Tropical Storm Ike upgraded to hurricane status

September 4, 2008 The National Hurricane Center (NHC) has upgraded Tropical Storm Ike to hurricane status. The storm is the fifth hurricane of the 2008 Atlantic season. The storm currently has maximum sustained winds of 140 miles per hour. Ike is located 610 miles northeast of the Leeward Islands, and is currently tracking west-northwest at seventeen miles per hour.

It is currently too early too make precise predictions on the areas of land that will be hit by the hurricane, but the NHC reports that the hurricane may strike in the Southeastern Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos islands may be affected.

All individuals who may be impacted by this storm are urged to track its progress as it develops over the next few days.

The NHC has said that "Ike is an extremely dangerous category four hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson hurricane scale." The organization also said that "some weakening is forecast during the next day or so but Ike is expected to remain a powerful hurricane for the next several days."