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
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)
Got y’all!
I’m not Alexis, I’m her sister. She does live in Houston off of Hwy 6 in between 59 and 10.
Yes, they did. My grandmother was one of them. Her house, about 200 ft. from the beach, was badly damaged, but survived. Katrina got it.
LOL.. me too.. I have driven the entire length of that highway.. BACKWARDS.. at 2 am.. in a station wagon. We'd been floundering up near San Luis.. when we came back to my old wagon, the transmission only worked in reverse!
My neck was sore for days... and, I was only 17.
LOL.. me too.. I have driven the entire length of that highway.. BACKWARDS.. at 2 am.. in a station wagon. We'd been floundering up near San Luis.. when we came back to my old wagon, the transmission only worked in reverse!
My neck was sore for days... and, I was only 17.
There may be one on the island, but if it’s constructed like the one on Port Bolivar, they’d better hope the surge doesn’t get to them, because the fort may survive the hurricane, but they may not survive the surge. We always used the Port Bolivar fort as a very last resort in the event we got trapped by a surge cutting off the highway at High Island.
Katy isn’t in an area at risk for surge - it’s pretty far west. Might face some inland flooding issues and some wind damage, but the deadliest part of this storm, by far, will be surge.
So safe will you be.
We only want on the ping list if Salty is on it!
Thanks. I hope to have copious notes and photos to report upon return.
Add me....TIA
Yes, it was Camille.
There was a mention of it on the news this moring but I honestly wasn’t listening. I got gas on Wednesday evening and paid $3.38 for the cheap stuff in Pasadena. It’s only gone up .03 if you can find any place open. The local Walmart is getting deliveries at least twice a day. There are lines.
I also understand that what they charge you isn’t necessarily what they pay for that gas but what they (the station) estimates they will pay for the next delivery. (disclaimer: I could be WRONG).
Prayers up for anyone who stayed in the evacuation areas. It’s gonna be sucky this weekend in Texas.
Last I heard Katy will be getting up to 80 mph winds.
Forty percent of the nation's oil refineries may be shutdown by Ike.
This comes after Hurricane Gustav shut down refineries in Louisiana/Mississippi.
We run at close to 100% of refinery capacity, so any interruption in the operations of the refineries means a shortage.
Two of the largest refineries anywhere are in Baytown and Texas City -- where there are some forecast of a 30 foot storm surge.
It might be like Hurricane Katrina and Rita that it will take months to get refineries repaired.
There are about 20% of the nation's refineries in an area that can be hit the hardest by Ike.
The Tropical Storm conditions may be shutting down refineries in Corpus Christi (to the Southwest) and in Baton Rouge/New Orleans/Biloxi to the East...
Bottom line: we may need some new refineries after they clear away the debris...
Terrifying prospects.
Proof that George Bush doesn’t care about Texans.
Please add me to your ping list.
We’re hunkered down just North of Hobby.
As a matter of fact, the ping list was his idea.
That’s it. I actually remember it, even tho, of course, I wasn’t born yet! ;)
susie
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