Hurricane Ike =====> Houston?

[Rich-n-Texas]

Latest storm track has it hitting the Texas Gulf Coast just west of Houston. It could be back to a category 4 by the time it reaches landfall.

Where's JSE?

Hey Cartman, if you get orders to evacuate, shoot me a PM and I'll give ya directions to my house. I-35 will be one way northbound from Houston to I think Austin to help speed your trip. I'll even sweeten the pot by having a case of...( :gag: :hack: :barf: :rolleyes: ) Shiner waiting for ya when you get here. I think our own Marky Markw is tooling around down here this week so see if you can get a hold of him and drag him up here as well. I'll have plenty of :23: at the ready too. Sound good lemme know.

[Auricauricle]

He float, don' he?

[Rich-n-Texas]

Well, he wears a grass skirt so...

[Auricauricle]

Okay...That's enough imagery for me...Guess I'll have a beer....

How's life, Fean?

[ForeverAutumn]

Has anyone heard from JSE? I hope that he's okay.

[JSE]

Hey guys, thanks for the concern. Everything is fine so far. Starting to get cloudy and the wind has picked up quite a bit. Been helping neighbors get ready for the storm all day and now we are pretty much done. Now it's just sit back and wait. I'm on the west side of Houston so hopefully we will get the "clean" side of the storm but with a few degrees turn to the west, we'll get the "dirty" side. Gonna be a rough night regardless. We're going to stay here and ride it out. I would rather be here to deal with anything that might go wrong.

Galveston just south of us is already getting hammered with huge waves and storm surge. I-45 going into Galveston is just about to go under water. And to think, the storm is still almost 12 hours away! Ike is not that powerfull yet but it's freaking huge.

I loaded up on batteries, water, food and (BEER!) yesterday and we have plenty of steaks, chops, sausage, chicken, etc in the freezer. If power goes out, party at my house! I'll be grilling it before it all goes bad.

BTW, it was quite a "site" seeing Cartman high up on a ladder in a grass skirt. :skep:

JSE.........?

[Rich-n-Texas]

Hey guys, thanks for the concern. Everything is fine so far. Starting to get cloudy and the wind has picked up quite a bit. Been helping neighbors get ready for the storm all day and now we are pretty much done. Now it's just sit back and wait. I'm on the west side of Houston so hopefully we will get the "clean" side of the storm but with a few degrees turn to the west, we'll get the "dirty" side. Gonna be a rough night regardless. We're going to stay here and ride it out. I would rather be here to deal with anything that might go wrong.

Galveston just south of us is already getting hammered with huge waves and storm surge. I-45 going into Galveston is just about to go under water. And to think, the storm is still almost 12 hours away! Ike is not that powerfull yet but it's freaking huge.
It was reported on the news last night that the hurricane was 800 miles wide. It looked like it covered around 80% of the Gulf. Yeah, that's quite large. :yikes:


I loaded up on batteries, water, food and (BEER!) yesterday and we have plenty of steaks, chops, sausage, chicken, etc in the freezer. If power goes out, party at my house! I'll be grilling it before it all goes bad.
Batteries? OH! Batteries for the flashlights. Nevermind. :D


BTW, it was quite a "site" seeing Cartman high up on a ladder in a grass skirt. :skep:

JSE.........?
That's just nasty!!!

[Auricauricle]

Yeah, well you bettah be careful lookin' up C-man's skirt. Other than gettin' the fright of your poor life, he's gonna drop a big one when...uh...the Big One comes!

Stay safe!

[ForeverAutumn]

We're going to stay here and ride it out. I would rather be here to deal with anything that might go wrong.

Well, I hope that nothing goes wrong. Check back with us as soon as you can after the storm. I'll be here worrying about you. :(

Good luck!

[topspeed]

Hey Rich & JSEEEEEEEEE,

Y'all take care. I normally don't pay attention to the news (except sports), but the affect Ike has had on football scheduling was enough to get me to research it a bit.

Holy.

Sh!t.

That thing's a monster. I read they've ordered people in Houston to hold tight, but I hope you're using common sense and will make the right decision on your own. 105 mph winds and 50' waves are no joke :yikes: I'll be thinkin' about you and your families so batten down the hatches and take care.

Good luck and I look forward to hearing from you when this is all over. God Bless.

Speedy

[dean_martin]

good luck guys. the storm surge has already caused flooding along the Alabama & Mississippi coasts. that thing's a monster.




BTW, it's good to see you 'round these parts, Speedy.

[bobsticks]

Am I too late to make Ike and Tina jokes?

Hit me again, Ike!! And this time put some stank on it!!

[markw]

Lots of rain and some wind but nothing like what was predicticted. We've had much worse in Joisey from some bog-standard wind/rainstorms.

They do take these things seriously. Schools were closed yesterday and all the mothers and grandmothers made sure their kids were safe by taking them to the mall where they were provided with shelter and shiny baubles, at least until the charge cards maxed out.

Seriously, looking at some of the pictures it could have been much, much worse, bet we're pretty much inland.

We're headed home one day later than originally planned.

[Rich-n-Texas]

It doesn't look like we're going to get too much rain or wind up here either. Luckily the storm is tracking well east of DFW, and it will only be at Tropical Storm strength by the time it gets here. It's still a Cat 1 in your area Mark, but just barely.

Galveston Island was hit with 110+ mph winds, a LOT of flooding and news video showed chunks of walls multi-story buildings blown off. I don't have the latest numbers of people without electricity in Galveston, but if I understood correctly, 4.5 million are without power down there on the coast. TV station KHOU.com has up-to-the-minute information on the storm.

What airport will you be flying out of Mark?

[Feanor]

It doesn't look like we're going to get too much rain or wind up here either. Luckily the storm is tracking well east of DFW, and it will only be at Tropical Storm strength by the time it gets here. It's still a Cat 1 in your area Mark, but just barely.

...

Rich, et al.,

Glad you've been spared the worse.

Seems like Ike's remnant is going to make a direct hit (http://www.stormpulse.com/) on my neck of the woods, southern Ontario. We'll be seeing a good deal of rain, at least.

[ForeverAutumn]

Rich, et al.,

Glad you've been spared the worse.

Seems like Ike's remnant is going to make a direct hit (http://www.stormpulse.com/) on my neck of the woods, southern Ontario. We'll be seeing a good deal of rain, at least.

How will we know the difference between Ike and the rest of the summer? I don't think that its stopped raining in Southern Ontario since June.

I'm glad to hear that everyone is faring well so far. I'm looking forward to news from JSE, but I'm not expecting anything for at least a week from what I hear on TV. It'll be a nice surprise if we hear from him sooner. I hope that all is well at his home.

Rich, what city do you live in?

[Rich-n-Texas]

I live in an old railroad town a bit north and east of Dallas proper. Ike was a tropical storm as it passed east of me. I got about 2 inches of rain in my neighborhood and the winds didn't exceed 30 mph for the most part. I don't want to downplay the significance of this storm, but the rain that Ike produced in my area was actually beneficial. We've had a dry summer here in North Texas. I spent most of the day watching the local news as well as the news reported from KHOU Houston via streamed video. It's late here but I'll post up more in the AM.

[Feanor]

I live in an old railroad town a bit north and east of Dallas proper. Ike was a tropical storm as it passed east of me. I got about 2 inches of rain in my neighborhood and the winds didn't exceed 30 mph for the most part. I don't want to downplay the significance of this storm, but the rain that Ike produced in my area was actually beneficial. We've had a dry summer here in North Texas. I spent most of the day watching the local news as well as the news reported from KHOU Houston via streamed video. It's late here but I'll post up more in the AM.

Rich,

Glad to hear all is well in you immediate neighbourhood. We are expecting a pretty big dump of rain from Ike's remnant here this evening.

[Rich-n-Texas]

I'll be interested to see how far the storm has travelled before it finally dies in Canada. I don't think there's a statistic that would reveal the total amount of gallons of water that it dumped but that would be neat to know as well.

News that I heard late yesterday indicated that Galveston got hit very hard with winds and storm surge, suburbs of Houston flooded and wind battered, and as I indicated, buildings in downtown Houston severely damaged by the 100+ mph winds. The contents of the JP Morgan Chase building were sucked out through the shattered windows and deposited on the street below.

KHOU yesterday showed National Guard convoys headed towards Houston from San Antonio, and a lot of relief, search and rescue vehicles headed to the affected areas from even here in Dallas. Total cost of the damage is expected to be in the billions of dollars. During a press conference yesterday with the mayor of Houston, he said things could've been a lot worse. And a lot worse for JSE too.

This storm will certainly be one for the books.

[JohnMichael]

I am glad to hear many are safe. In Ohio we are having 75 mph winds. Driving home from Columbus trees were being uprooted and blocking the road. At one point during a stretch of highway traffic was slowing down and we all took our turns going through the only space available between felled trees. Visibilty was poor due to flying debris and leaves from trees. Fall came early this year. At one point roofing shingles were blowing off some roofs and the two on my windshield made driving difficult but the next gust cleared my view. We have been losing power on and off all day. I unplugged the stereo because I did not think the power going off and surging on was good for it. Hope things quiet down soon.

[bobsticks]

I am glad to hear many are safe. In Ohio we are having 75 mph winds. Driving home from Columbus trees were being uprooted and blocking the road. At one point during a stretch of highway traffic was slowing down and we all took our turns going through the only space available between felled trees. Visibilty was poor due to flying debris and leaves from trees. Fall came early this year. At one point roofing shingles were blowing off some roofs and the two on my windshield made driving difficult but the next gust cleared my view. We have been losing power on and off all day. I unplugged the stereo because I did not think the power going off and surging on was good for it. Hope things quiet down soon.

Ditto from over here on the left, although at the moment their saying winds are down to about 45mph. Great weather for jammin' open the windows, listening to the rain beat down and crankin' some jazz horns.

Of course, that's easy to say from this perspective. I was glad to read that y'all down in the real action were alright.

---sticks

[Worf101]

I don't pray much, so mebbe he/she/it will listen when I do. My thoughts and prayers are with all fhe folks in the Gulf and I hope all come through safe, albiet wet, and sound. Glad Rich is okay and I hope to be bemused by JSE for a long time to come.

Da Worfster

[ForeverAutumn]

By the time it reached us last night, winds were down to about 30mph. We had some strong gusts and quite a bit of rain overnight. A few poweroutages (not at my house) but no uprooted trees that I'm aware of. We had storms back in July that caused way more damage to us than Ike did.

I'm glad to see this one dying out.

May I suggest that you make a contribution to the Red Cross, no matter how small, to help those who were faced with the uglier side of Ike.

[Rich-n-Texas]

I'm expecting the Blood Mobile to show up here at work any day now...

[Rich-n-Texas]

Hey Rich,

Running on low battery Laptop power and testy aircard so I'll be quick. Plus I can't seem to post in the forums for some reason.

Made it through thr storm with just some minor damage at our house. A little roof damage, brick wall damage, water leak, some minor tree damage and a crap load of debris.

Still no power but we do have water so it's not all that bad. Plus we have had some nice mild weather since the storm. Looks like maye a few more days before we get power.

Been helping neighbors clean up for the last three days and I am exhausted. I bet there are at least 100 to 200 trees down in just my neighborhood alone. Gonna take a nap today. Nothing else to do right now. Work is closed until tomorrow and most stores are still shut down. At least in my area.

Anyway, just wanted to check in. If you don't mind can you let everyone know JSE and family are doing fine?

I'll try and post again in a couple days.

Jim

Looks like he's safe and sound. :cool:

[ForeverAutumn]

Thanks Rich. I'm relieved to hear that everything is okay.

It's funny how much I've come to care about a bunch of people that I've never met.

[Rich-n-Texas]

Thanks Rich. I'm relieved to hear that everything is okay.

It's funny how much I've come to care about a bunch of people that I've never met.
And how much I lust after you. :ihih:

I'm just kidding!!! :D

[bobsticks]

That's good to read...I mean the part about JSE and family being in the clear...Rich and his lusting heart, not so much. :hand:

[JSE]

That's good to read...I mean the part about JSE and family being in the clear...Rich and his lusting heart, not so much. :hand:

Hey guys, just posting an update. Finally got power back late Wednesday but still no TV or internet. The southeast Texas area is a mess. There are parts around Galveston that have been wiped clean. My coworker's parents had a beach house on Bolivar Peninsula which is across the bay and to the east of Galveston and according to Google Earth, only the driveway remains. Absolutely nothing left of the house. Most of the structures on the Bolivar Peninsula are completely gone.

I have seen electrical crews from Canada, Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Michigan and other states so far. You can't drive 500 feet in any direction without seeing some sort of electrical crew. The guys that were working behind my house were from Georgia. I know a lot of people are complaining it's taking a long time to get power back but given the enormous size of the damage area and the millions and millions of people without power, I say they have done an outstanding job so far. I think it's nothing short of amazing they have done so much so quickly.

I'll try and post again later but work is a bit hectic right now to say the least. I work for a very large insurance company and I normally have nothing to do with claims handling but given the extent of damage, we are all having to pitch in. It took my a few days just to find an office with power. My normal office building has water damage and no power. I'm driving about 70 miles each way to work right now. Actually driving into some of the heavily damaged areas each day.

JSE

[topspeed]

Hey guys, just posting an update. Finally got power back late Wednesday but still no TV or internet. Soooo...was this delivered by carrier pidgeon or what?

j/k

The wreakage down there is as bad as Rich's social life. Hang in there, it sounds like everyone is trying to pitch in as much as possible. Thanks for the update.

speedy

[Rich-n-Texas]

...The wreakage down there is as bad as Rich's social life... speedy
I'm a freakin' train wreck I tell ya! :mad2:


Soooo...was this delivered by carrier pidgeon or what?
Hey, no tech in the pidgeon's truck right? :rolleyes:

[ForeverAutumn]

Some unbelievable pictures. I think that the alligator crossing the road is kind of cool, but otherwise my heart goes out to these people.

http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2008/09/the_short_but_eventful_life_of.html