Hurricane Ike Targets Texas Gulf Region

Hurricane Ike is expected to make landfall as a Category 3 hurricane. The storm is moving toward the northwest near 8 mph. Maximum sustained winds are near 100 mph with higher gusts. Ike is expected to become a major hurricane within the next 24 hours.

Hurricane Ike has left a trail of destruction across the Caribbean and Cuba. Forecasters predict the storm will regain strength in the Gulf of Mexico.

The National Hurricane Center said the warm waters of the Gulf will build the storm to a Category 3 hurricane.

The latest computer models show Ike moving west and making landfall somewhere in the middle of the Texas coast. The region is the main offshore production region in the Gulf of Mexico which supplies 15 percent oil and natural gas in the United States.

As of 2:00 PM ET, The center of Hurricane Ike was located near latitude 24.2 north, longitude 85.8 west. The storm is about 255 miles west of Key West, Florida.

The storm is moving toward the northwest near 8 mph. Maximum sustained winds are near 100 mph with higher gusts. Ike is expected to become a major hurricane within the next 24 hours.