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Hurricane Ike

SheTexan said:
My biggest concern is these bigass trees I have in my yard! My neighbor has zero trees in her yard due to Alicia. She had huge trees that were uprooted and thrown around like pencils. SOOOOO, I'm praying these suckers stay put.
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one thing we have in our favor is the ground is generally hard as a rock right now and the trees will be less likely to fall over...if they're strong, healthy trees. now if the ground was moist and we get the expected wind, the tree damage would be more severe.
 
Cjeremy635 said:
Well, gas is pretty much out in Crosby, has been since around 9:30 this morning. I topped off the truck and filled up a 30 gallon poly chemical drum with gas. Anyone else seeing gas shortages at this time?
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Supposed to be outages popping up all over the city, particularly in the south evac zones.

I filled up last night at 6:30 and the lines were empty. Worked out, went to HEB two hours later and the lines were five deep.

Just hope and pray that the folks that need to leave can get out. We live in West Houston (where the eye is tracking, as of now) but I feel pretty confident in our condo brick structure. The only thing that worries me is flying glass, and I have no carpentering skills whatsoever. We may be staying with friends in Katy who plan on boarding up this evening.
 
Silver Oak said:
one thing we have in our favor is the ground is generally hard as a rock right now and the trees will be less likely to fall over...if they're strong, healthy trees. now if the ground was moist and we get the expected wind, the tree damage would be more severe.
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I hope mine stay put, I've got some really old oaks that I don't want to loose. My area is expecting 75-100 mph winds for sustained periods. Who really knows how bad it's going to be at this point. Anyways, if I have damage, I'll take photos and post them on here after this thing is through. Thank God for homeowner's insurance.....hopefully they will pay if the house is damaged. I've heard some horror stories from previous storms. Anyone ever had a claim with Farmer's Insurance? How do they normally handle their clients?
 
jerek said:
Supposed to be outages popping up all over the city, particularly in the south evac zones.

I filled up last night at 6:30 and the lines were empty. Worked out, went to HEB two hours later and the lines were five deep.

Just hope and pray that the folks that need to leave can get out. We live in West Houston (where the eye is tracking, as of now) but I feel pretty confident in our condo brick structure. The only thing that worries me is flying glass, and I have no carpentering skills whatsoever. We may be staying with friends in Katy who plan on boarding up this evening.
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Tape up your windows, just in case. At least they won't shatter on you if they do take a hit.
 
FILO_girl said:
From Wunderground....wow...
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Here's some more info that I found very interesting from further down in the same article

weather underground said:
This "Integrated Kinetic Energy" was recently proposed by Dr. Mark Powell of NOAA's Hurricane Research Division as a better measure of the destructive power of a hurricane's storm surge than the usual Category 1-5 Saffir-Simpson scale. For example, Hurricane Katrina hit Mississippi as a strong Category 3 hurricane, yet its storm surge was more characteristic of a Category 5 storm. Dr. Powell came up with a new scale to rate potential storm surge damage based on IKE (not to be confused with Hurricane Ike!) The new scale ranges from 1-6. Katrina and Wilma at their peaks both earned a 5.1 on this scale (Figure 2). At 9:30am EDT this morning, Ike earned a 5.6 on this scale, the highest kinetic energy of any Atlantic storm in the past 40 years.
IKE_Ike.png
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http://www.wunderground.com/blog/JeffMasters/comment.html?entrynum=1080&tstamp=200809
 
They sent us home at noon from Conoco Phillips. I-10 West was already backed up, along with 290. It is a zoo out there. I stopped and got a few sandbags for doors, just in case and it was a madhouse.

Luckily we had part of our dead pecan taken off last week. Nice to get lucky.
 
well....my windows are boarded up, gas tanks full, plenty of water/ice for me, my wife and 2 dogs, plenty of food and a ton of shells for my 12 gauge.....needless to say I'm ready. I will be riding this thing out in Alvin. If it hits 130 mph I will go to my dads house in Silverlake where the trees are tiny.

This should be fun.
 
so the pressure went UP from 944 to 956. that's a good sign, I guess, but the size of that thing is scary.
 
Hardcore Texan said:
My mom refuses to evacuate, she wants to keep my dad comfortable and not move him, this storm is going to be too much for their house especially if it moves north a little more. They are under madatory evacuation, just a couple miles inland of trinity bay, she refuses to leave.
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I'm not sure what hospice your father is using, but Houston Hospice has an inpatient facility down by the Ronald McDonald House near the medical center. It's a great facility, and it feels nothing like a hospital. Perhaps your mother would be willing to move him there, and I'm certain it will be much safer than staying at home.
 
Cjeremy635 said:
Well, gas is pretty much out in Crosby, has been since around 9:30 this morning. I topped off the truck and filled up a 30 gallon poly chemical drum with gas. Anyone else seeing gas shortages at this time?
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Yes, every gas station in Houston. Buffalo Speedway and 59 cars lining the streets.

I went to court in Richmond, every gas station outside Houston along 59 had gas.
 
I'm starting to feel pretty sick about this. This will be my first hurricane and I'm just freaking out a little. I'm in Midtown and will be hunkering down tomorrow, but I'm not liking this one bit. Please move east!
 
texasguy346 said:
I'm not sure what hospice your father is using, but Houston Hospice has an inpatient facility down by the Ronald McDonald House near the medical center. It's a great facility, and it feels nothing like a hospital. Perhaps your mother would be willing to move him there, and I'm certain it will be much safer than staying at home.
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Thanks for the info, I was told........

edit - nevermind, my Dad just passed away, my phone just rang and ......i'm speechless.
 
Thanks everyone, at least he got to go at home in his sleep. So sorry to derail this thread, I got the call right in the middle of that post I was typing and just went numb......with all the worry and everything for getting them evacuated I just typed it out for some reason, maybe I shouldn't have....I don't know, it's hard to know what to do, I am just sitting in my office stunned by it all.
 
Hardcore Texan said:
Thanks everyone, at least he got to go at home in his sleep. So sorry to derail this thread, I got the call right in the middle of that post I was typing and just went numb......with all the worry and everything for getting them evacuated I just typed it out for some reason, maybe I shouldn't have....I don't know.
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We are here for you. Post what you like.
 
jerek said:
Does that help? I've heard otherwise--please comment. Thx man.
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Well, it's not 100% effective, but it does offer some protection against shattering. It won't stop a 100 mph 2x4, but not much will.

Stay away from those windows that are getting hit with the wind, too.

ATX said:
Yes it does help. It's the reason windshields are made the way they are.
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Good example. I was going to say the same thing.

IlliniJen said:
I'm starting to feel pretty sick about this. This will be my first hurricane and I'm just freaking out a little. I'm in Midtown and will be hunkering down tomorrow, but I'm not liking this one bit. Please move east!
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It's not fun. During Alicia, half of my mom's house was ripped apart and thrown about 70 yards across the street. It is hours and hours of hard wind slamming your dwelling, and it makes you feel pretty small and weak as a human.

Hardcore Texan said:
Thanks for the info, I was told........

edit - nevermind, my Dad just passed away, my phone just rang and ......i'm speechless.
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I'm so sorry, HT. My thoughts and prayers are with you and your family. :(
 
So sorry for your loss. Another reason to hate this damn hurricane, you don't need to be dealing with all this right now.
 
Big gas lines over hear by the Galleria. The HEB is jam packed. The parking lot was full, and they were almost out of baskets. The shelves were bare in the bottled water section, but most everything else was pretty well stocked. A woman in front of me in line said a number of the local gas stations were out of gasoline, and she had to drive down a couple of miles to find a station that had any. The Valero by me had a line over 10 cars deep at two different entrances.
 
Hardcore Texan said:
Thanks everyone, at least he got to go at home in his sleep. So sorry to derail this thread, I got the call right in the middle of that post I was typing and just went numb......with all the worry and everything for getting them evacuated I just typed it out for some reason, maybe I shouldn't have....I don't know, it's hard to know what to do, I am just sitting in my office stunned by it all.
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Sorry for your loss, man. Take care of yourself and your family.
 
Hardcore Texan said:
Thanks everyone, at least he got to go at home in his sleep. So sorry to derail this thread, I got the call right in the middle of that post I was typing and just went numb......with all the worry and everything for getting them evacuated I just typed it out for some reason, maybe I shouldn't have....I don't know, it's hard to know what to do, I am just sitting in my office stunned by it all.
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I'm so sorry, Hardcore. I wish ........I'm just sorry, man.
 
Double Barrel said:
It's not fun. During Alicia, half of my mom's house was ripped apart and thrown about 70 yards across the street. It is hours and hours of hard wind slamming your dwelling, and it makes you feel pretty small and weak as a human.
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I'm hoping the wind won't be as bad near downtown. I also live in a middle unit of a row of townhomes, so i'm protected on two sides by neighbors.

So, I just went out to get gas (didn't work out...everyone's out), some more water, a flashlight (and I got home, got out of my car and sitting in front of my eyes, my "lost" heavy duty maglite, wtf!) and my stress buy: two packs of Camel Turkish Silver.

Should I open my windows a sliver tomorrow to even out the pressure? I have large windows on my second and third floors that would be pretty hard to board up without a lot of help, probably professional due to height.

****. I just need a rent-a-husband for the day to get my through this. I'm going to need some chemical help just to sleep tonight.
 
IlliniJen said:
I'm hoping the wind won't be as bad near downtown. I also live in a middle unit of a row of townhomes, so i'm protected on two sides by neighbors.

So, I just went out to get gas (didn't work out...everyone's out), some more water, a flashlight (and I got home, got out of my car and sitting in front of my eyes, my "lost" heavy duty maglite, wtf!) and my stress buy: two packs of Camel Turkish Silver.

Should I open my windows a sliver tomorrow to even out the pressure? I have large windows on my second and third floors that would be pretty hard to board up without a lot of help, probably professional due to height.

****. I just need a rent-a-husband for the day to get my through this. I'm going to need some chemical help just to sleep tonight.
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Sounds like you got a good plan of action (except for the husband part...good luck with all that).

I bought some extra batteries for my Game Boy Advances, as well, because I have little doubt that we'll lose electricity pretty quickly with this thing. And I get bored easily sitting in the dark.

I've heard different angles on the idea of leaving your window open. To be honest, I have no firm info regarding the effectiveness of that strategy. Hopefully someone here can shed some knowledge on it.
 
IlliniJen said:
I'm hoping the wind won't be as bad near downtown. I also live in a middle unit of a row of townhomes, so i'm protected on two sides by neighbors.

So, I just went out to get gas (didn't work out...everyone's out), some more water, a flashlight (and I got home, got out of my car and sitting in front of my eyes, my "lost" heavy duty maglite, wtf!) and my stress buy: two packs of Camel Turkish Silver.

Should I open my windows a sliver tomorrow to even out the pressure? I have large windows on my second and third floors that would be pretty hard to board up without a lot of help, probably professional due to height.

****. I just need a rent-a-husband for the day to get my through this. I'm going to need some chemical help just to sleep tonight.
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Open the winds if you want, but it will not help equalize the pressure in your house. Might generate a nice breeze to replace your AC flow if you lose power.
 
I hope my apartment building is stong, otherwise I might be out on the street after this weekend.
 
Hardcore Texan said:
Thanks everyone, at least he got to go at home in his sleep. So sorry to derail this thread, I got the call right in the middle of that post I was typing and just went numb......with all the worry and everything for getting them evacuated I just typed it out for some reason, maybe I shouldn't have....I don't know, it's hard to know what to do, I am just sitting in my office stunned by it all.
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Damn, bro. I'm not sure what to say here, man. Our prayers are with and your family. It's nice he got to go peaceful. Keep your head up my man, you know he's want you to.
 
I have a bad feeling about this storm. It's looking more and more like it's going to hit the Freeport/Brazoria County area then come up straight through Houston. Y'all take care in Houston and the surrounding areas, it's going to be a rough ride.
 
Recent movement may indicate a landfall east of Galveston.


From Impact Weather (a weather service that my company uses for offshore operations):

Impact Weather said:
Recent satellite data indicates that Ike has been moving to the northwest at a slightly faster forward speed over the past few hours. The threat of landfall occurring farther north along the Texas coast from Galveston Bay to Sabine Pass is increasing. We expect to adjust our forecast track to reflect this change on our new advisory, which will be issued by 4:30PM CDT. Our new forecast track will project a landfall over the eastern portion of Galveston Bay very early Saturday morning after midnight
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