Spinz

I certainly hope our 50+'s living in the Texas gulf area have gone inland. Good luck,stay high and dry,for gosh sakes do not leave the bikes at home!!!! Lp

George

They say it's going to get pretty exciting here in Katy. The way it looks, most of the people are staying, around here anyway. Thanks for the good luck, we'll probably need it.

Ed in GA

Based on what I'm seeing from the Ch. 13 website, If you live in Galveston, Texas City, LaMarque & etc., you should already be gone.

I lived in the Bear Creek/ FM529 / Hwy 6 area during Alicia in 83. The storm surge from IKE will make Alicia look like childs play.

Pat

I live in central FL. Hopefully, we already have had our storm for the season. It had some wind and lots of rain. I lost power. But it was not a big deal.

I was watching the news this morning. One of the news people asked the weatherman about going to Galveston. Given the size of the expected storm surge, that sounds a bit like a Darwin Award in the making.

Yen

I'm thinking of everyone in the path of the storm and hoping the best for all of you.

stringbreaker

Talked to my sister in Highlands Texas this A.M. it wasn't raining but they are looking for some nasty stuff to hit there later. She says they were not told to evacuate in their area and they have new windows that are rated up to 100 mph winds and they have a generator for the invevitable power outage and food and water laid in. She didn't sound to worried since the last one in 2005 that hit there they didn't get flooded or much damage around them at all and where they evacuated to 70 miles north at my brother in laws sisters house got it just as bad if not worse so they are as they say in Texas hunkered down for the storm.

stapfam

Had our wet weather last weekend so Hopefully this weekend will be good.

I hope so as Tomorrow I have to get dressed up in a suit for the second time this year. Yep- The other daughters getting married. Already been warned that Sunday may be a better day for a ride- If I want to stay sane that is.

2manybikes

At 5:10 the TV says 9 feet of water now and 20 expected in Galveston beach. Wow! The satellite view shows the storm as wide as the entire Texas coast.

Monoborracho

I live far enough away that we expect only rain and 30 mph winds.

For some years I had an office on Flour Bluff peninsula, between Corpus Christi and Padre Island, and we routinely prepared for hurricanes with contingency plans. Over a six year period, we never had one come ashore there. As an oil and gas operator we had various levels of preparedness for our production facilities. On one occasion we filled all the storage tanks with sea water and shut-in the oil producers leaving only the gas wells going. But we missed a bullet.

I would never, ever, stay and ride one out. I wouldn't stay even if it is not forecast to be too bad. If the intensity changes in the last hour or two before it hits land, which can happen, you are putting yourself at risk.

Put the covers on the windows. Get the checkbook, negotiable securites, jewelry and picture albums, and leave. It will all be there when you get back....or it won't. But your life will not be at risk.

Kurt Erlenbach

I really, really hate hurricanes. To all 50+ers in TX, we are with you.

GreenRiver

I just saw a report on Fox News 26 that showed the Kima boardwalk totally underwater - but the big midway type sign was still illuminated. All of this, and the projected landfall for the shagging thing is still hours away.

Red Rider

Keeping a good thought for all coastal Texans and Louisianans. Our time spent on the Gulf coast was blessedly uneventful. Stay dry, y'all.

Burr

I lived in Kemah, Texas 15 years

stapfam

Just seen the TV reports and you are going through a rough time. Just hope that you all get through unscathed.

Bud Bent

It's not supposed to reach the DFW area until noon or so, and not supposed to get as bad as they had earlier predicted, but my club canceled the ride I was going to do this morning anyway. I guess I'll settle for a few miles starting from home.

Good luck to all those south and east of here!

cyclinfool

Looks like the storm is on shore now and this one hits all of us. Hopefully there was not much refinery damage - the storm is big and damaging and a lot of water. Looks like there will be a ton of property damage and another big drag on the economy - I only hope the oil industry comes back quickly so we don't get more of a double wammy.

This is yet another example of why we must stop putting all our eggs in the oil basket.

Beverly

That was about what we were expecting here (SW Ohio) but this storm certainly surprised me. The remnants of Ike passed through here yesterday packing 70+ mph winds but no rain I was without power for 15 hours but this is a minor inconvenience compared to others.

I certainly hope our Texas members can report in soon to let us know they're okay.

Tom Bombadil

I cannot believe how many people along the Texas coast decided to stay in their homes during the storm. I've heard estimates of around 40% didn't leave, out of those directly in Ike's path.

Now millions are being spent pulling them out of their homes, where they can't stay anyway because of no water or electricity & very unhealthy conditions. I think they thought it would be like riding out a thunderstorm, where after the storm is over, things quickly return to normal.

The equation is simple ... if you are living along the coast and a major hurricane is headed directly at you, then go inland. It is still going to be dangerous and a hardship, but it is far safer.

That said, as noted by others, the destructive path is wide and long. Some hurricanes have caused devastating floods as they roll inland. The Appalachians have suffered floods from many hurricanes, and those mountain valleys can get very dangerous as the waters funnel into them. A lot of people have been impacted by Ike and I hope anyone in need is able to obtain help.

Artkansas 

I grew up in Florida. As a kid my house was about 100 yards from the coast and almost 3 feet above sea level. I've spent some hurricanes in my home and some hurricanes with relatives in the highlands. I was too young to go to a hurricane party.

The timing of the tide is so important. It could be massive flooding or just wind and rain.

But I understand the process of estimating the damage and making the decision. And in most cases, I'm not going to slam anyone for their decision. The good thing is that now we have much better information. Of course there always are those Darwin-award wannabes such as the folks who rode out Ike on a pier.

Both Gustav and Ike have come through my neighborhood. Fortunately they were only tropical storms by the time they hit. Gustav got stopped by a high-pressure pocket and was 60 hours of non-stop rain. Ike passed through in just a few hours but ripped up a lot of trees and phone poles. Local refugees of Gustav had to endure several days in an evacuation center that had lost its power. One local man was killed when Ike knocked over a tree onto him.

So either way, leave the coast or stay, there is danger. It may not be a cut and dried decision.

Hask12

75mph winds last night in N.E. Ohio from Ike. How does a storm manage to stay that strong 1,000s of miles inland?
Well at least in gives the Browns an excuse for being 0-2.

stringbreaker

This storm was HUGE over 500 miles across. That much energy doesn't get disappated as soon as it hits land. This thing will wreak havoc all across the east as seen last evening just in Ohio even on into New England from what I've read.

cranky old dude

It blew thru Western NY Sunday night with up to 60 mph winds causing
a good amount of damage to trees and power lines. The roads around us
were a carpet of green on Monday morning as a lot of leaves got stripped
from the trees (they're dropping early this year anyway do to the excessive
rains we've endured this Summer).

I can't come close to imaginaing what it was like in Texas and wish all down
there the best.

maddmaxx 

Radio reports on my way in to work this morning are 100,000 customers out of power in New York after the passage of Ike's remains............. That's an awfully long way from the Texas coast.

Hask12

If I can't avoid hurricanes in Ohio then what's the point. I mean this state's not that nice.

alanbikehouston

I was cleaning debris in southwest Houston on Sunday. I've never seen so many people on bikes. For every car that went by, there were at least five or six bikes. Some of the adults looked a bit "wobbly", as if they had not been on a bike for years.

Today is about the coolest day in Houston in the past six months...a wonderful day for riding a bike. Folks are "rediscovering" that a bike is the best way to get around the neighborhood. Something good can happen in the middle of something bad...Ike has helped folks "find" that bike in the back of the garage.