09/13/2008 DISC: HURRICANE IKE

[Rob Wadsworth]

Here's a link that I found on MajorGeeks today.
What desperation will make people do when they are facing a hurricane...

http://www.autoblog.com/2008/09/15/how-not-to-protect-your-car-from-a-hurricane/

 

[Paul Hadfield]

I had some time today so I grabbed a few satellite images and put together a pair of timelapse videos. Ok so it was more like a few hundred images but I figured what the heck. I was initially just wanting to make a clip of Ike skoozing across C IL but then decided to go all out. Quality is what is being as all I have is Windows Movie Maker but perhaps some of you will find them useful. Skips are due to blackout during 0415Z - 0615Z and no images available for that period each day.

GOES East Conus, 09/05 - 09/15, 473 stills, 2MB
http://pawleewurx.com/st/east_conus2.wmv

GOES East Hurricane Sector, 09/02 - 09/14, 559 stills, 2.95MB
http://pawleewurx.com/st/east_hurricane_sector2.wmv

(if the download goes slow it's just because of multiple users)

 

[Darren Addy]

Excellent work, Paul. Thank you for sharing!

 

[Darren Addy]

Ike's death toll is officially now up to 29. I feared that the numbers would rise as the debris fields of some of those hardest hit areas were examined/cleaned up and that is where the most recently reported victim was discovered. There are still "hundreds" missing in Ike's wake and it is speculated that many were washed out to sea.

While it is no consolation to those who lost family and friends, we can be glad that many of the homes in the area were not primary residences, but weekend and summer homes for people who normally lived elsewhere. If not the final numbers could have approached Katrina levels. As it stands now, the number of Ike missing and dead is only about 1/5 that of Katrina's. Both sets of numbers will (of course) never be known for certain.

 

[John Farley]

But keep in mind that 29 figure is just for Texas. Including inland deaths from the remnants, the toll is at least 62. And as noted, many still missing in the coastal areas.

 

[John Farley]

There was a major road washout due to heavy rain from the remnants of Ike about a half mile from my home in Edwardsville, IL. Although I was out of town when this occurred, it still looks pretty much the same as they are delaying repairs in order to engineer a more permanent solution to the problem. Hence, I was able to photograph the damage today, still looking pretty much as it occurred 2 weeks ago:

More info and pictures at:

http://www.johnefarley.com/Ikewashout908.htm

 

[Paul Hadfield]

So was Ike fully responsible or just the one storm to do it in after such an intense season of heavy precip down your way?

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A little ways back I shared with you guys some lower quality WMV satellite lapses of Ike that I made. Tonight I figured out how to go to the opposite end and create extremely high quality mpeg versions of the same lapses. Perhaps I went overboard but i'm also experimenting with a new program (Cyberlink Power Director). The files are large and take about 10-15 minutes each to download but you are welcome to do with as you will. I toyed with AVI format but it didn't seem to come out as well. Enjoy.

GOES East Conus, 09/05 - 09/15, 473 stills, 188MB
http://pawleewurx.com/st/GOES_EAST_CONUS_IKE.mpg

GOES East Hurricane Sector, 09/02 - 09/14, 559 stills, 223MB
http://pawleewurx.com/st/GOES_HURRICANE_SECTOR_IKE.mpg

 

[John Farley]

So was Ike fully responsible or just the one storm to do it in after such an intense season of heavy precip down your way?

Good question, Paul. I would say it was mainly Ike as water levels on area streams and on Dunlap Lake were the highest this year (or for any recent year, for that matter) and there were several other local washouts, not just this one. However, it is always possible there may have been some underlying damage from earlier storms that contributed. Ike was easily the biggest recent flooding event around the Edwardsville area, though.

 

[Paul Hadfield]

Good question, Paul. I would say it was mainly Ike as water levels on area streams and on Dunlap Lake were the highest this year (or for any recent year, for that matter) and there were several other local washouts, not just this one. However, it is always possible there may have been some underlying damage from earlier storms that contributed. Ike was easily the biggest recent flooding event around the Edwardsville area, though.

One thing's for sure, I bet it would've been fun to watch!

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Not sure if anyone will see this but I have a question for those who were down there driving around in the surge. What effects if any does salt water have on your vehicle? I would think it does a number on the under carriage and exhaust system. What about spray getting up into the engine or on your exposed equipment? Then of course there's also sand... something I learned firsthand during fair wx that isn't good for a tripod... let alone a vehicle?

 

[Darren Stephens]

Not sure if anyone will see this but I have a question for those who were down there driving around in the surge. What effects if any does salt water have on your vehicle? I would think it does a number on the under carriage and exhaust system. What about spray getting up into the engine or on your exposed equipment? Then of course there's also sand... something I learned firsthand during fair wx that isn't good for a tripod... let alone a vehicle?

I can tell you that after I got home from Galveston I started noticing all kinds of corrosion taking place on several different areas on my vehicle. Driving up and down Sea Wall Blvd. and all around Galveston in the storm surge sure wasn't good for it.