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)
If you’re in the center of the path of the eye. 4x12 =48.
That sounds about right.
As the storm approaches, the winds increase gradually. When the eyewall passes the winds stop almost completely so you go from 100+ mph to calm. The real problem is, when the eyewall is done passing over and hits again, you go from calm to about 100+ mph in a VERY short period of time. That’s where a big chuck of the damage is going to be done.
The mayor is in the hotel while some of her citizens are in a crappy school.
ah yes! :)
Thank you all for thoughts and prayers for all.
I have just three facts that I am keeping in mind, seawall versus no seawall, 952 instead of 931, and 110 mph instead of 135. The fact that it is spread out means a lot more coastal areas will be impacted but doesn’t change what happens in Galveston.
A breakwater.
People have panicked in NC. Local news showed a station on I-85 in Greensboro with $5.99/gallon. Several stations are out of gas.
Not watching much TV now but was looking at Fox News Channel (cable).
Also see http://www.maroonspoon.com/wx/ike.html
Was following http://twitter.com/leighjones but she’s gone quiet, hopefully just power outage.
palmer: you seem out of the loop now... I don’t know how much you’ve been following this, but apparently this storm is so LARGE that the “typical” surge levels are being violated. It is causing much greater sea levels hundreds of miles away, according to many reports.
I’ll look for the post speaking about this.
They are piles of rocks... typically granite.. that are extended out several hundred yards into the water.
They are designed to help break up currents that cause beach erosion. But, they also make for good fishing.
True... I would have gone to Vegas personnaly.
Really and truly if they mean what they say you wonder who may be dead tomorrow.
God help them!
Harrington (that’s his last name)
I saw a guy on CNN that I think is the one that everyone is talking about. The jacket he has on is royal blue, Harrington (Fox) had on a navy blue jacket.
The guy on CNN with the royal blue jacket is a camera man. He had a camera on his shoulder and there was huge waves coming up behind him but he seems to be ok from the clip I saw.
anyone know if the guy washed out to sea, was a camera man?? What station???
INMHO, KHOU’s Live stream seems to be best...
Oop.... Piles of rocks are JETTIES!
Guess I pasted the wrong thing!
Don’t have a clue. The newscasters didn’t indicate.
It was a royal blue coat.
there are a few houses still there that were there in 1900, i understand.
none on stilts, though.
The jetties around here are walls of rocks built out into the water...I’m guessing they are in Texas also.
Here they are usually built alongside a shipping channel...keep the water deeper on the channel side and let sand build up on the other side.
power out in sw houston. posting via cell phonne. really hoped to get a few more hours. signing off, over and out. godspeed to all.
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