Hurricane Ike is making his way into the Gulf and is causing concern that the Louisiana coast will face two major hurricanes within weeks of each other.Ike, forecast to be a Category 3 hurricane, is expected to make landfall near Galveston, Texas, during the weekend, said Barry Keim, Louisiana state climatologist.Gov. Bobby Jindal declared a state of emergency Sunday in preparation for Ike, according to Governor’s Office news releases. The state of emergency lasts through Oct. 5.”I request that you declare an emergency disaster declaration for the State of Louisiana as a result of Hurricane Ike effective September 7, 2008,” Jindal wrote President Bush in his request Sunday. “I anticipate that the effects of the storm will overwhelm the capability of state resources and it is necessary that critical pre-positioning and other readiness requirements be provided through federal assistance.””If you actually have two storms, one right after the other, the second one often won’t be as strong,” assistant professor of geography and anthropology David Brown, to his physical geography class. “Unfortunately, it’s been just long enough for the warm water to be back on top and fuel Ike.”Brown said he anticipated Ike making landfall as a Category 1 or a Category 2.Keim said the cone of era spans between Mobile, Ala., and just south of Brownsville, Texas.”It wouldn’t take a big change in the track to bring this thing into Louisiana,” Keim said.Keim said “things can change” and officials are starting to feel “a little bit more secure” that Ike will make landfall in Texas.Jay Grymes, University Ag Center climatologist, said Ike is going to make landfall along the Gulf Coast. He said the hurricane would likely be in the center of the Gulf of Mexico by the middle of next week.Grymes said Ike should make landfall late Friday or Saturday. “Louisiana is not out of the realm of possibility,” Grymes said. “The threat for Louisiana seems to have lessened.”Grymes said a landfall in Louisiana, Mississippi or Texas seemed likely.”Based upon the evidence on Monday afternoon, it looked like the threat was greatest for Texas and somewhat lesser for Louisiana,” Grymes said. Kristine Calongne, University spokeswoman, said the University’s Emergency Operations Center is still working to deal with the aftermath of Hurricane Gustav. The EOC will probably stay active until Ike’s path is more certain, she said. “We’ve got our eye on it as we handle all the follow up from Hurricane Gustav,” Calongne said.—-Contact Lindsey Meaux at [email protected]