Dangerous Hurricane Ike Approaching Texas Coast

[Guest Luke]

Hurricane Ike looks bad. Ike is a category 2 hurricane with maximum sustained winds near 105 miles per hour. Preparations to protect life and property in this area should be rushed to completion.

 

 

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

[Guest PUBLIC AFFAIRS]

“The safety and welfare of the Cuban people is our highest concern in the wake of hurricanes Gustav and Ike and although the Cuban Government has declined the offer of a humanitarian assessment team, we remain willing to send one. We are evaluating how best to provide additional humanitarian relief for Cuban victims of this disaster. Providing an assessment and donating aid so that people on the island have at least the basic necessities during this difficult time is something we do for any country in the world after a natural disaster,” Gutierrez said.

In addition to offering aid directly, the U.S. Treasury Department is prepared to approve new licenses and amend existing licenses for the increased transfer of funds for hurricane relief on the island. This will enhance the ability of U.S. citizens to contribute to Cuban hurricane relief through licensed providers.

 

Secretary Gutierrez co-chairs the Commission for Assistance to a Free Cuba with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, a U.S. Cabinet-level commission formed to explore ways the United States can help hasten and ease a democratic transition in Cuba. The American people are the largest providers of humanitarian aid to the Cuban people, having provided more than $240 million in donations in 2007. U.S. remittances are the largest source of direct support to the Cuban people.