Updated Ike - Updated Map

I updated Ike info at the previous post. This will be for new info as it becomes available.

Texans flee low lying areas.

Weathering Ike blog at the Houston Chron.

Houston area news on Hurricane Ike.

If you are in an evacuation zone or area of risk and need help getting out, dial 2-1-1.

You can always count on Daily Kos - "Ike poses a serious threat to the upper Texas coast - as the forecasts have shifted north somewhat - as has mine." Of course, politics continue at Daily Kos - here is Craig Ferguson video rants on politics, media, campaigns, voting and not voting.

Jeff Master's Tropical WunderBlog:

Ike is now larger than Katrina was, both in its radius of tropical storm force winds--275 miles--and in it radius of hurricane force winds--115 miles. For comparison, Katrina's tropical storm and hurricane force winds extended out 230 and 105 miles, respectively. Ike's huge wind field has put an extraordinarily large volume of ocean water in motion. When this swirling column of water hits the shallow waters of the Continental Shelf, it will be be forced up into a large storm surge which will probably rival the massive storm surge of Hurricane Carla of 1961.

Latest Model Tracks - Galveston looks very possible right now.

Taping Windows is no longer recommended, except by the tape companies. "If you waste time taping your windows, about the best you can hope for is that the storm will miss your house, and the tape won't be too hard to remove." Best bet - storm windows. Poor second best - 1/2 or 3/4 inch thick plywood securely drilled into the house every 18 inches.

Houston Transtar hurricane portal.

Call 2-1-1 for transportation help for Ike.

UPDATE

New 9/11 evening forecast map.


UPDATE - The city of La Porte is essentially closed down and has prepared the Pasadena Convention Center as an evacuation emergency shelter center.

Pat is of the opinion this will be just like Rita and every 8 hours they will move the landfall location further North. Clif might look into that aspect of the hurricane models as the last several hurricanes around Houston the forecasts seemed to do that. The SciGuy discusses that scenario.

Forecasted hurricane wind in local areas.

Zip Code 77507 has been added to the mandatory evacuation area but no one lives there. It is an industrial district in the South of Pasadena.

Politics - Did you see Palin's painful interview? Perhaps we should go to war with Russia?

Pasadena Texas ready to hunker down.

Gasoline prices spike in Houston area as some stations run out. A disruption in refineries could leave prices higher by 50 cents or so for weeks. "The closures included Exxon Mobil Corp.'s Baytown refinery and BP's Texas City plant, two of the nation's largest fuel-making facilities."

Houston staring down Ike with little evacuation.

The big problems - loss of electrical power and localized storm surges. Power companies get prepared.

Because of the size of Ike Houston will not dodge this bullet. Still worries about Galveston Bay surge. "Residents, living directly on the coast outside the protection of a seawall, are sure to "face certain death" if they fail to evacuate, Blood said... Forecasters acknowledged there is a chance Ike will veer to the east today, much as Rita did in 2005... Houston Mayor White said overall things appear to be going better than they did three years ago."

Looks like the jog to the North is taking place. How far and will it last is the question? Beaumont should watch out.

Even with the eye 265 miles away from Galveston and only minor breezes, water along the shore and in the bays is several feet above high tide mark.

State of Disaster for Harris County - price gougers will face very heavy fines.

4 AM NOAA warning.

COASTAL STORM SURGE FLOODING OF UP TO 20 FEET ABOVE NORMAL TIDE LEVELS...ALONG WITH LARGE AND DANGEROUS BATTERING WAVES...CAN BE EXPECTED NEAR AND TO THE EAST OF WHERE THE CENTER OF IKE MAKES LANDFALL...EXTENDING A GREATER THAN USUAL DISTANCE FROM THE CENTER DUE TO THE LARGE SIZE OF THE CYCLONE. SURGE FLOODING OF UP TO 25 FEET...AND POSSIBLY HIGHER...COULD OCCUR AT THE HEADS OF BAYS. COASTAL STORM SURGE FLOODING OF 6 TO 8 FEET ABOVE NORMAL TIDE LEVELS...ALONG WITH LARGE AND DANGEROUS WAVES...CAN BE EXPECTED WITHIN THE TROPICAL STORM WARNING AREA ALONG THE NORTHERN GULF COAST. ABOVE NORMAL TIDES IN THE EASTERN GULF OF MEXICO SHOULD GRADUALLY SUBSIDE OVER THE NEXT DAY OR SO.

IKE IS EXPECTED TO PRODUCE RAINFALL AMOUNTS OF 5 TO 10 INCHES OVER EASTERN TEXAS AND EXTREME SOUTHWESTERN LOUISIANA...WITH ISOLATED AMOUNTS OF 15 INCHES POSSIBLE.

Off to work - I will start a new one when possible.

One last one - Accuweather - Ike.

Tags: hurricane, Ike, Texas, Houston, Galveston, Pasadena, Baytown, La Porte, Clear Lake, Harris County