Hurricane Ike

While we are well versed in hurricane preparation, having been through 3 solid hits in the last few years, and we know how much the hurricane projected paths can change over a 5 day period...this is never what a South Floridan wants to see. We live about 25 miles ESE of Lake Okeechobee, which you can see in the center of Florida on the map. Yesterday, the 5:00 p.m. advisory indicated that Ike had become a Catergory 1 hurricane with winds of approximately 75 mph. By 5:00 a.m. this morning, wind speed had increased dramatically to 145 mph - a Category 4 storm. While the storm has slowed to approximately 135 mph winds at this point, still a Category 4 storm, there is a good chance it could strengthen again according to the forecast. So for now, we'll keep a close eye on it, likely spend the weekend preparing, and hope the meteorologists are wrong, as usual.