I dunno Bobbi....looking at that loop in the link you provided, I see nothing but SW to NE flow all across the Gulf....all the way from the Bay of Campeche through Florida. The flow directly in front of Ivan,...up to the Cuban coast, does still flow East to West ala the ridge. However, that 2nd trough is diving down quite rapidly and is now to the Gulf around LA and Texas. I still see the first trough pushing eastward off the Carolina coast. I am starting to think that there is an increasing prospect of a NE turn once Ivan reaches the Gulf. As some ppl have mentioned, the models are even starting to show a NE hook, although they tend to turn the storm after landfall. Let's watch the future model runs. I would not be surprised to see some earlier NE turns showing up. I believe that ridge might start to relenquish its grip on Ivan.

--Lou