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
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KPLC Lake Charles
KFDM 6 Beaumont/Port Arthur
KKBMT 12 Beaumont
KRIS-TV Corpus Christi
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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)
I have not got a clue what you are talking about.
Sigh. I know.
I just read those comments! YIKES!
:)..funny..I was thinking of that same joke not ten minutes ago...LOL
If the Flagship Hotel (that dump on the pier) got washed away it’d be a good bit of urban renewal.
Water and sewage service cut to Galveston West End.
Pretty rich of Geraldo calling people walking on Galveston beach “nut jobs”. Maybe he was looking in the mirror???
With the wave action added to that, it doesn’t look like that map is going to be valid in another 24 hours.....
Is there much population on the coast to the east of Galveston Island up to the LA/TX line?
No.. but the water sure as hell is rising!
If there is major loss of life in this storm, who do you think the MSM will blame? The stupid people who were ordered to leave, and provided transportation?? Or, "Evil Incarnate"... W??
However, here in Houston, gas is still hovering right around $3.50, where it’s been for a couple weeks.
I was thinking the same thing as he had his camera man pan over to the “nut jobs” picking up a bottle in the surf! He is just as bad a “nut job”!
Could you post a link to that? I went over there but can't find it. Thanks.
The City of Houston lies in three counties: Harris (583.450 sq.mi.), Fort Bend (8.080 sq.mi.), and Montgomery (2.598 sq.mi.). Harris County contains part or all of 35 incorporated areas.
Under Texas’ Municipal Annexation Act of 1963, cities have certain powers over surrounding unincorporated areas, termed the Extraterritorial Jurisdiction. ETJ is a function of population; for cities over 100,000, it can cover all unincorporated area within five miles of any point on the city limits. Houston’s ETJ encompasses 1,311.950 sq.mi., excluding the area of cities that lie within it.
TOPOGRAPHY: Houston lies largely in the northern portion of the Gulf coastal plain, a 40- to 50-mile-wide swath along the Texas Gulf Coast. Typically, elevation rises approximately one foot per mile inland.
Last night I saw the C-130 flying in with the special-needs patients from the coast.
Jim Cantore on Wx Channel is at the Holiday Inn in Galveston. He keeps focusing on a tall wooden pier (currently getting slammed by waves) and declaring that he'll be shocked if that pier is still there this time tomorrow. Those things are pretty sturdy, but he may be right.
And like I said, my husband can take care of anything that they can so it’s not likely I would ever need to call for help. Rescue workers are paid with my tax dollars and they are trained for these situations. That is what they do and I have NEVER in my 55 years used their services. I don’t plan on it now. I’ve ridden out much worse hurricanes than this one and never seen one injury or had one family member call for rescue.
But if I’ve learned anything in my life, it’s never say never.
Thanks for the link. I was looking for some.
Staying in that hotel might work if the storm surge isn’t too bad, but could it hold up to being battered by those waves?
Having the locals evacuate and leave them the keys should tell them something. Too bad they’re too stupid to get the message.
Perhaps a few of us misunderstood your post. It seemed to imply that because you pay a lot of taxes, that public servants should risk their own lives because you choose to ignore the threat of imminent danger.
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