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)

[DollyCali]

thanks for TheMom/Eaker report.

this is still a huge storm.. what still is south & over the gulf is impressive looking. I cant interpret what it will do but would not want that heading over me.

[nobama08]

And light bulbs they have forced on us. Idiots.

[Caramelgal]

``I thought this was going to be like that. I was very wrong. It’s bad, real bad. We barely made it out.’’

I understand that when forecasts don’t pan out and officials order evacuations, when in hindsight, they weren’t necessary, people get complacent. But when you are told to evacuate or face almost certain death…..how could you possibly be surprised that “It’s bad, real bad”.?

[tcrlaf]

Another Darwin Award Nominee from KHOU:

GALVESTON — John Benge has seen plenty of hurricanes strike Galveston Island. At 91 years old, he’s experienced every major storm to ever hit the island, except for the 1900 Storm and the Storm of 1915.

He stared down Carla, and he just scoffed at Alicia. That experience, the Galveston resident figured, gave him every right to stay at home — even as Hurricane Ike flooded the streets of the island early Friday.

He was among the estimated 40 percent of Galveston residents who stayed behind after a mandatory evacuation order was issued. Benge boarded up his home tight, stocked up on provisions and prepared for a long night, even as his family pushed him to seek shelter on the mainland.

As Ike pounded the island Friday night, Benge was taking the storm in stride.

“I’m fine, there hasn’t been anything major yet,” said Benge from his Avenue R home in central Galveston. “You can quote me, though. It’s been one heck of a blow.”

So, how does Ike compare to Carla and Alicia?

“Oh, I’d say they are all about the same,” chuckled Benge.

Then again, he made the comparison hours before Ike’s strongest winds – and storm surge – paid Galveston a visit.

[SE Mom]

While I was channel surfing I heard Stuck-on-stupid Honore on CNN say that 1 in 4 Texans are without power and by the end of the day it will be closer to 4 in 5. Not sure where he’s getting his info from ..

[NautiNurse]

The center of Hurricane Ike is located just NE of Conroe Texas, 20 miles SSE of Huntsville, 60 miles SSW of Lufkin Texas.

Hurricane Ike is moving N at 18 mph. Sustained winds 90 mph, 962 mb.

On/Off Hurricane List Mash Here-->

[mathluv]

At least one of the pubbie critters talked about the light bulbs on the floor of the House - and he mentioned that they are only made in China.

[SE Mom]

Good grief. I just looked on a map and he lives a block from the gulf.

[stlnative]

Picture of the Chase Sky Tower in Houston before the hurricane. (huge building)

http://photos.igougo.com/images/p122938-Houston-JPMorgan_Chase_Tower.jpg

[NautiNurse]

Thanks for the info about the JP Morgan Chase building. The photos of the damage were impressive. The report further indicated some other faces of the building are completely intact.

[nobama08]

Our founding fathers would not recognize congress.

[mathluv]

Nat’l Guard General on F&F - going to Beaumont first, then to Galveston.

[Repeal The 17th]

“...President Bush just suspended
The EPA reformulated fuel requirements...”
- - -
That’s the first I have heard of this good news.
Where did you hear it?

[alfa6]

A couple of links that might be helpfull post Ike and in the future.

These are to the USGS real time Water Data pages for streams and Whatever:-)

Main Page
http://waterdata.usgs.gov/nwis/rt

Texas
http://waterdata.usgs.gov/tx/nwis/rt

Louisiana
http://waterdata.usgs.gov/la/nwis/rt

Hope the TX and LA Freepers are Okay

Regards

alfa6 ;>}

[Allegra]

Please say a prayer for my friend Balde. He was taking water into his condo near downtown Houston and thinks the one upstairs might be gone or badly damaged. Water was coming into Balde's place through the walls and ceiling.

It occurred to me shortly after talking to him that the ceiling could cave in and I called his mobile to tell him to please get out and he's not answering now.

We've been friends for 25 years and he is one of my dearest closest friends. Please pray that he will be OK.

I'll post if I'm able to get hold of him.

[NautiNurse]

I asked about this the other day. A helpful FReeper offered advice to purchase a digital tv tuner that plugs into computer USB port. I immediately ordered one for my laptop. Good reviews for the gizmo on Amazon.

fyi-there are a few battery operated tv out today with the digital tuner built in. They run about $200. We looked at the reviews, and they were consistently horrible.

[NautiNurse]

Will keep your friend in my prayers. Hopefully, he was able to move toward safer ground at a neighbor’s home.

[patton]

Prayers up.

[SE Mom]

Beaumont first? I’ve been so focused on Galveston- I didn’t realize they got slammed worse than Galveston?

[stlnative]

Prayers for your friend. Try texting him.

Let us know if you do hear from him!