Posted on 09/12/2008 5:12:09 AM PDT by NautiNurse
Large and dangerous Hurricane Ike approaching the Upper Texas coast. Mandatory evacuations began in earnest Thursday as an estimated one million coastal residents headed inland. There were widespread reports of gas stations running out of fuel.
The National Weather Service posted dire storm surge predictions of 20-25 ft storm surge along the coast and bay heads. Hurricane warnings covered a 400 mile swath of the Gulf of Mexico.
Wholesale gasoline prices spiked 30 percent Thursday, or nearly $1 a gallon, out of fear of what Ike might do.
Public Advisory Updated every 3 hours
Discussion Updated every 6 hours
Buoy data: Western Gulf of Mexico
Houston/Galveston Long Range Radar
Corpus Christi Long Range Radar
Brownsville Long Range Radar
Lake Charles Long Range Radar
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Additional Resources:
Navy Tropical Cyclone
Storm Pulse Very cool site
KHOU Houston
ABC 13 News Houston
FOX News Houston
KPLC Lake Charles
KFDM 6 Beaumont/Port Arthur
KKBMT 12 Beaumont
KRIS-TV Corpus Christi
KZTV Corpus Christi
Brazoria County Emergency Management
Galveston County Emergency Management
Chambers Country Emergency Management
Liberty County Emergency Management
| Category | Wind Speed | Barometric Pressure | Storm Surge | Damage Potential |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tropical Depression |
< 39 mph < 34 kts |
Minimal | ||
| Tropical Storm |
39 - 73 mph 34 - 63 kts |
Minimal | ||
| Hurricane 1 (Weak) |
74 - 95 mph 64 - 82 kts |
28.94" or more 980.02 mb or more |
4.0' - 5.0' 1.2 m - 1.5 m |
Minimal damage to vegetation |
| Hurricane 2 (Moderate) |
96 - 110 mph 83 - 95 kts |
28.50" - 28.93" 965.12 mb - 979.68 mb |
6.0' - 8.0' 1.8 m - 2.4 m |
Moderate damage to houses |
| Hurricane 3 (Strong) |
111 - 130 mph 96 - 112 kts |
27.91" - 28.49" 945.14 mb - 964.78 mb |
9.0' - 12.0' 2.7 m - 3.7 m |
Extensive damage to small buildings |
| Hurricane 4 (Very strong) |
131 - 155 mph 113 - 135 kts |
27.17" - 27.90" 920.08 mb - 944.80 mb |
13.0' - 18.0' 3.9 m - 5.5 m |
Extreme structural damage |
| Hurricane 5 (Devastating) |
Greater than 155 mph Greater than 135 kts |
Less than 27.17" Less than 920.08 mb |
Greater than 18.0' Greater than 5.5m |
Catastrophic building failures possible |
Previous Threads:
Hurricane Ike Live Thread II
Hurricane Ike Live Thread I
TS Hanna, Hurricane Ike & TS Josephine [Other than that, the tropics are calm]
Tropical Storms Hanna, Ike and Josephine, TD Gustav (Other than that, the tropics are calm)
I call BS on that if there's no source. Not a slam ... that's just too high.
press conference. we’re watching KHOU on DirecTV 361. Transportation and Emergency Management and Mayor speaking.
Fortunately, the kinetic energy associated with Ike has dropped. But it has put a lot of water into motion already and that water motion in turn doesn’t just dissapate in conjuction with the hurricane getting less powerful overall, as they learned with Katrina. I read on Jeff Master’s blog that they had nine feet of surge in NOLA from this. And some low-lying towns in Louisana are flooded.
Also carried on TXCN.
I have been trying to find out. It was on Channel 11. I just walked in to the room when they said it so I didnt hear the whole thing.
Are you doing okay?
Apparently she has lost contact with them in the last hour or so so I can't get the source but I am telling Mom the same thing 50 Foot is just waaay too high. I would think we would have to be Cat 5 or above for that kind of surge.
man and his wife wait to be rescued by Coast Guard in High Island, Texas as Hurricane Ike moves in.(Photo courtesy of Guy Reynolds/ The Dallas Morning News)
They have HLP/Reliant crews on stand by at several staging areas in the BW8/45 area. Pretty sure they are ready in other areas.
Well it’s definitely a moot point now as far as surge goes. There is however enough time for some strengthening that could bring some extra wind damage problems to places like Houston.
wow, impressive rescue!
The world record for surge, I believe, is 49 feet or so for a cyclone that hit Australia many years ago.
Yes - we’re running out of warm water -
Unfortunately - we’re running out of water completely.
We’ll be very lucky if it weakens somehow, but I don’t think it will.
High tide at about 6AM for Galveston.
Downtown Houston (with that high-profile skyline) is gonna be a terrible mess, I think.
The glass repair companies are gonna have enough work to keep them busy for months!
Surge PLUS waves could be 50 feet, though.
Listening to Houston Fire...sounds like trees are already dropping on lines, etc
Is it better to be in an area where there is a tornado alert or in an area with a tornado watch? There is a tornado watch in my area but a tornado alert in the parish where my friend lives. I was thinking about staying with her tonight but maybe it’s safer where I am. God, I cannot wait until Monday and all this is over.
great rescue... but do you get the feeling like I do like 9/11 there are going to be a lot of dead rescuers?
I don’t think there’s much question now that it will strengthen into landfall. That’s only a few hours though so I don’t know how well that will transfer to the surface.
BUOY 42065 22 miles East of Galveston
60kt. winds, 16 foot seas...
not yet
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.
