Hurricane Ike is currently moving westward in the Atlantic Ocean, according to reports from the National Weather Service.

Ike is the ninth Atlantic tropical storm to be named in 2008. TS Ike was located approximately 1235 miles east of the Leeward Islands earlier this morning. The storm is traveling in a west-northwest direction at arounf 15 miles per hour with sustained winds of 50 miles per hour.

Forecasters have predicted that Ike could gain strength over the coming days and could be on course to hit the islands of the Bahamas, Cuba and/or Hispaniola by Sunday. A Hurricane warning remains in effect for central and Southeastern Bahamas, the Turks and Caicos. Heavy rains and high winds are predicted for these areas.

Tropical storm Ike comes on the heels of Hurricane Hanna, currently a level one hurricane that's forecast to hit the Bahamas, the Turk Caicos Islands and possibly the eastern coast of Florida in the coming days and Hurricane Gustav which made landfall in New Orleans yesterday.

One thing is for certain, this year has been a particularly active hurricane season for the Atlantic and with the season for tropical storms coming to an end on November 30, 2008, there's still plenty of time for more tropical storms and hurricanes.

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