[lainie]

It will be interesting to see. days ago they were giving everyone the impression it would weaken considerably prior to landfall.. then it intensified. Not that it’s a blame game. Is Ike abnormal in that, or is it just his size.

[nwctwx]

I believe the NHC has consistently called for a strengthening or steady state storm as it landfalls. If it had been a cat 4 earlier I think there is a better chance it would have weakened coming in as those intensities are hard to sustain. At this point the size is a big factor.. it’s significantly more difficult to quickly ramp up or down with a large storm. Remember Charley strengthened very quickly but was quite small.

[Fatuncle]

Ike is very abnormal. Look at it this way - the wind is Cat 1 or Cat 2. The storm surge is Cat 4 to Cat 5 ... or greater.

[lainie]

The 1400 CDT is out.. no real change in intensity, up one mb in pressure