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.
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Discussion Updated every 6 hours
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| 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)
On this stream, they are saying a cat 4 or 5 surge on the cat 2 hurricane Ike.
http://www.khou.com/video/?nvid=178826&live=yes&noad=yes
Surge maps are on the NWS’s Ike page, down below the forecast track:
http://www.noaawatch.gov/2008/ike.php
The surge maps up there now are interesting. Galveston Island gets between 10 (west end) and 15 (east end) feet. 17-19 feet up the bay. The worst of it is actually showing EAST of Port Arthur, up to 29.4 feet. Cameron Parish, LA, 15 feet. Calcasieu Parish, LA, 14 feet (and they’re inland of Cameron). New Orleans, 7 feet. Vermillion, 10 feet.
This thing is a bloody monster. Has there ever been a hurricane that caused this much coastal surge over this wide an area?
}:-)4
This is pretty unsettling. We have lost faith in the press to distinguish drama from facts.
There’s Janice Dean- saying this could be worse than Katrina...but she was pretty hyped about Gustav for awhile too.
Reading the thread I see everything from- don’t be silly- a little wind and some local flooding to- run for your lives we’re all gonna die.
Hard to get an accurate reading, though I don’t think the NHC issues warnings of potential death too often.
And I can’t say for certainty we will stay either. It’s not even raining here yet. We have all afternoon to go if we decide to hit the road. Like I said earlier, I try to never say never. And I don’t gamble with my life.
Houston mayor a Dem or Rep?
what came up was a web cam posted on a steering wheel of some one leaving Galveston.
is that the one?
I can no longer get the live stream I provided earlier. I rebooted thinking my ram was chocked up but still cant get it
any one else have live stream coverage of this somewhere?
The Flagship was so nice when it was new.
We have many many more hours to make the call to leave if necessary.
We’re in Montrose/Westmoreland, and I don’t think a bayou is that nearby. We are on the second floor of an apartment building.
I.e., the models may actually be under-predicting the landfall storm surge at this point due to the large wind surge already ahead of it [no I couldn't have just said that].
And that meterologist is Dr. Neil Frank, former director of the National Hurricane Center. Doc knows storms.
Just finishing up last minute preps. Had my laptop aircard reinstated since it is certain we will lose cable and power, hopefuly the Sat dish won’t blow away. Got brother and SIL coming over for the night, they live in trailer. Phones forwarded to the cells. I think we will make out OK IFFF the trees don’t give way.
Gawd, how often does it have to be repeated? THEY UNDER-FORECAST KATRINA. PEOPLE DIED AS A RESULT. FIVE FEET OF ELEVATION IS NOT A SANE SAFETY MARGIN.
I’ll repeat my earlier comment: none of us is able to judge another’s prospects for safety by reading about it on line.
I'll repeat my earlier response to that comment. HUNDREDS DIED IN NOLA DUE TO THAT ATTITUDE.
We sell rescue gear at our business - I don't want to hear that one of our customers (Fire, EMS, Technical Rescue, Swiftwater Rescue personnel) did not come home to their families because they tried to rescue someone who thought this was a good excuse to have a drinking party.
If you wait until you know for sure, it's too late.
Take care, Mr. and Mrs. eastforker!
The only silver lining to these awful storms is getting the opportunity to watch Drama Queen Jerry make a big fool of himself.
Does your apartment building have a third floor or higher?
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