Eye of Ike over Galveston

The first edge of the eye is over Galveston. Looks like the seawall is pretty much being destroyed by the minute. Here in Spring the rain is intensifying a bit and the power is mostly on but flashing on and off. The last flicker put our power down for about 3 minutes, the intervals are getting longer with each interruption.

So far we are hanging in there.

Storms picking up

Midnight here and the very first outer bands are starting to run through. Getting some decent wind gusts and starting to rain a bit.

Sill have power but have had it pop on and off a few times.

Galveston looks like it's being hit really hard right now

Batten Down the Hatches

Currently busting out flashlights, closing up the rest of the doors etc.

As this thing comes through I'm going to snap as many pics and videos as possible without endangering life and limb. I'll probably lose power but will be able to log in intermittently using a mobile nextel card and my laptop.

If you want to be on top of it bookmark the blog or snag the RSS feed, the posts will probably be coming in bursts the rest of the way in.

Rescues are going offline for Galveston soon, best of luck to everyone there.

Ike Getting Stronger

Crazy. The closer Ike is getting to the coast, the stronger he gets. The winds are now at 110mph (1 mph short of Cat 3). Not only that, the pressure is dropping.

Good luck to those 40% of the population that stayed on Galveston Island.

They're predicting 30+ ft. waves.

The seawall is 17 ft. tall. The math does not bode well.

whoaaaa

Just had our first 20+ mph gust through Spring... still looks like we are a few hours from anything significant but it's definitely not getting sunnier...

Ike 1, Geraldo Rivera 0

Okay, you know Geraldo Rivera is not your favorite person ever. And if you are a Texan, (or from the south) it probably irks you to have some northerner come and try to be a tough guy for the storm. So, here is a little bit of come-uppance for him (he wasn't really hurt, which is why this is funny).

Seriously though, leave the tough guy stuff up to Jim Cantore. Even he is smart enough to be 30 feet above sea level on the balcony of a hotel. Duh

The first Taste of Ike in Spring, TX

We just got our first little murmur of Ike. A series of wind gusts is picking up, probably 5-15 mph. Nothing to be afraid of but considering how far away Ike is it's a little disconcerting.

This storm is going to cause a lot of problems...