The National Hurricane Center's Tropical Cyclone Report: Hurricane Ike, described this storm as "a long-lived Cape Verde hurricane that caused extensive damage and many deaths across portions of the Caribbean and along the coasts of Texas and Louisiana. It reached its peak intensity as a Category 4 hurricane (on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale) over the open waters of the central Atlantic, directly impacting the Turks and Caicos Islands and Great Inagua Island in the southeastern Bahamas before affecting much of the island of Cuba. Ike, with its associated storm surge, then caused extensive damage across parts of the northwestern Gulf Coast when it made landfall along the upper Texas coast at the upper end of Category 2 intensity."

"Ike is directly responsible for 103 deaths across Hispaniola, Cuba, and parts of the United States Gulf Coast. Extensive damage from strong winds, storm surge, and rainfall occurred over Hispaniola, the Turks and Caicos Islands, the southern Bahamas, Cuba, and the U.S. Gulf Coast from Florida to Texas. Additional deaths and significant damage occurred across parts of the Ohio Valley and southeastern Canada after Ike lost tropical characteristics."

For additional data and imagery, visit the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) Hurricane Season 2008: Ike feature.