The National Hurricane Center in Miami late Tuesday projected that Ivan, now a Category-4 hurricane, will hook slightly northeast through the western part of Cuba, into the eastern Gulf of Mexico.

That projected path puts the bulk of the Florida peninsula into the five-day forecast cone, and the hurricane center warned Ivan could hit Florida early next week.

It’s too soon to say whether its path could cross South Carolina.

Early today, Ivan was gaining strength and pummeling the island of Grenada and other parts of the eastern Caribbean with 135-mph winds.

— Wire reports