Hurricane Ike Storm Report

I knew we were in trouble when I saw video of waves crashing over the seawall in Galveston. And that was early Friday afternoon, twelve hours before Hurricane Ike made landfall. The wind was blowing from the north, yet the waves were rolling in from the south, against the wind.

Two weeks earlier, Ike was a mere tropical wave off the west coast of Africa. On September 1, the winds were estimated to be over 39 mph and the tropical storm was given a name. We weren't too concerned about Ike at the time because we were busy tracking Hurricane Gustav as it moved toward Louisiana and Tropical Storm Hanna was threatening the east coast. A week later things had changed. On September 7, Ike strengthened into a category four hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Scale. From there it tracked across Cuba, into the northern Caribbean Sea and then made a second landfall on the west side of Cuba. When it emerged into the Gulf of Mexico on Tuesday, September 9, Ike was a weaker storm with winds blowing about 80 mph.

By the time Hurricane Ike moved into the middle of the Gulf, it looked powerful on the satellite. Yet Hurricane Hunters couldn't find winds stronger than 100 mph. However, they did find tropical storm force winds covered a large area, extending 275 miles out from the center of the storm. Just beyond our horizon, buoys were bouncing around in twenty foot waves.

Originally, the "cone of uncertainty" covered the entire western Gulf with the center track aimed toward the upper Texas coast. Then on Monday, September 8, the National Hurricane Center made a big change in the forecast; redrawing the track toward southern Texas put the focus on Corpus Christi. Evacuation orders were given and contraflow lanes were set up. But that didn't last. 24 hours later the forecast track shifted again toward Matagorda Bay. And from there, the track continued to inch north until late Thursday, when it zeroed in on Galveston. Local officials first posted voluntary evacuation orders for the coastal areas. Once it became obvious that the track wasn't going to change the evacuations became mandatory.

Even then, many people expected the storm to shift east and go into Sabine Pass or southern Louisiana. That's what Hurricane Rita did three years before. We were also concerned that Hurricane Ike would intensify like Rita when it crossed the deep warm water in the middle of the Gulf. But dry air and wind shear on the left side of the storm prevented it from getting stronger. Rita and Ike were completely different storms with entirely different results.

Hurricane Ike made landfall in Galveston at 2:10 AM, Saturday, September 13. When the eye was moving over Galveston, the front part of the eyewall was hitting Houston. Ike turned north after crossing the coast with the center of the cyclone tracking over eastern Harris County. That put the city of Houston and most of Harris, Montgomery, Galveston and Brazoria counties in the eyewall where hurricane force winds blew for several hours.

Click here to watch a radar loop of Hurricane Ike making landfall.

Click here to watch a color-enhanced satellite loop of Hurricane Ike.

Long before the strongest winds started to blow and before the heavy rain started to fall, the water level along the coast started to rise. The surge was moving in. This sudden rise in the water level is the most destructive, dangerous and deadly part of a hurricane.  Ike was unique because the winds were category 2 strength at landfall, while the storm surge was as powerful as a category 4 hurricane.

We heard from a judge in Chambers County who estimated the water at the courthouse was up to 20' high. A trusted weather observer in Jamaica Beach told me the water in his area was over 14' deep.

Here are some preliminary storm surge reports from the National Weather Service:

• 14.24' at Sabine Pass near the Louisiana Border
• 13.37' at Texas Point near the Louisiana Border
• 12.64' at Pleasure Pier in Galveston
• 11.95' at Eagle Point near San Leon (This gauge failed at 1 AM.)
• 11.23' at Rollover Pass on Bolivar Peninsula (This gauge failed at 1 AM.)

Some of the traditional water level gauges failed during the storm because of the high winds and waves, but a USGS research team installed special surge sensors along the Gulf coast prior to the storm. Click here to read the full report.

The storm surge caused major damage all along the upper Texas coast from Surfside Beach, along Galveston Island, eastward to Bridge City and Orange near Beaumont.

Bolivar Peninsula was on the so-called "dirty side" of the storm where the wind and storm surge are the worst. The long, narrow finger of land, once covered with beach homes, suffered catastrophic damage. Most buildings were heavily damaged or completely washed away. Before and after photos taken by a USGS research team shows the large number of homes destroyed by Hurricane Ike.

The view is the same along the entire peninsula. In Gilchrist, only one house was left standing after the storm.

weatherblog.abc13.com

The city of Galveston was also swamped by the storm surge. The 17' seawall was built after the 1900 hurricane to protect the city and it worked as planned. But the powerful surf eroded most of the sandy beach in front of the seawall. The waves also tore apart the historic Balinese Room and washed the debris into one big pile. Most other Galveston landmarks survived the storm.

The backside of the island is lower and, as forecast, water flowed into Galveston from the bay side. There was at least a foot of water in the first floor of UTMB hospital. Several feet of water flooded the Strand shopping area. 

Toward the west end of Galveston island, sand-filled "geotubes" were torn apart by the waves early on Friday. Several feet of sand was eroded from under many beachside homes.

The storm surge also pushed water into Galveston Bay and also flooded many homes in Baytown, Kemah, Smith Point and other bayside communities. Before the storm, we were concerned that water levels could be higher in communities along the north side of the Bay. Final surge numbers will be coming later after all the data is analyzed.

What the water didn't wash away, the winds tore apart. Wind damage was reported throughout the Houston area and surrounding suburbs. Sudden gusts within the eyewall caused substantial damage to many homes and businesses. Where roofs were torn off, wind driven rain soaked everything inside. Trees were toppled, power poles were pushed over and transformers exploded in bright blue flashes as Ike blew through. Power was knocked out for almost 90% of the people living in southeast Texas.

The National Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory created a map showing the maximum sustained winds from Hurricane Ike. I mapped the data onto one of our weather maps so you can estimate how fast the winds were blowing in your neighborhood. The black line down the middle of the map shows the track of the center of the storm.

While the strongest winds were on the right side of the track where you would expect them to be, over half of Harris County was hit with hurricane force winds over 74 mph. There was a pocket of winds over 84 mph in the northern part of Harris County, all of Galveston county, most of Chambers and Liberty counties, and southern Polk and San Jacinto counties.

Here are some preliminary wind gusts reported by the National Weather Service. Wind speeds over hurricane force (74 mph) are in bold:

• 83 mph at 12:36 AM in Freeport
• 73 mph at 12:38 AM in Anahuac
• 72 mph at 1:00 AM at Pleasure Pier in Galveston
• 89 mph at 1:00 AM near San Leon
• 61 mph at 1:08 AM at Hobby Airport
• 82 mph at 1:24 AM near San Leon
• 82 mph at 1:27 AM in Anahuac
• 75 mph at 2:05 AM at the University of Houston
• 83 mph at 2:15 AM at Hobby Airport
• 74 mph at 2:20 AM in Pasadena
• 64 mph at 2:29 AM at Bush Intercontinental Airport
• 102 mph at 2:45 AM in Anahuac
• 80 mph at 2:54 AM at the University of Houston
• 81 mph at 3:30 AM on a buoy 20 miles east of Galveston
• 82 mph at 4:00 AM at Bush Intercontinental Airport
• 78 mph at 4:20 AM at Pleasure Pier in Galveston
• 72 mph at 5:00 AM in Dickinson
• 92 mph at 6:10 AM at Hobby Airport

These wind speeds were measured at established weather stations. During the final analysis, we might discover winds were actually higher in some locations. The National Weather Service will be examining data from weather stations scattered around the community. They will also look at archived radar data to determine how fast the winds were blowing.

Early estimates indicate Ike might have caused as much as $25 billion in damage possibly making this the third costliest hurricane in history, behind Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and Hurricane Andrew in 1992. But the total economic impact will likely be much greater when you factor in lost wages, higher insurance rates, the affect on tourism and the costs to restore the beach along Galveston Island.

Now, everyone who lives in southeast Texas has lived through a significant hurricane. There was Hurricane Carla in 1961. Hurricane Alicia in 1983. Now we have Hurricane Ike.  We have a new reference point. Future hurricanes, and there will be more, will always be compared with this one.

Based on the extreme damage caused by Hurricane Ike, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration retired the name Ike in early 2009.

The National Weather Service has written a technical report on Hurricane Ike.

The National Hurricane Center also published a complete report on Hurricane Ike. You'll need the free Adobe Reader to read this report.

To view stories which aired on 13 Eyewitness News before, during and after the storm, visit our video library.

Additional blog posts with updated information:

• Storm surge data from Harris County Flood Control
• More storm surge information from FEMA
• Damage and recovery update one month after landfall
• Environmental damage caused by Hurricane Ike
• Plan to rebuild the beaches in Galveston
• Damage photos taken by NASA, NOAA and USGS.

Compare our forecast issued before the storm with what really happened.

Comments

[Juston Outin]

We lost power around 4:15am,the winds were scary.We also had minor roof damage and no water for at least two days. Tree limbs,leaves,sand and trashbags were all in our backyard. But before Ike came I looked at the Hurricane tracking that we got from Kroger,and if Ike had been one mile per hour more it would have been a Category 3. But I only have one question.If Ike had been a category 3, how much futher inland would the evacuation have gone? Because our zip code is 77080.

[Tori Davila]

I live in Cypress, and the wind was strong enough that it blew a one of our trees down. We weren't the only ones. Were we to encounter a Category 5, what could we expect?

[Arlene McCarty]

Will any of the local TV stations be producing a video of Ike as some did right after TS Allison hit?
I would like to have something like that for my grandchildren and for other family members who live up North. The proceeds could go to the Red Cross or some other worthwhile charity.

RESPONSE from TIM HELLER: Yes, we are planning on producing a special Hurricane Ike program. It will air at the beginning of next hurricane season. Since the damage costs are still being added up and recovery in some areas hasn’t even started, we feel producing a program now would only tell part of the story.

[Diana Heitzmann]

I have a question. If Ike was a cat 2 that produced a surge of a cat 4, what would of happened if Ike would of been a cat 4 with the same width? What strength would the storm surge be? Would that of been when we would of had to looked at re rating hurricanes to a cat 6?

RESPONSE from Tim Heller: The Saffir-Simpson Scale is simply based on the maximum wind speed within the storm. Category four winds of 131-155 mph would have produced even more wind damage along the coast and farther inland.

[Teresa]

Mr. Heller -- Thanks for an excellent and through recounting of Hurricane Ike. And, thanks also to the entire Channel 13 staff for such valuable information before, during and after the storm.

[Hannah]

Well, I have now experienced my first real hurricane after spending all of my 36 years in Texas and all of those being on the Gulf Coast. I can say I will never sit through another as I did with Ike. Mr. Heller, if you are still moderating and answering posts, I would like to know when the official wind speeds will be posted from the National Weather Service or Hurricane Center? I had heard somewhere these official numbers had not been established yet, although I could be wrong. We are in the Spring/Woodlands area and the winds got very nasty as that second part of Ike came through our area. In the hours between 4AM and 6:30 AM, his winds got very ugly.

RESPONSE from Tim Heller: I have another post here on the Houston Weather Blog showing a map of the maximum sustained wind speeds. Typically the gusts are about 30% stronger than the sustained speeds. Look for the "New Images of Ike" link on the right side of this webpage.

[dave1182]

Well the good thing is the Electrical infrastructer will be new again with new wires, poles, and transformers,
bad thing is a lot of ppl are in the dark till the system is back up..

[Stan Sramek]

Tim, I would like to know how high the sustained winds got in my neighborhood: Westheimer and Beltway 8 west.

RESPONSE from Tim Heller: I listed the confirmed wind speeds and surge levels in the blog post. Additional information will be coming later when the National Hurricane Center completes their post-storm analysis.

[anonymous]

I have a question. What were the estimated winds in Northwest Houston? Around the 1960/290 area because they were really, really strong and no one has talked about the area and the winds that hammered this part of town? How much were the winds here during Hurricane Ike?

[Amanda Selcer]

Is it possible that if any part of a hurricane, winds or surge, are as strong as a catagory 4, then the storm should be a catagory 4? I know the Saffir-Simpson scale rates on wind speed, but this scale seemed usless to us all. Is there some way this scale can be changed?

RESPONSE from Tim Heller: Excellent question Amanda. Currently, the strength of a hurricane is ranked only on the speed of the sustained winds. Even though Ike produced a category 4 storm surge with catastrophic damage, this storm will be considered a category 2 hurricane unless the NHC finds winds stronger than 110 mph during post-analysis.

The same thing happened with Hurricane Katrina. The storm hit New Orleans with category 3 winds yet produced a category 5 storm surge in southern Mississippi.

Perhaps it's time we revisit how we rank tropical cyclones.

[K Scott]

Hi Tim,

I live in Willis, Montgomery County and lost power at about 5:30 am on the 13th. I am curious about what happened to IKE after it left our area. Where did it go, how strong was it?

The roof of my home was ripped off by a tree when the back-side of the storm hit the Willis area, are there any pictures of what our area looked like? Where can I get more information for our area?

It seems the "suburbs" of houston get left out of the reporting. How about some info for some of us in the north?

Thanks Much
K Scott

RESPONSE from Tim Heller: Ike maintained hurricane strength until 1 PM Saturday afternoon. At that point it was in northeast Texas. By 1 AM Sunday morning, the storm was centered in western Arkansas and finally weakened to a tropical depression.

[Megan]

Are the wind gust what does the damage to the house or is it the sastain winds?

RESPONSE from Tim Heller: It's probably a combination of both. High speed sustained winds can weaken a tree, tear off a few shingles and stir up some debris. Then a gust comes along and finishes the job.

[Jason]

To further explain - the transformers internal workings are copper windings - and copper burns green - thus causing the green lightning. It was an impressive show over here in the Baytown area!

[Carol]

Watching the radar, it appears there was a very big eye as Ike was approaching land, but then as it came onshore, the eye collapsed. Did it? If it didn't, can you indicate the path of the east and west edges of the eye?

RESPONSE from Tim Heller: That is correct. About five hours before landfall, the eye of Ike was about 75 miles wide. By the time it made landfall the eye was about 50 miles wide. It's not unusual for the eye to collapse and fill in with rain after landfall. It still takes awile for the winds to drop, as we discovered first hand.

[Natalie]

I have a non-Ike related question.
What happened to Josephine?!

RESPONSE from Tim Heller: Josephine was a little tropical storm in the far eastern Atlantic. It developed and dissipated over the open water.

[Jennifer]

Hi Tim,
Can you explain the "green lightning" that was present during Ike? It did not seem like normal lightning and here it is a week after the storm hit and I am still haunted by it. Before the high winds and rain came, There were green flashes of light all over the sky, not quick flashes like you would normally associate lightning with, but almost like someone was turning a green light on and off. Also there was no thunder present. Alicia had green lightning too, but I was too young and scared to watch it like I did during Ike. Just curious.

Jennifer

RESPONSE from Tim Heller: The "green lightning" was actually power transformers exploding during the storm.