Category Archives: Hurricane Katrina

Let me just say that I could have lived without hearing this. The bottom line is that the Houston area could face a near worst-case scenario with Ike, although I’d still peg the chances of this happening at one-in-four, or … Continue reading → Continue reading →

I sure understand where the sentiment comes from. With Hurricane Ike set to travel nearly the length of Cuba today before heading into the Gulf of Mexico, residents from Texas to Florida face another week of worrying about whether their … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Dammit. I do not want to have to deal with this. Ike: Please encounter massive amounts of wind shear and dry air, and shrivel up. Thanks very much from all of us along the Gulf Coast. Continue reading →

I know this is easy for me to say, but it could have been so much worse. After spending the past three years rebuilding the levees that stand between it and inundation, this fragile city apparently passed its first significant … Continue reading → Continue reading →

This is definitely good news. Army Corps of Engineers chiefs say they anticipate no storm surge flooding due to Hurricane Gustav, which is turning out to be far less than what was previously forecast by the National Weather Service. But … Continue reading → Continue reading →

One of the nasty things about living near the Gulf of Mexico is the conundrum one faces when a hurricane comes this way. While fervently hoping that said storm will not hit your hometown and maybe force you and your … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Don’t know what I’d do without SciGuy during hurricane season. So what’s Gustav up to, anyway? For starters, it’s now an 80 mph hurricane with a distinct eye and showing signs of further strengthening, as expected. The official forecast track … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Ugh. Gov. Rick Perry issued a disaster declaration Thursday as Tropical Storm Gustav — which is already blamed for as many as 67 deaths in Hispaniola — appeared likely to strengthen into a major hurricane and threaten the Texas Gulf … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Yikes. Gustav swirled toward Cuba today after triggering flooding and landslides that killed at least 22 people in the Caribbean. Its track pointed toward the U.S. Gulf Coast, including Louisiana where Hurricane Katrina wreaked havoc three years ago. Oil prices … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Tropical Storm Edouard, now merely Tropical Depression Edouard, was basically a dud around here, but it will be welcomed fondly by other parts of the state. For the thousands who suffered from power interruption — or the travelers who had … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Not that I’m complaining, mind you, but Tropical Storm Edouard hasn’t exactly been the overwhelming force of nature you might have thought it would be based on the usual TV coverage up till today. It’s been a steady rain since … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Just a few hours out now. Tropical Storm Edouard, whose sudden emergence from the Gulf of Mexico forced coastal residents and state officials to spend much of Monday making last-minute preparations, was expected to make landfall along the upper Texas … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Lots of things will be closed tomorrow, including my office and most likely the girls’ preschool. Oddly enough, Olivia’s dentist appointment is still on the schedule. Check tomorrow and call if you don’t want to drive, they said. Okey dokey. … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Ready or not, here it comes. A storm that appeared as a blip on the Gulf Coast radar late last week could reach hurricane strength before it bears down, possibly on the Southeast Texas coast, by Tuesday morning. Tropical Storm … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Sometimes, as we know from last year, Gulf storms don’t give much warning before they hit. The season’s fifth tropical depression has formed in the Gulf, according to the National Hurricane Center. Now that the depression has a center of … Continue reading → Continue reading →

If there’s another call to evacuate the Houston area because of a hurricane threat, this will be part of the reason why. Imagine a Category 3 hurricane striking the western end of Bolivar Peninsula. The storm surge would raise water … Continue reading → Continue reading →

The answer, if your house was built somewhere other than a city like Houston that actually enforces hurricane building codes, is probably not. Since Hurricane Rita, the state’s lack of attention toward its building codes, often characterized as a muddy … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Stop me if you’ve heard this one before. Like most other forecasters who have, or will soon, released their predictions, [hurricane season prognosticator Bill] Gray sees an active year, meaning the Atlantic should see more storms than usual. Gray said … Continue reading → Continue reading →

If you want to get an idea for how busy the hurricane season is going to be, check the water temperature. When the water in the hurricane breeding grounds of the Atlantic warms one degree in the dead of summer, … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Even though we just had a second consecutive relatively quiet hurricane season, some people think this one should have been quieter still. With another hurricane season set to end this Friday, a controversy is brewing over decisions of the National … Continue reading → Continue reading →

On the one hand, as the 2007 hurricane season officially ends, it wasn’t that bad. Despite alarming predictions, the U.S. came through a second straight hurricane season virtually unscathed, raising fears among emergency planners that they will be fighting public … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Joe Jaworski writes the following letter to Governor Perry: Dear Governor Perry: I know you share my outrage at the snail’s pace of state aid for Texas families more than two years after Hurricane Rita came ashore with such force. … Continue reading → Continue reading →

One feature of early October that I think we’re all paying more attention to these days is the revised hurricane forecast for the rest of the season. Hurricane expert William Gray slightly downgraded his forecast today, calling for four named … Continue reading → Continue reading →

According to SciGuy, in the past 150 years, only three hurricanes have hit the Texas coast after September 24, the most recent being Jerry in 1989. The 24th is a key date, since it’s when Rita made landfall in 2005, … Continue reading → Continue reading →

This really pisses me off. Two years after Hurricane Rita pushed deep into East Texas with devastating force that damaged or destroyed an estimated 75,000 homes, the state has spent less than one-tenth of 1 percent of the federal grant … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Now-Hurricane Humberto took a right turn last night and hit Beaumont and Louisiana instead of Houston. Hurricane Humberto blasted Beaumont with wind gusts up to 84 miles an hour this morning after forming suddenly and making landfall in Southeast Texas … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Boy, this sure developed in a hurry. Tropical Storm Humberto is expected to reach shore late tonight just south of Galveston, dumping heavy rain from Victoria to eastern Louisiana. Some spots along the upper coast could receive 10 inches or … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Six more hurricanes, that is. Hurricane expert William Gray downgraded his 2007 Atlantic storms forecast slightly Tuesday, but he still predicted above-average activity for the remaining three months of the season, with six more hurricanes, three of them major. One … Continue reading → Continue reading →

We were out of town this weekend, and as is often the case when we travel I lose track of what’s going on in the world. So, I was a bit surprised to pick up today’s Chron upon our return … Continue reading → Continue reading →

In the end, it wasn’t nearly as bad as it could have been. As of Wednesday night, the system was downgraded to a tropical depression. There were no deaths reported in Mexico nor known damage to its vital oil infrastructure, … Continue reading → Continue reading →

It could have been much worse. Hurricane Dean slammed into the Caribbean coast of Mexico today as a roaring Category 5 hurricane, the most intense Atlantic storm to make landfall in two decades. It lashed ancient Mayan ruins and headed … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Here comes Dean. The National Hurricane Center in Miami said the first hurricane of the Atlantic season was a powerful Category 4 storm, and could reach the highest level — Category 5, with maximum winds greater than 155 mph — … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Once again, good news from my perspective, horrible news from many other people’s. Here’s the late night update from SciGuy: Today the models have fallen in line with a final landfall for Dean in Mexico. The official forecast has caught … Continue reading → Continue reading →

The bad news is that Hurricane Dean is on its way to becoming a Category Five storm. The good news, from my perspective, is that the models have nudged enough south, and are now clustered enough together, that Houston is … Continue reading → Continue reading →