Following is a brief Update of information received at 6:39PM, from Kathryn of ThisCouldGetUglier, whose home is in the fringe area ofHouston, Texas.
This image, courtesy of CNN.com, shows the massive storm as the eye wall nears landfall in the Galveston – Houston area.
“So far it’s very calm here in Katy. We get a little gust every now and then but so far nothing more. It’s very cloudy and spitting rain once in a while. Actually since I started writing this an hour or so ago, the wind is picking up. We’ll probably start having some sustained winds soon. Projection is from 58 to 75 mph sustained, with gusts up to 80 mph. I’m not looking forward to that but it could be a lot worse.”
Kathryn also posted two pre-Hurricane IKE stories earlier today that you may wish to check out.
Those of you who have checked in to the Weather Channel in the last little while, know that conditions are getting worse in the Galveston – Houston area, as the hurricane force winds approach there, and the huge storm surge starts coming ashore.
We can only hope and pray that those folks who stayed in the area, are in a safe place and will be spared from serious injury or worse.
Along the Mississippi Gulf Coast today, here along the Biloxi – Gulfport – Long Beach – Pass Christian shores, strong Tropical Storm force sustained winds have brought large waves ashore, causing coastal Highway 90 to be flooded all day and closed.
Strong sustained winds have been blowing here since yesterday morning from this massive storm that is now quite a bit larger than the entire Gulf of Mexico. It will be interesting to see when these strong winds will finally diminish.
As we continue our vigil of watching Hurricane IKE make landfall in Texas, please keep folks there in your thoughts and prayers.
Additional Updates later…
