Ace, Slick; yall be safe down there. I would encourage both of you to evac, unless you already have.

As for me up here in Lufkin: we're expecting Cat I hurricane or Tropical Storm conditions. And my wife has us living in a trailer park. In a trailer. Great. I sure hope the landlord/lady had these trailers tied down good. My father-in-law had said it would be better for us to stay here since Aggie Land is gonna be right on the eye-wall of the storm. Mike: I'm gonna stay in touch with you to let someone here know that me and mine are safe.

Wanna read something funny? Recruiting hasnt stopped up here yet. And chances are pretty good that we'll be at work tomorrow, too.

I'll be in touch. Ace, Slick, yall stay safe.

Good luck guys. Hopefully it doesnt do too much damage. Stay safe!

RUNNNNN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yes keep in touch, hope everything will be ok.

All I was hoping for was some rain, now I don't think I'll be getting anything.
I'll even bet before it's all over, Ike will end up following the same path as Rita.
Galveston/Houston will end up being spared but Beaumont will get hit.

My father in law lives just this side of Galveston off of I-45 (Bayou Vista) and the wife told me he and his wife already left to Spring, TX which at this time should get hit pretty hard itself if Ike stays on the current path.

Good luck to all who will be involved.

For as big as the storm is diameter wise you should see some good rain.

It was already starting to get dark outside as of 3 PM up here in Lufkin. And we're about 2-3 hours north of North Houston (Woodlands, Tomball, Humble).

We keep dodging them! But Wilma dumped some serious rain!
Good Luck GP.net.

Here's a pretty good site to track the hurricane with...

http://www.stormpulse.com/

Nice site Bobby!

Evac? Pffft! These things are over-rated. Look at Gustav.

The only thing that worries me is my car. We don't have a garage, so it'll be exposed. Other than that, I'm ready to ride it out.

We're prepare for the worst but I doubt we get in the eye I believe we are fairly safe living in a hurricane proof 100 year old southern mansion,I am a little concerned about an apartment buiding we own in Beeville TX. Chico(pops)

Gustav did it's share of damage.
I've got an aunt that was evacuated from NOLA and she still hasn't been able to get back home yet. No power, no water.
Baton Rouge got hit hard from Gustav also.
Gustav was obviously more devastating than you think it was.

I follow the storms using NOAAs website.

You have access to all the weather stations with raw data and you can do your own weather guessing.

http://www.ndbc.noaa.gov/maps/WestGulf.shtml

click on a station to get up to date info.

I use NOAA as well. www.weather.gov

well, the first sprinkles finally fell here in Lufkin. Looks like this is when the interesting 24 hours will start. Here we go.

Here he comes. Already getting a couple power blips. Might not be back for a few days.

Let's do this. lol

But it wasn't the cat 4 (almost cat 5) like they predicted, and it didn't do nearly the damage they screamed it would. Same thing with Rita a couple years ago. They freak over every single one of these.

I'll let the last sentence in my previous post speak for itself.

I havent called Slick yet, nor has Ace called/PMd me, but me and mine are good. At 8 this morning, Lufkin/Angelina County Airport reported 45 mph winds, gusts to 55. With max sustained expected of 95 this afternoon, I think we'll be just fine. Of course, the news is FILLED with ppl who said the exact same thing just before their mansion flew away.

Oh, and we lost power at or about 8:15. Darn, it, I cant play my video games. Grr. I'll be posting throughout the day. Later!

Power came back on for like an hour or so. Then went out again. TS Ike has since passed, the winds are comparitively calm, and it's only a light, though constant rain. The trailer and both cars took NO damage. Well, aside from the rain that came in through the house windows we opened.

Since my personal cell died, I havent called Slick or heard from Ace yet. But the update from Lufkin is that we're good, aside from wanting to cook dinner and turn the A/C back on. oh, such inconveniences.

propane camp stove BBQ That should take care of the cookin part as for the A/C well...

People are ultra cautious now when it comes to hurricanes because of Katrina. It wasn't expected to be huge and people stayed for the exact same reasons as above. I know, totally different sea level and land type but still. Overall, its wise not to underestimate the power of a storm that's the size of 3 states even if past ones were light.

Still it was completely unprofessional and uncalled for them to state "if you stay, you'll die."

My best friend in Houston's cell is out but she left a funny voice mail greeting saying she's ok. Haven't heard from my cousin.

REALLY glad to hear most of you are safe.

Unfortunately you have to go overboard sometimes to get people to listen.

Nice to hear the guys reporting in that they're fine. I think most have found Ike to be more talk than brawn.

Most usually are but then you get that one that isn't and when it hits and those in the know don't hype it up and force the issue in turn take the blame and finger pointing. And the wrath of all those that are left behind.

It's alway best to err on the side of caution then to get caught with your hands in your pockets.

Here\'s a link to a couple of pics that are being posted by people where my father in law lives.
In the pic of I-45, that's the exit to Bayou Vista, where he lives.

He and his wife arrived at our place earlier today. They were in the Tomball area near Houston for the past couple of days. They had no power there so early this morning they decided to head in to Austin and stay with us.
Water was up 4-5 feet from the street on their house. Everything on the bottom floor will be destroyed. Not much was on the bottom floor since the house sits on stilts and only half of the bottom was enclosed and used. The front have of the bottom floor is his garage, which he left his Chrysler convertible (like T-bat's) in the garage. It'll be totaled. Behind the garage was our room when we go to visit. There was some furniture and a bed, TV, window unit A/C and misc other stuff that will be lost.

I stayed up and watched the whole thing on Friday night, until the eye landed at 2:10am Sat morning and I've got to say that Ike was one huge freakin' storm.
Seeing the damage done to Galveston was huge. The surf shop "Murdock's" (on the gulf side of the seawall) was a favorite of mine and my daughter's. Every time we went to Galveston we made it a point to go to Murdock's. If you've been watching the news about Galveston you'll see a small portion of Murdock's that was left standing. That part of the building was the newest part, to join the left half with the right half (it used to be 2 separate business'). They had rocking chairs that you could just sit and enjoy the breeze with your favorite alcoholic beverage.
The Hooter's that was right next to Murdock's is also completely gone. I think that place was less than a year old or so, but it was all brand new.
The Balinese Night Club was another landmark that no longer exist. Frank Sinatra, The Max Brothers and many others once performed there. It was even frequented by Howard Hughes.

I'm sure Galveston will make a come back, but it will be sad for us if Murdock's relocates to the street side of the seawall. The Gulf side is the only place for a landmark like Murdock's.

Check out these photos of Ike:

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

Short life? SHORT life? have they no idea how long the storm hovered? 12 hours. Rita was in and out in about 2 hours. Katrina hung out for just a few hours then was gone. Ike decided to stick around for 12 hours. And then was a TS and TD all the way into Ohio. Not sure if he made it to Canada like they were saying, but Ike's lifespan was certainly NOT short.

Now that my rant is over: One thing for sure: those were some really good pictures. I found the casket picture most powerful. That and the lone survivor on that Galveston beach.

Hey guys, made it through fine, except the paint on my car is now in worse condition I'll get a pic later. Still with no power, but I left Sunday due to the lack of power to go stay with an Aunt & Uncle. On their slow dial up, so I won't be on much until I get home. Just wanted to ask about a problem I'm having with my car, and to say I'm ok.

Rick, have you heard of Canton or Ben Wheeler? Sort of near Athens? That's where I am. Not to far from you.

Heard of Canton, no clue where it is, though. Swing by on SAT late afternoon or Sunday late morning. You should have my cell number by now.

Good to see from you. I was afraid that you decided to stick around the madness that was known as the port area of Houston.

I stuck it out through the storm, but with no power, it was so hot and boring, my brother and I left. Parents still at home, because they are stubborn. lol I may not still be hear on Saturday, it depends on if I can get my car running... PM me with your cell, I don't think I've got it.

Hey all...

Don't know why I never thought to check in sooner. Was bored off my arse for a couple days, but got power back Monday afternoon. That cold front was a God send... If it had stayed hot for more than that first day I might've gone to Austin.

House came through unscathed, but I had a few fence sections come down. The neighborhood as a whole is in good condition. A few people lost shingles and a few I've heard had leaks bad enough to colapse ceilings. Relatively great compared to some areas of the city. Unfortunately, it'll be hell trying to get myself up on Monday morning for work. NASA decided to stay closed for the entire week while they fixed stuff that happened there.

Good to see back from you, John. Welcome back, glad to seer house that your house came through just fine.

Quit cussing, John. You cant do it right anyway.

Hey, Mods, I believe that is safe to say that this thread can be locked.

Nice triple post. lol

or we can go off-topic and up our post counts.

how was everyone's day today?

Mine? Well let's see... Woke up lazed about, picked up prescriptions, mowed the lawn, made dinner, went to bed.

Today promises to be similar.

Well, Recruiting picked back up as normal. Last week, during recovery, we had a BUNCH of folks come in to join. This week, back to getting hung up on and cussed out and such. Oh, joy.