Posted on 09/12/2008 11:29:13 PM PDT by NautiNurse
The eyewall of Hurricane Ike crossed Galveston Island in the early hours of Saturday morning. Reports indicate as many as 20,000 residents of Galveston Island chose not to evacuate as storm surge engulfed the island. The Freeport Chief of Police reported as many as 2000 residents did not evacuate as flood waters swamped coastal communities. There are widespread reports of power outages and coastal flooding throughout the Texas/Louisiana region. The U.S. Coast Guard received hundreds of calls Friday afternoon to rescue people stranded by flood waters along the barrier islands and Galveston Bay communities.
Multiple fires broke out in the Greater Houston area fueled by strong winds. Fire fighting efforts were hampered by flood waters. Brennan's Restaurant, a landmark in Houston, burned to the ground. A 584-foot freighter crippled in the Gulf of Mexico and its crew of 22 survived the storm after The U.S. Coast Guard was forced to abort rescue efforts Friday afternoon due to foul weather
Gulf Coast wholesale gasoline prices jumped to nearly $5 a gallon over fears that water and wind damage could keep the facilities closed for days or longer. Oil companies had shut down 97.5 percent of production in the Gulf of Mexico by Friday morning and were battening down refineries and petrochemical plants in an area that accounts for one-fifth of U.S. refining capacity.
Exxon Mobil reported evacuating workers from its Gulf Coast offshore platforms and onshore facilities in the anticipated path of Ike, shutting down daily production of about 36,000 barrels of oil and 270 million cubic feet of gas..
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 |
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Previous Threads:
Hurricane Ike Live Thread III
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)
goodness.
Take care.
It will be fine
I had not looked at the wide angle view of the WV channel - but saw that from the narrow shot. The wide angle you linked is a keeper of a photo, for sure. This thing didn’t care what it was going through - it made its own weather. The ridge that kept it at bay and forced it ever westward must have been extremely powerful... In fact, we know it was - more powerful even than modeled, because all the models kept trying to bring it north much sooner than this - UKMET finally broke with them and brought it toward Mexico instead just about a day or two before Cuba.
This is a very impressive storm. Much more impressive than most of them during the last decade. So unusual, I really think it is going to be extensively studied and we’ll learn a lot more than from the typical hurricane.
Here’s a weird one from the USAToday blog . . .
Hurricane Ike: Son wearing Scuba gear heads to help mom in Galveston
USA TODAY’s Oren Dorell found Matthew DeMyers walking through LaMarque, Texas, this afternoon in full Scuba gear.
“I’m going to Galveston, my mom lives there,” the 22-year-old student says, adding that he hasn’t heard from her since 5 a.m. ET.
DeMyers, who was carrying his flippers, says he plans to get to the Gulf Coast by “walking, swimming, however.”
We know one thing for sure. He won’t be driving there, at least not anytime soon. The highway that links LaMarque to Galveston is flooded. “The southbound lane of I-45 is completely closed,” Texas Ranger Joe Haralson says at a roadblock about four miles from the island. “It’s littered with boats, lots of boats and debris, destroyed docks and pieces of piers.”
Note from a Hugo survivor. For those who have storm damage, BE CAREFUL. We had a number of deaths during cleanup. Damaged roofs are dangerous places and chain saws can be deadly as can portable generators.
Sad. Their remoteness will mean assistance and recovery will be slower than developed areas which have nearby highway access.
“... in fact, we know it [the ridge] was - more powerful even than modeled, because all the models kept trying to bring it [Ike] north much sooner than this - “
(clarification)
Ike from space, about an hour ago...
Did yall just see Senator Culberson on Fox? He said Texans are self sufficient. We have generators, and stock up on food and AMMO. The guy on Fox didn’t know what to say lol
Has anybody heard from jpsb? His last post was on a previous Ike thread, saying that he would be deciding whether to leave or not at 8 am yesterday. (This was at about 7:30 am). He was at a very bad location.
They were back to work within two days. Many larger buildings maintain a significant percentage of unleased office space. The WTC towers had a lot of artists up top, space donated free since they couldn’t rent it out. That gives the ezposed office holders some flexibility.
Probably going to be longer for Chase in Houston. It lost enough windows to get a lot of water inside, putting much wiring, data, TX and electrical, at risk.
Here I think the insurance played a part in the long repair process. The building owners got enough money to look at a total facelift and did that. I’d say the building itself, Chase, Houston, will be operable monday morning, to some extent, the question is how much. If other parts of the building have power and data networking, then they will start with core functions, farm out what they have to to other buildings, and gradually come back online over the next year or two.
Notice how the upper windows survived, while the band of blown out glass seems to be at midheigth? Looks like some wind interaction with the ground or nearby buildings had some effect. More confirmation that conditions were right at, but a fuzz below catastrophic levels. Interesting...
Fox is not alone in this “no Emmy”...
The reporters should all be calling people who stayed in low areas “foolish”... asking, “So what possessed you to make such a foolish decision to stay?”
Our Congress doesn't recognize the Founding Fathers.
He’d be without power unless he’s got a generator based on his location.
War underway at altitude over Missouri.
Ike’s fighting the upper midwest’s trough for dominance.
My money’s on Ike.
Note: Gas prices rose 25c a gallon overnight!
Glad I filled up thurs
These injuries and illnesses are above and beyond GI problems due to contaminated drinking water, lack of refrigeration for insulin, spoiled food, and respiratory problems without of air conditioning.
Yes: Photos confirm NautiNurse’s post#1040 :: Ike is getting less organized and is weakening.
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