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)
Please add me to your list Xena.
It was supposed to convey accurate information prepared by experts. It should make some people feel more safe and some people less.
No good purpose is served by encouraging an out-of-control “run for your lives” mentality — notwithstanding government’s interest in sometimes doing so.
Wrong. Once again, they UNDERFORECAST Katrina's surge (despite your claims that they always OVERFORECAST hurricane effects). If I am living at 29 feet, and the forecast says it could reach 30 feet, and if the surge forecast history for Katrina is any guide, they could UNDERFORECAST the surge by 5-7 feet, LIKE WHAT HAPPENED WITH KATRINA. And that doesn't even begin to factor in wave action - if the track holds, the winds are going to be blowing diagonally across the bay and right into the area in question.
But the key point is, if someone is at 29 feet above sea level, that is not a sufficient margin for forecast error - they already are facing water in their house if the 10 percent forecast holds. If Ike produces Cat-5 level surge as some feel could happen because of the size of the storm, computer modeling I have seen shows a Cat 5 hitting at high tide could generate 35 foot storm surge at the head of the bay. So I'm basing my opinions on several sources. You, in turn, are living in denial of what happend just three years ago. I'm not going to clutter up this thread any more with a pointless exchange with you, I've made my point, you may had the last comment. And I'm sure if the 10 percent doesn't happen, you'll be strutting around telling people I'm a doomsayer. Just like people in NOLA pointed to the warnings about Ivan and said that Katrina was being overhyped as well, don't worry, the Big Easy is always spared. Guys like you give evacuation managers heartburn.
Don't confuse him with the facts.
The good Lord didn’t make the animals of his creation stupid. Same thing happened ahead of the Tsunami in the pacific a couple of years back. Natives reported animals headed inland a couple of days ahead of the wave.
Hurricane Ike is closing in on Texas, and stands poised to
become one of the most damaging hurricanes of all time.
Despite Ike's rated Category 2 strength, the hurricane is
much larger and more powerful than Category 5 Katrina or
Category 5 Rita. The storm surge from Ike could rival
Katrina's, inundating a 200-mile stretch of coast from
Galveston to Cameron, Louisiana with waters over 15 feet high.
Wahhhh, awahhhhhh. Did you know that CNN sux. I knew you did.
A monster storm is headed for a huge population center and this loafer-wearing, chardonnay-sipping media snot is concerned about when he's going to get his face-time.
So typical of the me-me-me media.
CNN reporter now whining because the network won’t cut to him to report live from the seawall at Galveston and they’re getting wet with spray. He asked for a phone to call the studio. Hahahaha!
No, they are staying at the San Luis, which was built on the site of an old gun battery. It is somewhat elevated, and shoud survive, but will certainly take some damage.
there is an older feller from no.Ca. somwhere who guests on Coast to Coast who predicts earthquakes by reading newspaper classifieds to see the numbers of missing pets
Zero boarding is happening in our teensy little subdivision, but the square formed by Beltway 8, Westheimer, Dairy Ashford, and Memorial is seeing some serious plywood action.
My buddy Hank, at Memorial and Gessner, reports that some neighbor of his was using actual 2x4s to board up, and that this guy had literally covered every single window in the house. We both decided we could not handle being in a house with absolutely no natural light. Freaky!
If there is a hurricane ping list I would like to be on it. I’m in WV but my company has an office in Houston and I have friends there.
I’m back here after giving up trying to find a wind vs. AGL calculator... There must be one somewhere, but I failed.
Rush in his second hour was laughing about the “people who do not evacuate around Galveston will die” advisory. “I’ve never heard them say such a thing before ha ha”
He didn’t hear the whole advisory, just a clip, it was obvious. I am concerned that his tone could have gotten some fans in trouble. It is too late now. I could not get through. My EMail didn’t reach him in time. No one else got through.
Oh, yeah....I've seen what happens at that I-10 and Beltway 8 intersection in a bad storm...I've seen water up to the traffic lights.
Who are these idiots they're showing on Fox partying right on the freakin' beach???
For the record, 1836 people lost their lives in Katrina.
sw
I’m in faraway Colorado, and just left the thread to provide training to a Navy reservist flying in from Houston to get his computer accounts set up here at NORTHCOM. He isn’t here, though—evidently his flight was cancelled. He’s booked on a later flight—hope he gets out okay.
I hope they enjoy themselves b/c they will be dead by this time tomorrow.
Darwin award winners for sure...
Fools!
sw
I got caught in urban flooding in Houston in the 90s.....some rivers overflowed and the water poured down into the freeways....it was insane....the only reason I got out of there without destroying the rental car was driving like Smokey and the Bandit sideways up on the berms.
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.
