Santo Domingo.– Hurricane Ike's maximum sustained winds had dropped slightly to 120 m.p.h., with higher gusts, making the storm a Category 3 hurricane, with its center located near latitude 23.2 north, longitude 62.7 west or about 550 miles ESE of Grand Turk Island. Ike is moving toward the west at 16 mph.

A gradual turn toward the west and west-southwest is expected late Friday. On this track, the hurricane will continue to move over the open waters of the west-central Atlantic during the next couple of days. 

Ike is the third major hurricane of the Atlantic season, which runs from June 1 to Nov. 30. The other two were Bertha and Gustav.