Hurricane Ike Live Thread

NOAA/NHC ^ | 7 September 2008 | NOAA/NHC

[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

Forecast Models

South FL Radar Loop
FL Keys Radar Loop
Cuba Radar Warning: site gets overloaded
FL Long Range Radar Image

Ike
Single Image		Image Loop
Lat/Lon	No Lat/Lon	Short	Long
Visible	Visible	Visible	Visible
Shortwave	Shortwave	Shortwave	Shortwave
Water Vapor	Water Vapor	Water Vapor	Water Vapor
Infrared Channel 4 Enhancements
None	None	None	None
AVN	AVN	AVN	AVN
Dvorak	Dvorak	Dvorak	Dvorak
JSL	JSL	JSL	JSL
RGB	RGB	RGB	RGB
Funktop	Funktop	Funktop	Funktop
Rainbow	Rainbow	Rainbow	Rainbow

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

[NautiNurse]

This storm is so big, a wide miss will still produce hefty storm winds. Everyone in the cone of uncertainty should have storm preparations well underway, and folks living in coastal and other flood prone areas should know where/when they will go in the event of evacuation.

[OB1kNOb]

My condolences on your husband's passing. My guess is that he had a power inverter (example below) that converted the battery's 12 Volt DC to 110 Volt AC power.

[Ditter]

I live right in the middle of Houston we are not going to flood, we are higher than most places around here. I could get a tree through my roof, or a tornado could take the roof off, but we aren't leaving, even with a direct hit. The days or weeks without electricity is the big worry for me. I think I'll go to the grocery store and buy a few cans of tuna and some crackers.

[sweet_diane]

Don’t forget a hand powered can opener! (I did once) lol

[af_vet_rr]

I’ve been following Jeff Masters’ blog since earlier this year, and I’m surprised more people aren’t following it - the guy knows how to put it in perspective without dumbing things down.

[Orange1998]

Tuna and crackers sounds like a plan. I live with many pines trees north Houston, so I am concerned.

[L,TOWM]

Criminy! That looks like a Houston shot, unless it starts taking a serious left (westward) drift.

[STARWISE]

Stay safe, God bless.

[lainie]

I agree, I really like it. I don't know about his reputation or anything. (Like, Joe Bastardi has a bad rep and I wouldn't want to follow his blog.)

Something else I like (which I haven't seen posted in awhile) is the USNavy plot for the current storm

[OB1kNOb]

See post #938. NASA may be saying, “Houston, we have a problem”, soon. Galveston’s nightmare to be sure. I use to live in Port Bolivar across the channel. My prayers are with those folks.......or whoever gets Ike head on.

[Rightly Biased]

I was in Cuero for Claudette and it was a mess.

I am not looking forward to this one at all.

[af_vet_rr]

The first I heard of him was almost 20 years ago, when he flew into Hurricane Hugo (he's done a big write-up about it here). I knew somebody who was on the Air Force plane in the area at that time. He and the rest of the people on that plane were lucky to have survived (and he decided it was his last hurricane mission). I've heard people recommend wunderground.com but just never connected it with him.

If you read through all half dozen or so pages of that link above, you'll find it interesting - They did things with a P-3 (or rather Hurricane Hugo did) that should not have been possible - that aircraft should have fallen apart.

[Constitutionalist Conservative]

[...Everybody catches their breath as they await the next NHC update...]

[blam]

You'll like these:

Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow

Be My Baby

Don't Make Me Over

He's So Fine

[rwfromkansas]

watches up for all TX coast....crazy.

This may go far enough north to go over a cool water area, so we will see......that may keep it at bay if it does.

But, I doubt it.

[Lucius Cornelius Sulla]

I understand that 50,000 are under evacuation orders in Brazoria County, and they want everybody else to leave also.

Joe Bastardi (I know) on FOX said he expects Ike will be a cat 4, possibly more, at landfall, and may come in East of Galveston. Twenty Feet and more storm surge.

[sheikdetailfeather]

Just heard on WFTV tornado warning Osceola county, Fla.

[RGVTx]

The latest 5 day forecast at wunderground has Ike a cat 4 by Fri and a cat 2 well after landfall.

http://www.wunderground.com/tropical/tracking/at200809_5day.html#a_topad

[Jaded]

I had planned a vacation day for Friday. I’m seriously re-thinking that..... and rescheduling.

[rwfromkansas]

Well, if Bastardi is bullish you know it will go over the cool eddy instead of the warm eddy that the NHC just mentioned...

and come in as a weakening cat 1.