Hurricane Ike was a powerful Cape Verde hurricane that made its way across the Bahamas, Cuba and Texas. Initially expected to hit South Florida I traveled there and met with veteran storm chasers Jim Leonard and Michael Laca. As the storm approached the Turks and Caicos Islands it started to head in a more west-southwestward motion in response to a strong ridge build up in the eastern coast of the US. The change in direction of the storm made it hit Cuba instead of South Florida in the afternoon of September 7th as a category 4 hurricane. The storm weakened as it moved across central provinces of Cuba and emerged in the Caribbean Sea in the morning of the 8th. The eye of hurricane Ike (now a category 1 with 80mph winds) made its closest approach to Key West at around noon of September 9th within around 150 miles to the south. Maximum winds in the area were measured at Sand Key just a few miles from the film site. Sustained winds of 65mph with a gust of 86mph was measured there at around 12:10pm local time. First part of the video was taken at Islamorada in Upper Keys in Jim Leonard’s house. Latter part was taken at White St. Pier in Key West at around noon in the 9th. ***Second part of this video will feature more shots of strong winds and surge at Key West. ***