Posted on 09/07/2008 8:37:37 AM PDT by NautiNurse
Hurricane Ike is the fifth tropical cyclone of the 2008 hurricane season to threaten U.S. Gulf Coast states.
Reports from Turks & Caicos Islands describe 80 per cent of homes damaged or destroyed. On Sunday, Hurricane Ike's position just north of Hispanola was hampering relief efforts for devastation incurred by Hurricane Gustav and Tropical Storm Fay. The death toll in Haiti from Gustav reached 200 people.
Florida Governor Charlie Crist held a press conference Sunday morning shortly after a Hurricane Watch was issued for the Florida Keys.
Public Advisory Updated every 3 hours
Discussion Updated every 6 hours
Buoy data:
Florida & Eastern Gulf of Mexico
Western Gulf of Mexico
West Caribbean
South FL Radar Loop
FL Keys Radar Loop
Cuba Radar Warning: site gets overloaded
FL Long Range Radar Image
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Additional Resources:
Navy Tropical Cyclone
Storm Pulse Very cool site--scroll down for Ike
KeyNews.com Key West News
Miami Herald
NOLA.com
KPLC-tv Lake Charles News
WEAR-tv Pensacola FL
TBO.com Tampa Bay Online
KHOU Houston
WKRG-tv Mobile-Pensacola
| 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 |
I feel bad for the Keys this year, this has to have hurt them economically since they keep having to get the tourists off the islands. I grew up in a tourist town in NM and it’s a tough thing if you lose part of your season.
susie
I think what really happened is that NO dodged the bullet for way more years than should be normal. My suspicion is that this is what they should expect from typical tropical weather. They were just lucky for a long time.
We lived in Spring during Frederic (north of Houston) and my dad gathered his chainsaw and left the night Frederic hit. He literally chainsawed his way down Nack Ln. to see about my grandmother. My other grandma and my uncle and his family were in Mobile also. The most damage was done to our old cabin in Gulf Shores..it was totally wiped out.
I’m glad I got to hang out there and fish in the 90’s at places like the Old Wooden Bridge and the main road fishing bridges. A lot of fun.
Not sure why the models are turning Ike so far east, though, as there's not a lot of evidence right now for it going so far to the right as of yet. If Ike follows the model path and cuts across the island again, I can see the more easterly tracks holding up, but it really looks more like Ike will be heading towards southern Texas at this point, alas, as a major hurricane.
After watching Hurricane Elena sit in the Gulf and go in circles for a couple days, anything is possible, but I fear you’re right.
I guess we’ll find out if Galveston’s sea walls do what they’re meant to do.
At least this time there will be plenty of warning.
And you can bet that even if thousands are killed in Cuba in this storm, the government will never admit it.
Gov. Crist in news conference on Fox news NOW.
The models keep swinging it into LA, but yeah, the leftward trend has been pretty consistent with Ike - initial projections put it as a re-curve storm that'll go out to sea, then it was the upper parts of Florida, then Miami, then the Keys threading between Cuba and Florida, now it's going up Cuba's spine.
It really surprised me how tight and compact Ike was on radar presentation in Cuba, and how much it's maintained rotation as it has roared across the island - this doesn't seem to be a storm that's looking for any small thing to come along and steer it in another direction - it really looks to me to be a Texas hit (and crossing my fingers that it's a south-Texas border hit.)
If it happens we will deal with it like anyone else. This is not a low populated area though. I just find it interesting how the media keeps shifting back to NO.
They're itching for another Katrina to pin on us in time for the election.
Another Gulf Hurricane with a Saturday landfall.
Maybe but there is so much more at stake on the national scene rather than worrying about the latest gossip on whether or not the doggy park receives adequate funding or not or if a bulldozer really can create a wetlands.
Glad to be back to work today; for here is my internet access!
We weathered Gustav pretty well; a few trees down in the yard but none on the house, Thank God! We had hurricane force winds for at least four hours Monday (9/1) afternoon; it was quite an experience!
We were without power at home until it was restored Saturday afternoon. Hooray for the power crew from Kentucky!
We went to the camp at Pierre Part Friday and all we had was some limbs down and had to clean out the fridge, but otherwise A-OK. Thank the Lord!
We eagerly await news on Ike- Yikes!
Yeah for sure, as a teenager I used to fish the Keys bridges every weekend,finally moved here.
To borrow a line from 'Blazing Saddles', "Never mind that s--t, here comes Ike."
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.
