Almost as soon as Florida fell out of Hanna's forecast cone, it slipped into Ike's, and that mighty, major hurricane could be on our doorstep Tuesday.
"There is a lot coming at us, but we Floridians are strong," Gov. Charlie Crist said. "We can handle this."
Hurricane Ike's exact path will depend on the same steering currents that are pulling Tropical Storm Hanna toward a landfall in the Carolinas on Saturday, although it's unlikely Ike will go that route, too.
By late Thursday, most tracking models, including the National Hurricane Center's official forecast, pointed Ike on a crash-course through the Turks and Caicos Islands, the Bahamas - and then South Florida.
Crist called Ike "a dangerous, powerful storm." It quickly intensified into a Category 4 hurricane with 145 mph maximum sustained winds, but forecasters expected it to drop slightly to a Category 3 storm this weekend on its approach to Florida.
A hurricane of Ike's strength could prove catastrophic to Caribbean nations still struggling to recover from Gustav and Hanna.
"This is worrisome for us," said Edwin Olivaresž, director of the Dominican Republic's emergency operations center. "This is a storm with a lot of rain, a lot of wind and a lot of gusts. Any one of these elements could be catastrophic."
More than 150,000 people in the Dominican Republic remained without power from Hanna, which was being blamed for 61 deaths in Haiti and two in Puerto Rico.
Hanna's wrath came less than a week after Hurricane Gustav swept through western Cuba and Hispaniola, killing 76 in Haiti, eight in the Dominican Republic and destroying thousands of homes across the island.
Cubans worked diligently to rebuild cities in Pinar del Rìo province, the Isle of Youth and other badly damaged areas Thursday, but some said media reports did not mention the whole island was inside Ike's forecast cone.
"They are trying to lift people's spirits," said Eloy Gutiërrezž, a former Miami resident who moved back to Cuba. "Telling them about another cyclone would dash people's hopes to the floor."
And there's even another cyclone out there: Tropical Storm Josephine, the 10th named storm of what's become an active hurricane season.
Josephine barely moved Thursday, and forecasters said it showed little potential of developing into a hurricane or affecting land any time soon.
Hanna pulled away from the Bahamas on Thursday without producing major damage there.
"We are tranquil," said Stephen Russellž, interim director of the Bahamas National Emergency Management Agency. "As soon as we are clear with Hanna, we have to turn our eyes now on Ike, a powerful one."
Hanna was expected to make landfall very close to the South Carolina-North Carolina border early Saturday as a tropical storm with 70 mph maximum sustained winds.
Emergency shelters were set to open today in North and South Carolina, where officials also planned to close ports and cancel Friday night high school football games. Many residents shuttered their homes and stocked up on pantry items, while others in low-lying coastal areas voluntarily evacuated to more inland parts.
"Hopefully, the good Lord will bless us and this storm will skirt past, but we are ready in whatever case happens," Keith Sumney, mayor of North Charleston, S.C., said.
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