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)
One of the Houston TV stations is reporting 8-100 MPH gusts on the the shoreline.
Stay safe.
I was living out in Richmond when Alicia came through there in 1983.
Dr. Lyons was one of my meteorology profs at Texas A&M back in the late '80s. He was a very laid-back, fun guy (he used to regale us with stories of his surfer dude days). Certainly not the type to wear a white shirt and tie unless the job description required it. :-)
The weather board said he had his anemometer set on kph instead of mph.
(probably my last post for night)
Yes- I agree this is not wobble or change of direction from my last look at the pictures. Also doesn’t look to me to be consolidating much, either, though, just churning a bit. Not much difference by now, anyway... hitting shore about now.
Pier 21 data took big drop in level the last half hour, but other sea levels are still rising, so it may be a data glitch of some type.
/waves hello
Thanks for joining us.
Lol, nothing happening here yet!! So far nobody is getting the winds they expected! Officially it hasn’t “arrived” yet, lol.
The water surge has already flooded so many areas. I may wake in the night to winds and storm, just eerily quiet like the eye of a hurricane instead of the start.
Heading for bed.
He’s kind of like a Weeble..or whatever those toys were.
“weebles wobble but they don’t fall down. ? “
Here comes the rain and lots more wind!
You kept the puppies-hehehee I saw pics of them when they were little.
Hurricanes have no politcal ties, welcome.
Geraldo just said “Wow, I just got wet”.
WTF?!
Welcome to FR, on such a dark night.
Tatt
35,000 of them? There aren't that many tall and sturdy buildings on the island. In the great hurricane at the beginning of the 20th century, people who climbed as high as they could, were killed when the buildings fell from being undermined by the water and waves. Some buildings are of course much stronger now, and the east end of the island is bit higher than it was then. They build it up to try to prevent another such disaster. Hope it worked.
Wind and rain really starting to hit here.
What them bouys/gauges reading? TWC says four feet over the G’town seawall now.
This is my third attempt at replying to your post. I’ll type fast because the power keeps going off, and killing my post before I make it.
Conditions are deteriorating rapidly. Debris is flying. Obviously the power is on right now, but I can’t say that it will be 30 seconds from now.
I’ve got a safe room. Property can be replaced. Some treasured pictures and collectibles can’t, but life isn’t fair. I haven’t lost anything yet, so I don’t want sympathy, just the best wishes.
Posting now before this one is lost, too.
Naw, I like him, too. Every now and then I want to pop him upside the head, but the feeling passes.
Hang on tight!
Just seeing in the morning will be good, after a night like this.
Tatt
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