hoghedge

Geoff - think the damage could have of course been worse, but I think we're going to see some pretty bad stuff along the coast where there was no seawall - they're saying east and west of Galveston may be pretty bad. The storm surge certainly wasn't as bad for Galveston as it hit more to the East apparently... and so the resulting surge didn't top the wall at that area.. Seems some bayous are still rising as well -: which will mean more flooding Lots of tree damage it seems On the Houston Chronicle there was a report from a woman in Galveston @ 7:30 saying that the West side looked like a lake - you could see the rooftops and treetops though.... Sky were saying it could rate number 3 in cost after Katrina and Andrew....

Houston Chronicle www.chron.com has some interesting reports/pictures

Did you see that the gas stations have been profiteering over Louisiana etc... prices going up as people queued! SB that's the one that most are watching.... Tornadomanuk - yes the pictures of Alan Parkway are now coming in with the light as everywhere else - Bush now addressing...

The Freighter that was caught with engine trouble yesterday and is safe (they're sending a tug boat now to get it) Thank Goodness! EDIT: We must be watching the same TV station StormforceB! Posted at the same time!

Yep - they're saying they are used to 6 inches and can cope - but then there seems to be another 6 on its way. Bayous are starting to look dodgy now. JP Morgan building lost windows downtown. Bissenet - Greebriar impassable - Rice Village house oak tree landed on it. Medical Centre - Hospital St Lukes has windows break. I was there during a storm once, and the water in the downtown area was just incredible, so this has to be way worse. Thanks for the info KW

Should be shortly within the hour, they're 6 hours behind usKW Airport is N/E of downtown - just to the side of Humble, I am hearing debris, glass shards etc flying around downtown -

Thanks Kold - Am trying to keep friend and family informed on their mobile - they are by Bush Airport, also friends in Clearwater and Central/Rice area, but have not heard from them. Things are really starting to ramp up now in terms of damage reports coming in. Will that Southern Eyewall pass over the airport or is it tracking too quickly N/E and likely miss do you think?

Sorry, should have been more specific - Bush Airport N/E of downtown near humble

Thanks Androcles Kema under 6ft water - 12ft in lower area, Galveston reporting houses destroyed or shifted off foundations Friends Report:We are hearing that the storm is worse south west of the eye, near downtown. What are you receiving. Can you confirm that the backside if the storm is worse than the part we have been going through. Hoggy

Yes I've seen that one thanks opple - I'm tryiing to spot if the eye will go over Bush Airport, as friend is asking when it will be them

Anyone got a good current doppler of the eye ?

Friend by Bush Airport Reports "The wind is steady. Weird, feels like a war. Transformers lighting up. Thats the only light we see aside from cells and flash lights. Wow, strong gusts. The 66 is steady wind, right? Where is the eye? Is it coming toward us?"

Thanks RJS KHOU reporting - 40 mile wide eye, current gust of 110mph coming into Galveston, and is expected to last 24 hours over Houston due to its size. Bayou's are starting to overflow. 8 inches of rain - could be up to 12 inches today. 953mb and talking about the peak of the surge being now reached @ 12 - 15 ft'sh which is good news I would have thought

Oppl - Here's the obs at Galveston - Currently shows gusts coming up to the 90's.... http://tidesandcurrents.noaa.gov/data_menu...al+Observations

http://tidesandcurrents.noaa.gov/quicklook....html#8771341wl wave heights - anyone got any more info on wave heights? Sky reporting 50ft waves out the gulf - has anyone any verification of this? Hoggy

Morning - I managed to keep awake to 3:40 but that was my lot - checked maiil this morning, 4 mins ago friend up by Bush Airport is now communicating via his mobile - says his roof is nearly coming off, heavy rain and the house feels like it is moiving. Hope him and his family will be ok - guess that far out mainly going to be fear of tornadoes ultimately...he thinks they're nearing seeing the eye now... Should have mentioned - there's no power of course Hoggy

Hmmm... I can sort of see that I suppose - See they're reporting fires in Galveston now - where a house was on fire, but they couldn't attend and it's now jumping along to other houses... You don't think about things like that being an issue really (well I didn't )....

Think I prefer KHOU - Just mentioning that Ike is 600 miles wide .. See officials asking people to write their social security no on their arms in some areas !!...

I really don't know - I can see them!!! HURRICANE IKE INTERMEDIATE ADVISORY NUMBER 47B NWS TPC/NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER MIAMI FL AL092008 800 PM CDT FRI SEP 12 2008 ...IKE'S OUTER RAINBANDS LASHING THE UPPER TEXAS AND SOUTHWESTERN LOUISIANA COASTS... A HURRICANE WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM MORGAN CITY LOUISIANA TO NORTH OF PORT ARANSAS TEXAS. HURRICANE CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED TO REACH THE COAST IN THE WARNING AREA LATER TODAY. A TROPICAL STORM WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM PORT ARANSAS TO PORT MANSFIELD TEXAS. A TROPICAL STORM WARNING IS ALSO IN EFFECT FROM EAST OF MORGAN CITY TO THE MISSISSIPPI-ALABAMA BORDER... INCLUDING THE CITY OF NEW ORLEANS AND LAKE PONTCHARTRAIN. FOR STORM INFORMATION SPECIFIC TO YOUR AREA...INCLUDING POSSIBLE INLAND WATCHES AND WARNINGS...PLEASE MONITOR PRODUCTS ISSUED BY YOUR LOCAL WEATHER OFFICE. AT 800 PM CDT...0100Z...THE CENTER OF VERY LARGE HURRICANE IKE WAS LOCATED NEAR LATITUDE 28.4 NORTH...LONGITUDE 94.3 WEST OR ABOUT 70 MILES...115 KM...SOUTHEAST OF GALVESTON TEXAS AND ABOUT 95 MILES ...155 KM...SOUTH-SOUTHWEST OF BEAUMONT TEXAS. IKE HAS BEEN MOVING BETWEEN THE WEST-NORTHWEST AND NORTHWEST NEAR 13 MPH...20 KM/HR. A NORTHWEST MOTION IS EXPECTED TO CONTINUE TONIGHT WITH A TURN TOWARD THE NORTH EXPECTED ON SATURDAY. ON THE FORECAST TRACK...THE CENTER OF IKE WILL BE VERY NEAR THE UPPER TEXAS COAST BY LATER THIS EVENING OR EARLY SATURDAY MORNING. DATA FROM NOAA DOPPLER WEATHER RADARS AND RECONNAISSANCE AIRCRAFT INDICATE MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS REMAIN NEAR 110 MPH...175 KM/HR... WITH HIGHER GUSTS. IKE IS A STRONG CATEGORY TWO HURRICANE ON THE SAFFIR-SIMPSON SCALE AND COULD REACH THE TEXAS COAST SATURDAY MORNING AS A CATEGORY THREE...MAJOR HURRICANE. STRONGER WINDS... ESPECIALLY IN STRONGER GUSTS...ARE LIKELY ON HIGH RISE BUILDINGS. IKE REMAINS A VERY LARGE HURRICANE AND HURRICANE FORCE WINDS EXTEND OUTWARD UP TO 120 MILES...195 KM...FROM THE CENTER...AND TROPICAL STORM FORCE WINDS EXTEND OUTWARD UP TO 275 MILES...445 KM. DURING THE PAST HOUR...SUSTAINED WINDS OF 55 MPH HAVE BEEN REPORTED ON GALVESTON ISLAND AND A GUST TO 70 MPH WAS MEASURED AT A NOAA BUOY JUST OFFSHORE GALVESTON ISLAND BEFORE IT STOPPED REPORTING. THE MINIMUM CENTRAL PRESSURE RECENTLY REPORTED BY AN AIR FORCE RESERVE UNIT RECONNAISSANCE AIRCRAFT WAS 952 MB...28.11 INCHES. COASTAL STORM SURGE FLOODING OF UP TO 20 FEET...WITH NEAR 25 FEET IN SOME AREAS...ABOVE NORMAL TIDES ALONG WITH LARGE AND DANGEROUS BATTERING WAVES...CAN BE EXPECTED NEAR AND TO THE EAST OF WHERE THE CENTER OF IKE MAKES LANDFALL. THE SURGE EXTENDS A GREATER THAN USUAL DISTANCE FROM THE CENTER DUE TO THE LARGE SIZE OF THE CYCLONE. WATER LEVELS HAVE ALREADY RISEN BY 7 TO 9 FEET ABOVE NORMAL ALONG MUCH OF THE NORTHWESTERN GULF COAST. DO NOT VENTURE OUTSIDE IN THE EYE. THE STRONGEST WINDS AND HIGHEST SURGE WILL LIKELY OCCUR NEAR OR JUST AFTER THE EYE MAKES LANDFALL. 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. ISOLATED TORNADOES ARE POSSIBLE TONIGHT OVER PORTIONS OF SOUTHERN LOUISIANA AND SOUTHEASTERN TEXAS. REPEATING THE 800 PM CDT POSITION...28.4 N...94.3 W. MOVEMENT TOWARD...NORTHWEST NEAR 13 MPH. MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS...110 MPH. MINIMUM CENTRAL PRESSURE...952 MB. THE NEXT COMPLETE ADVISORY WILL BE ISSUED BY THE NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER AT 1000 PM CDT. $$ FORECASTER STEWART

Galveston now in the dark - where is everyone ?

Rain bands and wind are now on the way in - expecting landfall in 2 hours -

Friend now reporting 78mph gusts up by airport - says Galveston under water now - and has to shout to be heard over the wind

Report: 15 trapped on church roof on Bolivar Peninsula KHOU-TV is reporting that 15 people who had lashed themselves together are stranded on a church roof on the Bolivar Peninsula. Earlier today a Coast Guard helicopter crew plucked 60 people from the peninsula town of High Island after the only road out was flooded. (A Coast Guard helicopter flies over High Island on the Bolivar Peninsula. Photo by David J. Phillip, AP>)

Friend lives over by Bush Airport (Houston Airport), @ 1830 says kids are out and about, skys are starting to look grey now, but no rain to talk of....

Yes, it appears the main surge will come from the back of the eye according to most....it looks pretty certain there will be an 18 - 20ft storm surge, this coinciding with high tide?