Hurricane Ike remains fixed on southern Texas shore

A strengthening Hurricane Ike began its northwestward jaunt across the warm Gulf of Mexico towards an early Saturday landfall near Corpus Christi, Texas, as a dangerous Category 3 hurricane with winds of 120 mph.

With Hurricane Ike looking as if it will not be a major problem for Louisiana as the state struggles to recover from Hurricane Gustav, Gov. Bobby Jindal said he's relieved to have to worry about only one storm at a time.

Most of the state is "out of the cone of error" in the projected path toward south Texas, so Jindal said, "We reached out to them to see if there are any resources we can share."

"We would still have assets to evacuate southwest Louisiana, if necessary," the governor said. "If the track persists, we do not anticipate a large evacuation."

Since tides will be about 2 or 3 feet above normal as Ike passes, evacuations probably will be needed in low-lying areas that normally are evacuated.