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)
Don’t some areas of the country have different formulas of gas for different times of the year to ‘cut’ down on pollution? (really just a joke, and a ‘gimme’ to the enviro wackos)
Easiest thing in the world - tell your favorite guy to wire up a cigarette lighter to a car battery, and a solar panal to charge it.
plug computer into cig lighter, and use an air card.
Viola - FR with no utilities.
Thanks for your important update. Please check in again when you can.
Morning all. I peeled off about 0230, eye had just come ashore, and per tcrlaf, the Galveston Pier was reporting 12.18 feet of surge. Huge difference in how much of Galveston is under water between 12 and 13 feet.
Obviously, wave action would have brought the flooding up to the roughly 80 percent flooded mark that 13 feet of still water would bring, but a critical difference may have been that the waves were fighting to get over the seawall and “high” ground, expending their energy there, instead of against the cities themselves.
Possibility that Ike laid on surge over a huge area, without a high peak at the eyewall.
Winds were gusting to 120 mph, measured, right about where residential construction begins to fail substantially.
I expect to see breaches opened across western Galveston Island, and Texas City was, due to wind theoretically subject to higher than average surge, maybe 15 feet, but Galveston and Houston MAY, repeat MAY, have dodged a bullet, damage severe in spots but just below the levels necessary to wipe large swaths of city down to bare sand.
We won’t know till the aircraft get up, make tours, get bck and press conferences are held.
As of 0230 Cantore had bailed to the Holiday Inn, which was later reported to be losing brick and going under water. Heraldo was outside, pushing drama, up in, or up against, or being fondled by a small tree.
No apparant word from any of them to my knowlege.
My sister and BIL in W University Place(Houston area, near Rice)sent a blackberry email saying they had a large pecan tree land on the house a couple hrs ago, but fortunately they were downstairs under the dining table. Certainly ongoing water damage-they are just sick about it. No power, of course. It will an expensive and trying few weeks for a lot of Texans. Even in Arlington I can feel the strong breezes now and very light rain though it appears we will be spared for the most part, anywhere west of I35. Those of you in E Texas and Arkansas better get ready.
God speed! Sounds pretty ominous.
Does anyone live West of Houston (Katy and out)? How are things there? (I am out of town).
Reports of 9’ of water in downtown Beaumont!
There are something like 3 dozen different “formulations” of gasoline that various cities and states and EPA across the US have demanded the oil companies produce. That makes the companies problems in supplying gasoline more difficult and more expensive and more problematic.
He basically said “all that garbage is out the window” and that companies can deliver whatever they can get to their customers for now.
Many of us believe that those stupid regs should all have been thrown out forever a long time ago, not merely suspended.
Mad has three phones going and a fax machine about to burn up. He says he will try and update when he gets a chance but things are very hectic. Fortunately he put some of the requirements in place early in the week but was not anticipating a plane or sending his guys.
To all in the area stay safe there are many dangers even after the storm has past. We pray for all of you in harm's way.
I believe someone from Katy checked in upthread.
I can't get through....I keep trying. His phone is working but it goes to voice mail. I had just spoken to him shortly before and then got worried that his roof would cave in. When I called back, he wasn't answering and he always answers my calls. I just tried again.
I'm kind of a nervous wreck right now...
La Porte evacuees should not return yet..Just heard on KHOU stream.
My husband is from Newton and has been trying to get in touch with his father.
Have you heard any news coming out of the Jasper/Newton area?
thank you for the reports metmom and to the rest of the FR gang.
“formulations” does not simply have to do with ethanol, though it can be a part in some locales.
It has to do with additives and other stuff to make the gasoline politically correct for that state or city.
Thanks for that link...watching it now...looks like it’s a real mess. That area has taken a good punch from Ike. Many, many areas flooded.....no current reporting from areas north and east of Houston.
>>>La Porte evacuees should not return yet..Just heard on KHOU stream.
DirecTV has CH.11 - KHOU on CH361 - watching live coverage.
Thanks Mrs. Mad. Updates when you get a chance will be appreciated. Very nice of you to stand in while hubs is juggling things like a five-armed octopus.
Odds are he’s wet, and frazzled, and hanging on by his fingernails, but otherwise ok.
Most of the people who had to bail in 1900 did so when the surge began taking apart their shelters. A lot of them made it to safe ground. Your friend probably didn’t have to deal with that, just wind and other lesser objective hazards.
Human beings are very tough to kill, and any friend of your’s is likely to be tougher still. Take care of you first, even some luxury, and the news will come in when it comes in. Hang in there, k?
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