KEY WEST, Fla. (AP) — “Extremely dangerous” Hurricane Ike grew to fierce Category 4 strength Saturday as it roared on an uncertain path that forced millions from the Caribbean to Florida, and Louisiana to Mexico, to nervously wonder where it would eventually strike.
Preparations stretched more than 1,000 miles as the massive, 135-mph storm took a southwesterly shift that could send it over Cuba near the Florida Keys sometime Monday before heading into the warm open waters of the Gulf of Mexico. And once again, a possible target was New Orleans and the already storm-weary U.S. Gulf Coast.
“It looks really, really serious,” Florida Gov. Charlie Crist said in a meeting with mayors and emergency officials. “And I think it’s going to be devastating.”