Hurricane Ike Likely to Be Devastating

Hurricane Ike has recovered all too well from his passage cross Cuba. Ike is a large and powerful storm that is only getting more powerful. In fact, the storm is rapidly intensifying and very well could be a category 4 storm by morning. The outlook for the TX Gulf Coast is looking quite grim. Ike will likely make landfall as major hurricane, which is a category 3 or stronger, and he is already almost as large as Katrina was, his wind field building up a large storm surge.

There is still quite a bit of uncertainty concerning landfall. It had appeared that models were coming into better agreement, but there has again been some divergence. The NHC has moved that darn center line, yep, the same one to which we're not supposed to pay attention but have such a hard time ignoring, quite a bit north as of the 10 p.m. CDT advisory; but, as I read on a blog this week, "If you're in the zone, you're hurricane prone". Not to make light of it, because it has quickly become an all too serious situation, but that about sums it up. I say "about" because even the cone is only right 2/3 of the time. So, if you're in the cone and you're thinking that there is no way you're going to get hit, just remember that 1/3 of the time someone outside the cone gets hit! Pay attention to your local authorities, always err on the side of caution, and be prepared!

There are a lot of new links in the blog today. If you think of any links that should be added, just leave a comment and I'll see about getting it added.

Hopefully, I'll be able to update much earlier tomorrow.

Here's an article on San Antonio's preparations for the pets of evacuees:
Watch out Hurricane Ike, San Antonio Animal Groups Are Ready

You know I can't do an entry w/out mention of Dr. Masters' blog. For those living along the TX & LA Gulf Coast, I recommend it even more today than ever . Here is something that really stands out, "Ike is likely to be a extremely dangerous major hurricane at landfall, and will likely do $10-$30 billion in damage. The chances of hundreds of people being killed in this storm is high if people do not heed evacuation orders."

Now, on to the images:

NHC Forecast Track
7 am CDT & 10 pm CDT


NHC Forecast Track
7 am CDT & 10 pm CDT
cropped/close-up to show change in cone


Computer Models from WU Page
Initialized 8 a.m. vs Initialized 2 p.m.