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)
That is the station I am watching now. They are doing a great job of showing what is going on around Galveston.
We are still living in the 20th century . . . no laptop. ;-)
uh, not exactly ... inceased "sand level" does not increase "sea level".
I heard yesterday that, even if they sustain no damage, once they are shut down, it takes at least a couple weeks to bring them back on line.
Good that some prices are dropping, but I was speaking about the near term with those markets effected by rigs and refineries in the Gulf of Mexico.
Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas are carrying the load of suppling energy to several states that do not produce crude.
Check out the link in #54.
If we do loose power I will call you.
Did you see the cars driving next to the seawall.I would be so out of there.Hope these souls are getting out of town.
Good morning dear lady! Thank you for the ping.
Hope you and all here and those dear folks in the target area rested well last night.
I’m praying that Ike disolves and does not hit land with such force.
God bless all who are in his path.
That is a great link....thanks.
Here in Charlotte many gas stations are out of gas. Others are putting a limit on how many gallons you can purchase. There is now a run on gas in this area. Prices are rising hourly.
Will be watching.......
hmm... maybe the right answer to “how to survive without power for 2 weeks” is “pitch a tent?”
I’m in the orange. Going to try and ride it out. We’re thinking it will take another turn east like Rita which would be easy on us. The roads are clear and if it doesn’t look good later this afternoon, we can get out easy.
Buy lots of canned goods, and several tanks of propane for the grill. Your refrigerated goods will likely spoil.
A generator would be nice as well, and bottled water.
Be safe
I am seeing cars driving around the area. I do hope they are getting the hell outta Dodge ~ Galveston & the surrounding Gulf area is going to be under water.
So did I! Verbatim as NN posted it.
Debating mowing at the moment.
That scenario is always in the back of our minds (earthquake country in California desert)... being as our home is all electric, we try and keep overstocked on canned stuff, make sure at least 3 of our 5 barbecue-size propane tanks are filled.....and pray nothing happens when it's 115 degrees.
One thing we learned after the Northridge quake, since we were close to ground zero and out of power for almost 3 days......cash is king! Achmed WILL keep his convenience store open, but he won't be able to process credit cards.
NPR isn't the best source for information. If you want the real picture on pricing you need to check either NYMEX or Bloomberg. Unleaded gas prices are listed as RBOB and priced @ FOB-Gulf Low Water.http://www.bloomberg.com/markets/commodities/energyprices.html
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