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)
I like you, Dolly. You’re sweet.
He's a friend of mine and he's a good guy.
Maybe this is all a stress reaction.
Thanks for the info. I'm praying for them all back home.
I recall when the newscasters went out when the eye began crossing Galveston.. just didn’t know if the other side crossed. Thanks
I REALLY dont want many causalities..
However, SHOULD the death toll be low they will never have success getting people to evacuate for future threats
has to do with the sustained kinetic energy of the water bashing things
Yes, agree
I know 1960..south of where they are...When will it reach you?
I haven’t heard much about the Woodlands yet. I am sure something will come up soon.
Fox reporting the eye of the hurricane is 60 miles wide
I don’t think we are in it’s direct path. We are northwest Houston. I am praying if what we do get won’t be enough to get damage.
you mean a source other than NOAA?
'snip'
STRONGER WINDS...AS MUCH AS 30 MPH HIGHER THAN AT THE SURFACE...COULD OCCUR ON HIGH RISE BUILDINGS.
Me, too..I worry about days of power outages.
the eye is 60 miles wide... as far as I know the center of the eye is over Galveston right now.
Fox just said the land fall has been made in Galveston (meaning the center of the eye is over Galveston right now)
God knows we’ve had worse in this state. At least unlike 1900, we had pleanty of warning this time.
I’ve called and no answer on the house phone. Cell takes me directly to voice mail.
You okay?
oops sorry
GALVESTON, Texas (AP) A Galveston boat and yacht repair warehouse has been destroyed by flames because the streets were too flooded by Hurricane Ike for fire trucks to reach it.
Galveston Fire Chief Michael Varela said Friday he doesn't think anyone was inside the warehouse. The area was under a mandatory evacuation order, and the hurricane already was slamming the coast with wind and rain.
Early storm surge flooded the streets with at least 8 feet of water. Varela said firefighters got to within two blocks of the blaze before having to turn around.
What do you think?
Here’s an update from Katy, TX (west of Houston and about 60 miles from the coast). We lost power about 8 pm, Wind speeds were a steady 20-35 mph untilabout 11pm, but have been gusting higher and higher. The nitwits two doors down finally moved their party inside when the rain kicked in around midnight.
I am sitting in my garage listening to the rain and howling wind, praying for my wife’s ex-husband. He is one of the cretins who decided to ride it out at his one story, ground level home on the bay side of Galveston. We have not heard from him since early afternoon and his children are quite distraught. Selfish, alcoholic bastard though he is; we offered him the use of our guest room. He declined.
Decisions have consequences. Those consequences can ripple out to tear the heart out of a 12 year old girl and a 17 year old boy. Lord keep him safe for their sakes.
To all in the path of this storm; may the Lord keep you in the hollow of his hand.
Only moderate wind and rain in The Woodlands so far. I expected worse wind by now, but I’m sure it’s coming. (I’m a mile-and-a-half west of Shenandoah.) Our lights flicker about every 15 minutes but power still on for now.
So...where are you?
And, why are you so hard on others?
I didn’t say anything to disparage Texans.
My husband is from there.
But,what does that have to do with discounting Ike’s storm surge?
Pounding rain just stopped. Looks like I’m on the western border of the eye, now.
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