Hurricane Ike heads for Bahamas and Florida

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Hurricane Ike with winds near 125 miles per hour will likely reach the Bahamas early next week and South Florida by mid-week, the U.S. National Hurricane Centre said in its 5 a.m. EDT (10 a.m. British time) report Friday.

Ike weakened a bit overnight from a Category 4 hurricane with winds of 131 to 155 mph to a Category 3 hurricane with winds of 111 to 130 mph.

The NHC expects Ike to briefly weaken further to a Category 2 hurricane with winds of 96 to 110 mph in about 24 hours before regaining Category 3 strength in 36 hours and Category 4 strength in 72 hours before reaching the Florida coast.

Ike was located about 460 miles north of the Leeward Islands and about 660 miles east-northeast of Grand Turk Island, the NHC said.

The Leeward Islands include the Virgin Islands, Anguilla, Saint Martin, Barbuda, Antigua, Montserrat and Guadeloupe.

The major weather models, including the NHC, forecast Ike would reach Florida or Cuba over the next five days. It is too soon to say whether the storm will reach Gulf of Mexico or turn north and follow Tropical Storm Hanna up the U.S. East Coast.

Energy traders watch for storms that could enter the Gulf of Mexico and threaten U.S. oil and gas production facilities as well as refineries along the coast.

Commodities traders likewise watch storms that could hit agriculture crops like citrus and cotton in Florida and other states along the Gulf Coast to Texas.

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