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)
Man, I could go for a triple combo (brisket, links, chicken) at Bo's for lunch.
You have got to be kidding.
Nobody on this thread is going to fall for your crap.
As for gas prices being high leading up to the election, did you forget about “drill here, drill now, pay less” that the Dems have said NO to doing?
That is making most Americans angry at Democrats.
My daughter and her husband live in Deer Park. She took the baby and left for Austin yesterday for a wedding this weekend. The last I heard my SIL was going to stay behind. Do you know anything about evacuations in the Deer Park area?
The government can make as many opportunities to evacuate available to people as possible, but in the end, it’s down to the individual to stay or go. During Katrina, Ray Nagin and Kathleen Blanco didn’t even make the opportunities available—remember that sad post-storm picture of hundreds of school buses sitting hood-deep in water and oil, buses that could’ve been used to give thousands of people a shot at getting out if they wanted?
Of course, if I heard right, the mayor of Galveston didn’t change the evacuation order from voluntary to mandatory until around 10:30 am YESTERDAY. Cutting it a little fine there, Yer Honor?
}:-)4
I am getting dizzy with the threads changing! I am assuming that 1000 is the limit. I promise, I’ll try to keep up!
susie
In the past two weeks, oil has dropped consistently but yet the prices at my local station have maintained their 3.49 average. I don’t get it.
Saw your post. I hate it when even conservatives start expecting the Gov. to lead them around by the nose...(eye roll)
Can’t wait until our country gets back to self reliance!
I am watching some of the flooding in Galveston on Fox News. There is already widespread flooding and the storm is over 200 miles away!
Oh no.
I believe I heard earlier that the water in the bay area is rising and the storm drains are underwater.
A democrat Governor could have stopped Ike?
The sky ain't falling.
The good news is that there don’t seem to be any cars in the driveways. Hopefully this means that most had the brains to get out.
Mayor of Galveston is a democrat isn’t she?
Have you factored the waves? I lived on the ocean for 25 years. I wouldn't remain even at 50' elevation for this one if I was there. I hope you have a quick egress route for tonight, you're in for a long night. Good luck.
You guys stay safe!
Whoa...it’s awful. I’m just checking in here to be sure all our Texas coast freepers have gotten out of the way of this storm.
Did you hear the woman in Galveston this morning on FOX? She’s in an old Victorian in the middle of the city- she’s NOT LEAVING.
Trying! My planned bug out locations will be getting just as much wind as here, and we can’t take as much food and water there as we have stocked here.
Very anxious at the present time!
I am pinging a Deer Park person.
Yep...it is going to be really bad. Headed out to get my own preps done early today.
Be back later!
I have no clue. I was just very surprised when I heard yesterday morning that most of Galveston Island was still under a voluntary evacuation (some was mandatory). Then about 10 or 11 am they changed it. I can only assume that somebody from NOAA put some sense into her head and explained that 17-foot seawall or no 17-foot seawall, you do not mess around with a possible 15’+ storm surge, especially when it’s going to peak near high tide.
The question now is, if there are still people there who decide they want to get out, how long can they get out? The winds aren’t necessarily going to be catastrophically bad, if they could get to a shelter out of the surge zone they’d probably be OK. But how long before the water rising in the bay cuts the island off, or the winds make bridges unsafe? There’s still 16-20 hours to landfall, if people move NOW, they might still have time. Maybe.
}:-)4
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