Hurricane Ike has crossed Cuba and entered the Gulf of Mexico, less than 2 weeks after Hurricane Gustav moved ashore in Louisiana, shutting in oil and gas production and causing damage to transmission lines. (As of Sep6, the LOOP came back up on one of the three mooring points, (8 days down time) - The 5 pm NHC forecast is for a late Fri pm central TX landfall - each of the last 3 NHC updates have shifted the track north and are forecasting Ike to be a 'major' hurricane. (e.g. Cat 3+). Any further model tracks north bring it close to large refining areas.

NHC Forecast for Hurricane Ike - click to go to Wunderground

New maps and new discussions as of 9/9 10:00 EDT.