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Originally posted by JoshNorton
Now it looks like it's headed straight for Houston, the 4th largest city in the country.
This could get interesting yet...
The storm surge from this monster storm will indeed take lives and some of those lives will perish because of a false sense of safety in that Ike will be in all likelihood at most a Category 3 on the SAFFIR-SIMPSON scale approaching the Texas coastline. I feel it is imperative that the Integrated Kinetic Energy (IKE) scale become as much household name as the SAFFIR-SIMPSON scale in order to save lives.
Best post of the day! The S-S scale is part of the public lexicon now and I am more than sure that many folks are thinking- well its a 2 now, and may "only" become a 3....but this is almost completely irrelevant in many cases re: the surge/water rise/wave setup. Although Dr. Masters has been overdoing his intensity forecasts so far, and I am not so sure that Ike will attain a IKE index higher than Katrina, it will be much more dangerous than a "normal cat 2 or 3 storm and that cannot be emphasized enough to the public. That is why the "certain death" wording was used, so shake folks out of their complacency.
Sometimes I wonder whether these scales should even be released to the general public. If they dont have the education to utilize them properly, then why publicize them so much? Its better to just give them a simple response: "Get the hell out if you want to stay alive!"
Perhaps, but this is a BIG storm. Tropical Storm force winds in an area 220 miles across. Could hit Galveston with 120 mph winds, and would only dissipate to 60-80 mph winds by the time it reaches the Houston area. Coastal flooding with storm surge of 20ft above normal tides... Galveston Island and surrounding coastal areas, as well as the Houston Ship Channel are going to be flooded, and there's not going to be anywhere for the rest of the rainwater in the city to drain to, so that's going to rise as well...
Originally posted by no name needed
Originally posted by JoshNorton
Now it looks like it's headed straight for Houston, the 4th largest city in the country.
This could get interesting yet...
Although a CAT 3 or 4 could be potentially devastating to Houston/Texas Coast; it is not nearly the issue that it would be in New Orleans. Texans are by and far intelligent enough to live above sea level. New Orleans is just a big empty basin waiting to be filled!
Despite Ike's rated Category 2 strength, the hurricane is much larger and more powerful than Category 5 Katrina or Category 5 Rita.