For those of us non-hurricane experts ...
What’s the current forecasting say with regard to when Ike will hit the US coast?
What’s the current forecasting say with regard to WHERE Ike will hit the US coast?
Was Ike a Cat 3 when it hit the Cuban coastline?
(Answers from anyone would be appreciated!)
Molly in California (praying, as always)
Thanks again. Bookmarked.
Last week, Hurricane GooseStep (Gustav) skirted us here
in the Dallas, TX area ... giving us overcast skies, cooler
temperatures and a big gusty wind for a day or two.
This one looks to be heading this way too maybe. Hope it
doesn’t live up to it’s potential Bad Boyness.
Brings a whole new meaning to the “I like Ike” phrase
from the 50’s, huh??
Anywhoo ...
Here is the latest from The Dallas Mourning Spews on Ike:
Excerpt:
Forecasts show Ike skirting Key West early Tuesday on a trek to the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico, slowly strengthening to perhaps Category 3 strength on its way to a landfall late in the week somewhere between the Florida Panhandle and the Texas coast.
And once again, New Orleans — still recovering from the weaker-than-expected Gustav — is squarely in the crosshairs.
In Key West, evacuation orders became mandatory Sunday for tourists and the approximately 25,000 residents alike, but traffic off the lone highway from the island was steady rather than jammed.
Mike Tilson, 24, was preparing to ride Ike out in his houseboat, only planning to evacuate if the storm takes a sudden turn to the north.
“I got tarps and champagne,” he said as he pushed a wheelbarrow of supplies including Heineken beer, ice and a loaf of bread down the dock.
“It’s just a good party. I’ll stay.”
At 8 p.m. EDT Sunday, Ike was a Category 3 hurricane with sustained winds near 120 mph, located about 30 miles east of Punto de Sama on eastern Cuba’s coast, and moving west at 14 mph. It was forecast to track over Cuba, re-emerging over the island’s western coast Tuesday morning about 100 miles south of Key West as a Category 1.
Ike was a dangerous Category 4 hurricane packing 135-mph winds a day earlier, but the National Hurricane Center in Miami said it had weakened “a little” in recent hours. Still it was a fierce storm: hurricane force winds stretched up to 60 miles from the eye and tropical force winds nearly 145 miles outward.
President Bush declared a state of emergency for Florida because of Ike on Sunday and ordered federal money to supplement state and local response efforts.
Key West Mayor Morgan McPherson said 15,000 tourists had already evacuated the region, and the Key West airport was set to close at 7 p.m. Sunday.
McPherson warned that anyone who thinks staying through a major hurricane is “champagne time” hasn’t thought it through clearly. He said emergency vehicles would be pulled off the road if the area gets tropical storm force winds.
I understand all of the other models are pretty much in agreement of a South Texas landfall but I was just wondering why these two show such a different track.
TAW
I am getting married in San Antonio on Saturday. Anything to be worried about? If Ike is a CAT4 at landfall what can I expect in SA?
How long do you think Ike will keep sucking in this dry air from the west? It seems to be giving him a hard time getting really well organized?
This one has me very worried for my hometown: Angleton, Tx. (30 mi due S of Houston)
Any landfall north of Corpus would hit them pretty hard. They are already starting evacuations of the barrier islands and Freeport.