I don’t know what to expect from Ike, the last time I went through a major hurricane was back in 1983 when Hurricane Alicia hit the Houston/Galveston area, which also was a category 3.

The city and county officials have asked us to stay in place. My fear, officials here are responding to the criticism on how LA and New Orleans responded to Gustav. However, as each new report comes in, it turns out to be for the worse, and is catching people caught off guard.

The official forecast for Hurricane Ike landfall is centered upon Brazoria County, near Freeport as a strong category 3 hurricane. At 4 AM today, the storm was 525 miles southeast of Galveston, moving at 9 mph on a west-northwesterly track, according to the National Weather Service. Maximum sustained winds were near 100 mph, with higher gusts. Hurricane-force winds were extending 115 miles outward from Ike’s center, the weather service reported, and tropical storm-force winds were extending 255 miles out.

Galveston officials have issued a mandatory evacuation Thursday morning for the entire Galveston Island area. That evacuation begins at noon today. A staging area is at 47th at Broadway.

Harris County Judge Ed Emmett called for mandatory evacuations of low-lying areas starting at noon today. Those residents are in evacuation zones A and B, specifically ZIP codes 77058, 77059, 77062, 77520, 77546, 77571, 77586 and 77598.

Houston Mayor Bill White this morning urged all employers to give their employees the day off on Friday unless their presence is essential.

To my readers who live outside the State of Texas or outside Ike’s impact zone, I do plan to monitor the situation and will update when I get new information.

Update: I just came back from the grocery store, products are flying off the shelves pretty fast. If you are reading this and live within the impact zone, I would advise you to go quickly. There is a sense of panic in the air. Lines are forming just to buy gas. I noticed two gas stations that closed because they ran out of gas.

Gov Rick Perry is make a desperate play for those who are in Ike’s path to get out now.

“My message to Texans is, in the projected impact area, finish your preparations because this is a storm that can have extraordinary impact on them, on their personal belongings,” Perry said. “It’s on its way.”

“I want to emphasize what a dangerous storm this is going to be,” he said. “The latest estimates show Ike is going to be coming to shore in the next 48 hours, packing winds in excess of 120 mph and a storm surge of 14 feet or more. And I want to emphasize the more.”

Evacuation orders have now been issued for Jefferson and Orange counties, between Houston and the Louisiana state line.

According to the National Hurricane Center, at 1:00 PM CDT Hurricane Ike is located about 440 miles of Corpus Christi and about 470 miles of Galveston Texas. If current projections of the storm’s path hold up, the area surrounding Houston would be feel the eastern or “dirty” side of the storm.

To give you an idea how big this storm is, Hurricane Ike’s storm surge is causing flooding along the Florida Panhandle and it’s closed a section of U.S. Highway 98. The highway is a major corridor running along the Gulf of Mexico.

Update 2: My observations about gas stations running out of gas is true. It is being reported that gas stations were running out of fuel as residents scurried to leave, and officials urged all residents to finish their storm preparations as soon as possible.

Mandatory evacuation orders were also issued for residents of Matagorda and Jackson Counties, some mainland communities in Galveston County, some Chambers County communities and Brazoria County – excluding Pearland and Alvin.

Hobby airport will be shutting down today at 6:30 PM and George Bush Intercontinental Airport beginning at 2 PM Friday. Southwest Airlines will suspend flight operations at Houston’s William P. Hobby Airport beginning Friday at 9 AM. Continental Airlines implemented a flight schedule reduction at IAH for Friday and Saturday in anticipation of deteriorating weather conditions. Continental does not expect to conduct flights after Friday afternoon.

Travel plans can be changed online at Continental Airlines or by calling 800-525-0280.

If you are hoping you can catch a flight out, I wish you the best.

Update 3: My friends, the situation is getting grimmer by the moment. As I drove around and the long lines at gas stations, I could not help but think what it was like when we were told Hurricane Rita was aiming for us. However, Congressman Nick Lampson saves the day because he was able to get an EPA fuel waiver, which means Houston will be granted a lot more fuel to be released.

Today, the Mayor of La Porte has declared a curfew from 11:00pm until 5:00am the following morning and from 8:00pm until 5:00am the following day and continuing nightly thereafter until further order.

According to the National Hurricane Center, at 7:00 PM CDT, Hurricane Ike was located about 475 miles of Corpus Christi and about 370 miles of Galveston. Ike is moving toward the west-northwest near 12 mph. Hurricane force winds extend outward up to 115 miles from the center and tropical storm force winds extend outward up to 275 miles.

In other words, Ike is steering directly for Houston. Forecasters predict that the storm will likely to come ashore as a Category 3, with winds up to 130 mph. The National Hurricane Center foresees a 20-foot surge for a large part of Texas. Hurricane center meteorologist Dennis Feltgen says Ike’s waves could be 50 feet tall, and some computer models have waves topping out at 70 feet.

Here is an updated list of the towns under mandatory evacuation: Galveston Island, Kemah, Tiki Island, Bayou Vista, Omega Bay in La Marque, Bolivar Peninsula, San Leon, Bacliff, Freddiesville, Some Chambers County, Brazoria County – excluding Pearland and Alvin, People in low-lying areas of Dickinson Bayou, Tropical Gardens, the country club area, Bayou Chantilly and any homes that front Dickinson Bayou, Harris County areas in ZIP code areas: 77058, 77059, 77062, 77520, 77546, 77571, 77586 and 77598, Matagorda County, Jackson County, Orange County, Parts of San Patricio County.

If you know anybody who lives in these areas, please them to seek shelter. This is a big storm and will wreak havoc.

Update 4: Great news! Ike might not hit Houston as a Cat 3, but a weak Cat 2 – strong Cat 1. We are still not out of the woods. According to the National Hurricane Center, at 10:00 PM CDT report, “Some strengthening is forecast during the next 24 hours or so…and Ike could become a major hurricane before reaching the coast.”

I will update tomorrow.

Update 5: Even early this morning, nearly a full day before landfall, it appears, Houston/Galveston area will see Hurricane Ike’s awesome power. The official forecast from the National Hurricane Center’s 4 a.m. advisory, little has changed other than increasing landfall intensity from 110 mph to 115 mph, at landfall. Being reported by all the news agencies, wind was gusty along Galveston’s Seawall Boulevard.

In front of the St. Luis Hotel, waves were breaking just above the city’s 17-feet-tall protective seawall. At 69th Street and Seawall, The spray from breaking waves was as high as the top of the traffic signals while water was covering several lanes of the west end of 69th.

Latest happenings. Elderly evacuees of Goose Creek Rehab Center in Baytown found themselves spending the night on school buses sent to take them to safety. Many who are unable to walk on their own, waiting aboard the buses to be taken to safety.

News conference at 8 AM today. Harris County Judge Emmett and Houston Mayor Bill White will provide an update on current conditions, recommendations and evacuation orders related to Hurricane Ike.

Update 6: At 10 a.m. Friday, the National Hurricane Center is reporting that the center Ike was located about 295 miles east of Corpus Christi and about 320 miles southeast of Galveston. Its maximum sustained winds increased to 105 mph and was moving west-northwest near 12 mph. Feeder bands have moved into Louisiana early Friday and are expected to be here by noon. Galveston has been experiencing flooding in some areas.

Residents living on the coast beyond a seawall are sure to “face certain death” if they fail to evacuate. Here are some pics from Surfside Beach as Hurricane Ike approaches, courtesy of the Houston Chronicle. Click to enlarge

Here are some pics from the seawall in Galveston as Hurricane Ike approaches, courtesy of the Houston Chronicle. Click to enlarge

Other happenings: In Mississippi all of U.S. 90 in Harrison County is closed due to what Harrison County Emergency Management officials are calling treacherous conditions. The National Weather Service in Slidell has advised Harrison County officials to expect to see the waters continue to rise as the normal tide comes in today and Saturday.

Update 7: The coast guard has received over 150 calls to to rescue people from the coast….only 22 have been rescued and they are about to end the rescue effort. Most of Surfside Beach was submerged by mid-morning, with waters topping mailboxes and stop signs. CNN just reported that 37,000 may need to be rescued after Hurricane Ike

Homes, sitting atop 10-foot-plus stilts, already had water lapping at their legs, giving the homes the appearance of rising straight up from the water. Storm surge brought churning Gulf waters into the streets and yards, making the ocean and the land one in the same.

The latest report is that the storm is now about 165 miles southeast of there, moving to the west-northwest at near 12 miles an hour. Forecasters say it could be a Category 3 storm with winds of at least 111 miles an hour before the eye comes ashore.

Waves as tall as 15 feet are already hitting the city, and flooding is already being reported in other coastal towns along the Texas and Louisiana coast. Tides already are 3 to 5 feet above normal along the Texas coast.

A tropical storm wind warning is in effect for Bastrop, Lee, Fayette, Gonzales, DeWitt and Lavaca counties for this evening through Saturday afternoon.

Two cities in Fort Bend County have issued curfews. Missouri City mayor Allen Owen announced the city’s curfew begins at sunset today and ends at sunrise Monday.

Update 8: Galveston Island already feeling Ike’s wrath. The National Weather Service warned residents of smaller structures on Galveston they could “face certain death” if they ignored an order to evacuate; most had complied, along with hundreds of thousands of fellow Texans in counties up and down the coastline.

In Surfside Beach, a small coastal town of about 805, water was already knee-deep in the streets and skies were growing increasingly dark early Friday afternoon. Police were going around in a dump trucks trying to get holdouts to evacuate while there was still time.

East area bayous and rivers are high. KTRK reported that several places close to Greens Bayou is completely under water already. Greens Bayou is extremely high & about to be out of its banks. A residents KTRK that San Jacinto River/Interstate 10 area & the river is very high already.

Entergy outages begin: Entergy, which provides electricity transmission for parts of East Texas and several communities near Houston, including the Bolivar Peninsula, have started and are increasing rapidly.

U.S. Coast Guard and the U.S. Army aborted a rescue mission Friday to save the 22 crew members on a Cypriot freighter loaded with petroleum coke that was floating helplessly 90 miles southeast of Galveston as Hurricane Ike approached.

Quintana Beach, a small island near Freeport on the west side of the mouth of the Brazos river, is entirely under water, with ocean surge reaching all the way up to the FM 1495 bridge. Freeport police said, two houses collapsed from the encroaching flood waters within minutes of each other.

Emergency workers were called to action to rescue dozens of people stranded in high water on High Island. The flooded area is located along Texas 124 just across the Chambers County line in Galveston County. “These people had ignored the evacuation order,” said Chambers County emergency management director Ryan Holzaepfel, whose county assisted in the rescues. “Some were hanging from telephone poles, searching for any high ground that they could find.”

On a personal level, my dogs are beginning to notice something is wrong. It is only a couple of hours until the first effects will begin to be felt here. The winds have picked up, more than it was this morning.

Ike’s first victims – 1,000 inmates remain in a jail on Galveston Island, even though the Mayor ordered a mandatory evacuation.

New post is up

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