Sep 07 2008
Louisiana Declares State Of Emergency
![[Image of 5-day forecast of predicted track, and coastal areas under a warning or a watch]](http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/storm_graphics/AT09/refresh/AL0908W5_sm2+gif/143311W_sm.gif)
by The Times-Picayune
Sunday September 07, 2008, 3:15 PM
Gov. Bobby Jindal has declared a state of emergency in preparation for the possible landfall Hurricane Ike. Ike, a category 4 storm, passed over the Great Inagua Island in the southeastern Bahamas this morning, with a track predicting entry into the Gulf of Mexico later this week.
At 1 p.m. Sunday, Ike’s center was at latitude 20.9 north and longitude 74.0 west, about 90 miles east northeast of Guantanamo, Cuba. It was moving toward the west near 13 mph.
The Florida Keys are under a hurricane watch this afternoon.
A west to west-southwest motion is expected to continue today with a turn toward the west-northwest on Monday. Current predictions — subject to huge changes this far out — put Ike in the central gulf due south of New Orleans by Friday morning.