Gulf and the exact track that Ike takes through the Gulf.
As of right now, it appears that Ike will be about 200-250 miles off our coast Tuesday night into Wednesday. This will lead to mainly cloudy skies, heavy downpours, and windy conditions.
Tuesday afternoon through Wednesday, winds will be at 20-30 mph with higher gusts.
If Ike is a Category 1 storm passing 250 miles off our coastline, it won’t cause too many problems.
If Ike strengthens and passes by closer to our coast, say about 150 miles away, we could end up with seas of 3-6’ leading to beach erosion and water moving into low lying areas.
The best forecast right now will be for the sustained tropical storm force winds to be just off our coastline while winds through Southwest Florida will be in the 20-30 mph range with higher gusts Tuesday afternoon through Wednesday.
Conditions could be similar to what we felt as Hurricane Gustav passed by during Sunday of Labor Day weekend.
By Thursday, our weather will begin improving.
There is a slight risk of severe weather today through Wednesday. Any time there is a tropical system close by, there is the chance for tornadoes to form. We’ll be watching for that to happen as the bands of rain move across Southwest Florida Tuesday through Wednesday.
Seas will be increasing through Wednesday and there will also be a risk of rip currents. If caught in a rip current, swim parallel to the shore to get out of it.
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