Weary and battered by two hurricanes in three weeks, Floridians now are keeping a nervous eye on another major storm that could be headed this way.
"It's a dangerous storm right now, and it's forecast to get a little bit stronger, so it's something we have to watch," said Chris Hennon of the National Hurricane Center in Miami.
Current predictions have Ivan reaching Cuba by Friday, although the track of this season's fifth hurricane is not certain.
"It's way too early to start ripping your hair out over this one," said Russell Henes, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Ruskin.
Ivan formed as a powerful hurricane, quickly growing to a Category 4 storm Sunday night with 130 mph winds. But by 5 p.m. Monday, Ivan had weakened to a Category 2, packing 96 to 110 mph winds that extended 50 miles.
Late Monday, the well-organized hurricane was 250 miles east-southeast of Barbados. It was moving west near 24 mph and had sustained winds near 105 mph.
Ben Nelson, state meteorologist, said he didn't expect Ivan's weakening to last long. Warm water and wind currents likely will strengthen it to a Category 4 storm.
Yet, Nelson was optimistic that storm could miss Florida.
"Several of the models, 5 to 6 days out, trended south," Nelson said. "But we'll keep an eye on it. It's something that has me concerned."
Forecasters said the center of Ivan is expected to be near or over some of the Windward Islands today. The hope is that the storm will cross the Dominican Republic and run into the 10,000-foot high mountains.
But Hennon said Ivan's current track has the storm passing narrowly south of the Dominican Republic as it heads toward eastern Cuba, where the mountains are not as high.
"That's a major factor," Hennon said.
Forecasters said it's too early to predict whether Ivan will be the third hurricane this season to make landfall in Florida.
"We could see Ivan traverse a little farther south into the Caribbean or we could see it move north into the Bahamas," said Nelson, the state meteorologist.
Times staff writer Joni James contributed to this report.
