Thursday, September 11, 2008

Ike Approaches

Our prayers are with you.  Hang in there. 

The AccuWeather.com Hurricane Center reports that Ike should reach Category 3 strength as it moves northwest through the Gulf of Mexico.

Landfall is forecast early on Saturday between Freeport and Galveston, which puts Houston and surrounding Harris County on the dangerous east side of the storm.

Because of the expected intensity of the hurricane at landfall and the angle at which Ike will approach the upper Texas coast, a storm surge of up to 20 feet may occur in Galveston Bay with a storm surge of 12 to 16 feet expected on the immediate coast. Gulf water will be pushed into the confined area of Galveston Bay. Hence the higher storm surge.

[...]

The potential for catastrophic damage is extremely high. According to Forecasting Manager Ken Reeves, “In contrast to the major hits in the Gulf over the past several years, including Katrina, Ike will not weaken significantly before landfall. As a result, the damage potential is exponentially higher.”

(2) Comments
Posted by Owen at 1914 hrs
Off-Duty

  1. How many times have they said that about hurricanes? The potential for catastrophic damage is extremely high.   While I wish the people in Texas well, the predictions for storms recently haven’t been very good.

    Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on September 11, 2008 at 2238 hrs


  2. Normally I would agree with you, Dan. Meteorologists often seem to jump the gun and be too sensationalistic when storms are near. But this hurricane is exceedingly large and won’t weaken right before landfall like others have done. have you seen the wording from the National Weather Service? It’s a little more specific that usual:

    “All neighborhoods and possibly entire coastal communities will be inundated during the period of the peak storm tide ... Persons not heeding evacuation orders in single family one- or two-story homes will face certain death.”

    Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on September 12, 2008 at 1022 hrs


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