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
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 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 need to rest a bit
When the sun comes up the results will begin unfolding.
I guess most people know that right after a Big storm, you have the best opportunity to purchase beach property. Many never return to their property to live
Operator not paying attention, and not enough time to stop.
...which is why so many folks 'd rather live in 'cane country, or out in Tornado Alley than out here in California where we have 'quakes.
Earthquakes don't give you any time to make a COSTCO run and stock up on party supplies, and they can tear down in a minute or two what it takes a mid-size hurricane all night to demolish.
The only upsides to a big earthquake are that it doesn't come with big winds and buckets of rain, it's over in a matter of moments, and it doesn't spend days and days looming off the coast givin' folks the jitters; it'll just sock it to ya and get it over with.
You hunkered down by yourself, out there, or you got other folks there at the house sharing the excitement?
Me too. Our power went off earlier today and Center Point came out and fixed it. Thank God they did. I had gone to a neighbor’s house to get help and tripped on their step and fell hard right on my face. I look like a boxer that has gone more than their share.
I was at Nags Head in 1975, and it was sparse. I would’nt try to imagine it now.
Well, speaking as one who rides commuter trains on a regular basis, you should know that there are lights on the track that indicate to a train whether or not it is safe to proceed. If a train ahead is stuck on the track, for example, the light turns red so that trains behind can stop.
Dont trust initial reports.
It was most likely a system error. could have been human error.
But I know that initial reports can get weird.
“Purple monkey dishwasher”
The reporters in the KPRC vehicle have now blown a 2nd tire and are stuck on the road....
nite. Sleep well.
There is usually more than a visual indication. Typically there are failsafes
Something went terribly wrong.
Little 4 yr old girl with burns covering over 80% of her body and is in critical condition. Her father is in the same condition.
(Re: Brennan's Restaurant Fire in Downtown Houston)
It’d be an interesting project (hurricanes on the west coast). Kind of like chronicling snow in Los Angeles.
The latest radar images show the eye tightening up (from 300 miles in space). The eye area has remained somewhat in the same location (for approx. the last 30-60 minutes). NOAA updates the images every 30 minutes. Just checked, and the backside of the eye wall appears to be crossing over the Galveston coastal area, as reported in your post. NOAA will have another update at 0400.
Yeah, if the UP train had run a red light at the top of the hill, the Metrolink would have a red leaving Chatsworth station wb.
If the UP had a green light at the top of the hill, the Metrolink would have a red light leaving Chatsworth.
Either way, the freight train was in the block ahead before the Metrolink passed their last signal....and the switch was lined for the freight to take a siding (which Metrolink had passed)
I lift them up to God - the poor poor people. May they be comforted, and be aware of the Arms of God ever about them...
Indeed
My yearly vacations were in the 80’s. It was sparse then, too. These days I shudder to think.
I went back in 2006 and was confused to find that everything had “OBX” on it. (No offense, wanderer.)
Back to the hurricane thread. Good luck Texans ! It was only a Cat 2-3 out in the gulf, but IKE is massive.
Source?
(well, minus the cocaína angle, I mean)
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.
