(September, 8 2008) – Hurricane Ike has weakened to Category 2 storm as it moves over Cuba.

Meanwhile, a tropical storm warning has been issued for the Florida Keys.

As of 7 a.m. Monday morning, Ike had maximum sustained winds near
100 miles per hour. And forecasters expect further weakening as the
hurricane moves over central Cuba today.

Forecasters say coastal residents on the Gulf of Mexico need to be watching as Hurricane Ike takes its uncertain path.

Ike is expected to re-emerge over Cuba’s western coast tomorrow morning about 100 miles south of Key West, Florida, as a Category 1. It's on track to head into the Gulf.

In Key West, evacuation orders are mandatory. Some 15,000 tourists fled, but most of the 25,000 residents have stayed behind, at least for now.

Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal urged residents to get ready to head north again. He says so-called "hurricane fatigue" should not prevent people who fled Gustav from evacuating their homes a second time.

Hugh Gladwin isn't surprised to hear that many people might stay. He's director of the Institute for Public Opinion Research at Florida International University and has studied evacuations in Florida and after Hurricane Katrina.

Gladwin says some people always refuse to evacuate, no matter how scary the storm, because they "like being in hurricanes."

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