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
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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)
Glad to “see” you, Dog Gone. Several freepers were asking about you yesterday.
..they're putting ALL their hope in that hotel, and I have a bad feeling they will regret this.
Just seems very dicey!
Hubby went to get the camera and by the time he got back outside, they had moved off.
Wow...Geraldo’s tale of why he fell live on camera earlier today has grown and morphed throughout the day. I can’t wait to hear what he’s spinning it as tomorrow.
They’re doing a nice job of lighting a branch in the foreground of the camera shot so that you can see the wind. It makes it all far more “dramatic” (word of the Hannity-sub) than it would be without it I’m sure.
was Freeping with rika, and just realized I haven’t spotted you on line. I hope you are safe and sound Grimy! I am watching geraldo and laughing........but will pray for you and even him!
that was Steve whooaaaa! Harrigan
Stay safe.
God bless.
Their whole scenario seems a lot more dicey than in other storms, I don’tknow why.
Myfavorite TV moment!! I LOL.
Geraldo doing his best to get him and his crew killed in Galveston right now...(eye roll). He is standing on the seawall in 84 MPH winds!
they just replayed that scene......I keep the mute button on just for geraldo segments........his slapstick fall down needs no sound.
Did+he+fall+on+his+arse+yet
don’t know about that story... but someone posted this earlier
4 of area tv stations on one page
http://www.maroonspoon.com/wx/ike.html
Believe it or not, I was over in Louisiana at the request of my company to help with hurricane recovery over there. Then when Ike no longer was predicted for south Texas I was sent home to prepare for this.
I'm not sure how prepared I am, but I'm prepared as is possible with the time and resources I had.
I've been through a hurricane as bad as this, but I also had my windows protected. I don't this time. That's why I'm counting on being lucky.
I had the same thought when I saw that earlier.
We had mail today, too! I was surprised.
Here is a report from someone in Lake Charles checking in with me by email every so often:
“7:00pm CST Thursday Very, very windy in Lake Charles, La. Many areas are flooding. It has not even rained yet. The surge has not come in yet. This whole area will flood except for a few locations.
The water is going into some homes just several blocks away (lower ground). We have a lot of bayou’s running through the area, they are all full and flooding. All the lakes are flooding. Parking lots near any water way are already flooding. The surge has not arrived yet.
This is going to be very bad. This is going to be mind-bloggling!”
Pop that pot into a thermos and make another dearie.
Praying for all y’all.
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