Well, the post-eclipse satellite images are starting to come in, and it is looking as if we may see Ike upgraded to or very near Cat 5. The cloud pattern consists of a clear, small, circular eye surrounded by a thick, banding ring of very cold cloud tops.. significantly below -50C and down to -75C. The eye itself is giving off tremendous warmth, by comparison. Raw T numbers out of CIMSS are already running 7.0, and this may have a slightly conservative bias as it does not seem to be honing in on the true center of the cyclone, resulting in a gross misreading of how warm the eye actually is. A new advisory much below 150MPH at this point would not make any sense, baring a highly unlikely rapid weakening phase between now and then.

Track-wise, Ike seems to be following along rather well, and for now, the official NHC cone as of 11PM last night looks to be holding up. The only substantial change I can see coming between 11PM and 5AM will have to do with current and future intensity.