Hurricane Ike comes ashore

Hurricane Ike came ashore in Galveston at 2:10 am local time. With 110 MPH winds Ike was technically a Cat 2 storm, only 1 MPH away from Cat 3 as if that would make a difference. The effects of the storm surge were seen from early afternoon with flooding all along Galveston Island and Galveston Bay as well as storm surge flooding all the way to Alabama.

This storm was so huge that while the winds were Cat 2/3 the storm surge level was equivalent to a Cat 4/5.



As Ike came ashore, news reports by The Weather Channel and by KHOU Houston both showed how the eye tightened up as Ike approached the shoreline. The eye measured over 80 miles wide earlier in the evening but by midnight the eye diameter had dropped to half that indicating some significant strengthening. The storm was also becoming more organized as it approached land. I think that the reason the winds had not picked up was because of the interaction with land.

Hurricane Ike Makes Landfall Over Galveston (The Weather Channel)

Ike made landfall at 2:10 a.m. CDT at Galveston, Texas, with maximum sustained winds near 110 miles per hour. Its minimum pressure was 951.6 millibars, reported by the barometer at the Galveston Pleasure Pier when the center passed overhead.

A few posts down I have buoy reading. The fist plot is for a buoy several miles out that Ike obviously passed directly over. Apparently it damaged the buoy after recording 120 MPH winds because the readings have stopped. The other two plots show the storm passing overhead but not at the eye as the wind speed and pressure do not reach the same levels.

Ike Roars Ashore in Galveston, Weakens to Category 1 Storm as Millions Lose Power(Fox News)

GALVESTON, Texas — Massive Hurricane Ike weakened to a Category 1 storm Saturday morning after ravaging southeast Texas and battering the coast with driving rain and ferocious wind gusts as residents who decided too late they should have heeded calls to evacuate made futile calls for rescue.

While Ike is finally slowing down, it is still causing problems. The surf at Galveston is rougher than I have ever seen it, floooding is everywhere and Ike will probably stay a hurricane or a strong Tropical Storm all teh way until it reaches Dallas.

People to the north need to prepare by securing loose items or bringing them inside and stay away from windows.