Hurricane Ike Live Thread IV

NOAA/NHC ^ | 14 September 2008 | NOAA/NHC

[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

Forecast Models

Houston/Galveston Long Range Radar
Corpus Christi Long Range Radar
Brownsville Long Range Radar
Lake Charles Long Range Radar

Ike
Single Image		Image Loop
Lat/Lon	No Lat/Lon	Short	Long
Visible	Visible	Visible	Visible
Shortwave	Shortwave	Shortwave	Shortwave
Water Vapor	Water Vapor	Water Vapor	Water Vapor
Infrared Channel 4 Enhancements
None	None	None	None
AVN	AVN	AVN	AVN
Dvorak	Dvorak	Dvorak	Dvorak
JSL	JSL	JSL	JSL
RGB	RGB	RGB	RGB
Funktop	Funktop	Funktop	Funktop
Rainbow	Rainbow	Rainbow	Rainbow

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)

[Spktyr]

“Hey, what kind of cat do you hav-OHGOD!”

[IM2MAD]

I don’t know if it’s been posted yet but I just saw some pictures of Crystal Beach and Gilchrist. I’m sick at heart.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1055660/Last-house-standing-Hurricane-Ikes-7bn-trail-destruction.html

[texasredtop]

I only wish that those people had moved on from Houston. After 3 years Houston continues to bear the burden. I’m not saying that it was the case for all refugees but I’m betting half of them have been a huge drain on the city. You eventually get tired of the snake biting you when you try to comfort it. There are just some people that will not change.

[NautiNurse]

That is a tiny alligator. I’ll bet the guy on the pole is laughing his butt off at the international attention for his trick pose.

[texasredtop]

I know, I keep trying to post and tell them it’s a joke but my computer keeps hanging up.

[stlnative]

Can you get on your roof to cover the area with a tarp?

Are you able to fix the shingles yourself?

If the damage is bad and if you think it will be awhile before you can get your roof fixed. Try calling FEMA’s Blue Roof Project to get on their list. (I don’t know where you are at and how bad the damage is in your area - but finding someone to do the repairs may take some time if you are not able to do it yourself.)

[NautiNurse]

That poor cow gave me a wave of nausea.

[Spktyr]

Ping to 2597.

[Spktyr]

Ping to 2597.

[Slings and Arrows]

Ping to post #2597. I'd like to see the litterbox for that cat!

[Dysart]

Haven't been able to follow the thread closely so don't know if this is posted yet: 1st rescuers reach barrier island, find whole subdivisions gone after Hurricane Ike

[Lucius Cornelius Sulla]

Hey, I don’t know what the fuss is all about, the lion had plenty to eat.

[af_vet_rr]

I'm still pretty shocked over Bolivar Peninsula. I was getting pissed off that there was a news blackout on it and that it was declared restricted airspace, and then they give us the Coast Guard video of the tip of the peninsula, meanwhile the Galveston County Judge is declaring that 90% of the peninsula was destroyed.

I understand that the news blackout meant that the media had very little to report on as far as the peninsula, but watching Perry pretend like he didn't know who controlled the air space was pretty ridiculous (he's been Governor for several years, plus he was/is a licensed pilot, he knows exactly who controls the airspace).

I'm pretty concerned about some cousins who lived near there.

[Abigail Adams]

Why do you think there was a news blackout? It seems strange to me.

I hope your cousins are safe and sound!

[shield]

Oak Island south of Anahuac Sheriff of Chambers Cty said it is pretty much gone. He said Bolivar is not as destroyed as Oak Island. He is trying to get POD'S set up and trucks are moving to Jefferson Cty by passing Chambers.

There were people who did ride out IKE in San Leon. Well built homes there did survive. The west end of Galveston has lots of well built homes survived without damage.

[stlnative]

Managed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and FEMA, the program provides free installation of a cover tarp on homes with roof damage.

Homeowners should call 1.888.ROOFBLU, or 1.888.766.3258. Calls to the number may get only a recorded message.

Applicants must show a photo ID or proof of residency. The roof must have less than 50 percent structural damage to be eligible for the program.

[Enosh]

Thank you! That’s the best view of the house yet.

[NautiNurse]

Hi-Res Sat Images Post-Ike

[stlnative]

I am laughing because they fell for it in the UK and printed it in their paper.

[texasredtop]

We just heard from our friends that live down there and their home is fine. Lots of debris and superficial damage but that’s all. They are in SATX and will return tomorrow. In the meantime, their neighbors are back and reporting to others what is going on.

We haven’t heard from our friend in Bayou Vista. Most of the other people we know that have property down there just have vacation property and don’t live there.