Miscellaneous Notes and Thoughts on Ike

* First, a personal note. I wish there were some way that the hurricane category numbers could also consider the impact on humans and commerce. As it stands now, the sustained wind speed and pressure determine the category. Take Ike, for example. He is twice as large as a lot of hurricanes. At various times today, it has been estimated that he covered as much as 40% to 60% of the Gulf of Mexico. Overall, he is causing problems across at least 500 miles. He is a Category 2, but he will probably cause more damage than a Category 3 or even a 4 because of the high population density where he is making landfall and the length of time he will be pounding away like a battering ram. Just my opinion. I know it would be difficult to crank all of that into the category rating.

* A new Advisory will be out at 4:00. We will post it plus the tracking map. The center of Ike is still more than 100 miles offshore. Landfall is still expected late tonight or in the very early morning hours Saturday in the general vicinity of Galveston Bay. At that time, he may still be a strong Category 2 or possibly a Category 3.

* After going inland, we note that inland Tropical Storm Wind Warnings are posted as far north for tomorrow as Dallas/Ft. Worth as well as West and NW Louisiana.

* It has been estimated that possibly 50% of the people in Galveston did not evacuate and a lot in Houston. At least 13 million people live in the area that he will impact. Officials have called Ike a life or death matter. That is scary.

* Already a lot of street flooding in Houston.

SPOT REPORTS AT MID AFTERNOON
Gulf Shores…SE 23, gusts 31
Mobile Regional Airport…SE 25, gusts 39
Pensacola…SE 25, gusts 35
Gulfport…SE 31, gusts 39
Pascagoula…SE 21, gusts 31
New Orleans International…SE 28, gusts 44
Houston/Hobdy…NE 20, gusts 32
Port Arthur…east 33, gusts 51
Galveston Airport…not available
Galveston/North Jetty…NE 45, gusts 55
Buoy 20 miles east of Galveston…NE 45, gusts 54, 17-foot waves

ALABAMA COASTAL EFFECTS
A Coastal Flood Warning continues through at least noon Saturday. A High Surf Warning is still in effect for the beaches from Dauphin Island to Destin through 7:00 p.m. today. Large, long-lasting swells, high seas and dangerous surf from Ike will continue to impact the beaches from Dauphin Island to Destin. The combination of the large swells and strong winds have already caused coastal flooding problems along area beachfronts. There are several reports of water-covered roads and major beach erosion. Flooding will also continue along the west shore of Mobile Bay and in lower-lying areas and residential yards along inland waterways, such as the Dog River and Bayou Sara.

WEEKEND COVERAGE
We will have a very busy weather blog all the way through the weekend, including all night, so it is important that you scroll down to see a number of posts that still have very valid information hours after posting. we will continue to post actual spot reports, especially in areas close in to Ike. People are going to remember Hurricane Ike for many years to come, even if he does not get promoted to a Category 3. We fear that the casualty total in the heavily populated coastal areas will be very high.

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