Hurricane Ike, a formidable tropical cyclone, struck the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico regions in September 2008, leaving a trail of destruction with its powerful winds, heavy rainfall, and storm surges. As captured in the satellite images, Ike's path is traced from its early formation in the Caribbean Sea (first image) to its landfall over Cuba (second image), intensification over the Gulf of Mexico (third image), and eventual impact upon Texas (fourth image).

• Image 1: Product: MERIS_RR_1P (1200 metre resolution), Satellite: Envisat, Instrument: Medium Resolution Imaging Spectrometre (MERIS), Acqusition Date: 3 Sep 2008, Orbit number: 34046, Orbit direction: Descending, Band combination: 11, 14, 3 (RGB) )
• Image 2: Product: MER_RR_1P, Satellite: Envisat, Instrument: Medium Resolution Imaging Spectrometre (MERIS), Acqusition Date: 9 Sep 2008, Orbit number: 34133)
• Image 3: Product: MER_RR_1P, Satellite: Envisat, Instrument: Medium Resolution Imaging Spectrometre (MERIS), Acqusition Date: 11 Sep 2008, Orbit number: 34162, Orbit direction: Descending
• Image 4: Product: MER_RR_1P (1200 metre resolution), Satellite: Envisat, Instrument: Medium Resolution Imaging Spectrometre (MERIS), Acqusition Date: 13 Sep 2008, Orbit number: 34191, Orbit direction: Descending