According to the latest report of the Cuban Institute of Meteorology, the center of the hurricane was located 19.4 degrees, latitude North and 82.6 longitude West, at about 153 miles south of Punta del Este, Isle of Youth.

In the next 12 to 24 hours, it is expected to pass south of the Isle of Youth and either make a landfall Monday at the westernmost tip of Cuba, the Cape of San Antonio or, hopefully, continue by sea to pass the Channel of Yucatan into the Gulf of Mexico Tuesday.

Due to the enormous size of this hurricane, torrential rains and strong hurricane winds are expected to hit the Isle of Youth and Pinar del Rio beginning tonight and all day tomorrow, with hurricane force winds.

For the province of Havana and the capital, the weather report predicted heavy rains and tropical storm winds.

Almost half a million persons were evacuated throughout the country. This number was reduced, however, from this afternoon when evacuees from the eastern provinces returned home without the threat of Ivan no longer affecting these territories.

This system, which occasionally reached category 5 (catastrophic damage) devastated eastern Caribbean nations like Grenada and Barbados, and although it didn´t hit Jamaica directly, damage was heavy as well as in the Cayman Islands.

Ham radio operators and the Cayman Meteorological Service reported power is out throughout the island, numerous structures have lost their roofs, water up to 5 feet deep is flowing through many homes, and water 2 feet deep covers the airport runway.

[url=http://www.cubaxp.com/modules/xp-weather/index.php]Cuba Weather Forecasts[/url]