So we ended up losing power around 3:30-4AM. It hasn't come back yet. We decided to head to Dallas this afternoon and did so. We took the one wya that wasn't obstructed - Highway 290 to Hempstead. It was actually a nice drive, not much traffic.
We got pounded around 4AM pretty bad as the worst part of hte storm passed through. Windows bowed outward, the house shaked, it was bad, but not nearly like what happened to those on the coast. Our only damage is some roof damage, fence damage. That was about it.
I wish I got more pictures on Saturday, especiallyu driving through the dark. But I was exhausted as I only slept maybe 30 minutes the night before nad we worked chopping branches and clearing drains for a few hours.
The most ironic moment - before our power went out we were watching one of the local news stations. They broke for a commercial break where an Oreck Vacuum commercial came on. The older guy who does the commercials, I think Oreck himself, said that his vacuum "packs the power of a category 2 hurricane." I thought it was a joke at first, but realized it was just bad timing.
Sunday, September 14, 2008
Friday, September 12, 2008
Hurricane Ike - Rough and He hasn't started yet
So its been pretty bad and the hurricane hasn't even made landfall. In fact, my area of town is just at the outer bands. The eye will be passing either through where we live or just at hte edge. They are expecting upper winds downtown at 130mph when it hits downtown, about 3-4AM.
Wow, in the past 3 minutes the lights have flickered 5 times. I have a feeling we may be losing power soon. Hopefully not! News is saying 2-3 weeks for power resotration. So far, 700K are without power. Winds slowed down the past 10 minutes or so. But are picking up again. They say if you lose power, you'll be out of luck for 2-3 weeks. So I don't know if we'll get lucky or not. Its weird, the lights keep flickering, but the computer and TV don't seem to be affected. I"ll have to google that later to see why.
No new pictures yet. Nothing too interesting plus its been too rainy. I went outside a few minutes ago and was a bit spooked, afraid something would fly and hit me so i went back in. But so far, we have been very lucky. We'll see if that luck continues. Still have at least 4 hours of really bad stuff and probably more.
Wow, in the past 3 minutes the lights have flickered 5 times. I have a feeling we may be losing power soon. Hopefully not! News is saying 2-3 weeks for power resotration. So far, 700K are without power. Winds slowed down the past 10 minutes or so. But are picking up again. They say if you lose power, you'll be out of luck for 2-3 weeks. So I don't know if we'll get lucky or not. Its weird, the lights keep flickering, but the computer and TV don't seem to be affected. I"ll have to google that later to see why.
No new pictures yet. Nothing too interesting plus its been too rainy. I went outside a few minutes ago and was a bit spooked, afraid something would fly and hit me so i went back in. But so far, we have been very lucky. We'll see if that luck continues. Still have at least 4 hours of really bad stuff and probably more.
Hurricane Ike
Well, its 10:15 right now. 200K+ are without power in Houston. We are lucky thus far and have power. We've noticed power surges or tiny power interruptions - where the lights go really dim or almost out for a second. But TV stays on so its not a complete interuption.
Here are some new pics of our backyard.
Trying to get a decent shot, tried the flash. Knew this wouldn't look great
Above two are slow shutter speeds, resting on our small picket fence. I think they are 10 second exposures. I was lucky to even get this as I had to guess on focusing and shot on manual mode. Think they turned out okay. Notice how the trees are "ghosting" from the motion.
Here are some new pics of our backyard.
Trying to get a decent shot, tried the flash. Knew this wouldn't look great
Above two are slow shutter speeds, resting on our small picket fence. I think they are 10 second exposures. I was lucky to even get this as I had to guess on focusing and shot on manual mode. Think they turned out okay. Notice how the trees are "ghosting" from the motion.
Hurricane Ike
So looks like Hurricane Ike took a turn right towards Galveston. We decided to stay put and ride it out, considering our last experience with Hurricane Rita and the evacuation, which was far more dangerous than the storm. Galveston will be decimated and there are still idiots out there who think they can outride the 20 foot storm surge!
Anyway, the last two days were spent just gathering a few supplies. We didn't need much. We got more bottled water and we had already filled up on gasoline, so we were good there. Grocery stores have been packed, but I went to Kroger's today and was in and out. I couldn't believe it.
At the moment, the winds are really picking up, but this is nothing. The storm will hit Galveston at 1AM and hit Houston around 6-7AM I believe, but that could have changed. Of course its a little eerie outside as there are very few cars and people out. Normally, the streets are packed on a Friday evening. Gas is gone from the 2 close gas stations. This should be interesting.
View of Westpark and the sunset. The west side was nice and bright while the storms were forming to the east.
View of Westpark towards the east. You can see the dark clouds forming.
Normally a very busy street on a Friday evening (and most every evening). Virtually empty.
Another view of Weslayan, facing north. Highway 59 is just beyond the Shell station
No more gas. No prices and tanks are covered. This place was jammed packed the past two days.
I'll be adding more pictures and blogging as long as I have power and internet. The exciting stuff won't come until the early morning hours.
Anyway, the last two days were spent just gathering a few supplies. We didn't need much. We got more bottled water and we had already filled up on gasoline, so we were good there. Grocery stores have been packed, but I went to Kroger's today and was in and out. I couldn't believe it.
At the moment, the winds are really picking up, but this is nothing. The storm will hit Galveston at 1AM and hit Houston around 6-7AM I believe, but that could have changed. Of course its a little eerie outside as there are very few cars and people out. Normally, the streets are packed on a Friday evening. Gas is gone from the 2 close gas stations. This should be interesting.
View of Westpark and the sunset. The west side was nice and bright while the storms were forming to the east.
View of Westpark towards the east. You can see the dark clouds forming.
Normally a very busy street on a Friday evening (and most every evening). Virtually empty.
Another view of Weslayan, facing north. Highway 59 is just beyond the Shell station
No more gas. No prices and tanks are covered. This place was jammed packed the past two days.
I'll be adding more pictures and blogging as long as I have power and internet. The exciting stuff won't come until the early morning hours.
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