Hurricane Ike, a powerful and dangerous Category 4 storm, bore down on Cuba Sunday with sustained winds of near 135 mph, meteorologists said.

As of 5 a.m. Sunday, Ike was located 65 miles east of the Bahamas' Great Inagua Island, moving nearly due west at 15 mph. Forecasters from the U.S. National Weather Service's National Hurricane Center in Miami predicted Ike would traverse Cuba lengthwise from east to west starting Sunday night before exiting into the warm Gulf of Mexico waters and heading toward Louisiana late Monday.

The Cuban government issued hurricane warnings for the provinces of Guantanamo, Santiago de Cuba, Holguin, Las Tunas, Granma, Camaguey and Ciego de Avila. Storm surges of 13 to 18 feet above normal were predicted for Cuba and the Bahamas, while residents of the Florida Keys were urged to stay on the lookout for hurricane-force winds, the Weather Service said.

Rainfall amounts of 4 to 6 inches were expected in and around Cuba Sunday, with Hispaniola Island predicted to see 6 to 12 inches with isolated areas of up to 20 inches of rain.