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Ike looks rather skeletal right now with not much in the way of vigorous convection, but the overall structure of the storm is very healthy. The center has pushed offshore, which will give it an opportunity to at least hold its own if not intensify a little bit. That is not guaranteed, though, as it is still close enough to the coast to suffer adverse effects. It appears to be moving very slightly north of due west, but there is no sign of a definitive turn to the WNW yet.

To answer the question above, the link below has information on SST and TCHP (tropical cyclone heat potential) for the Gulf:

http://www.aoml.noaa.gov/phod/cyclone/data/go.html

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