The origins of Ike were in a tropical depression first spotted near the Cape Verde Islands around 28 Aug 2008. It developed through a Tropical Storm and moved westward as it intensified, striking the Turks and Caicos Islands on 7 Sep and passing on south westwards across Cuba between 7 and 8 Sep.
Multinational aid was mobilised and the British sent a Frigate and a Support Ship as part of its contribution, while Ike headed on veering NW, to buzzsaw through Texas following a landfall near Galveston by 15 Sep.