Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations Ike... Be gentle!

Looks as we may get our ponds full this weekend. The creek through our place has not run in 14 months! Bass pond is down EIGHT FEET. (Catfish more). Sure glad when built went 22-24' instead of recommended 12. Several 'savvy' friends on coast are "very concerned" about this one. No rooms available in San Antonio area. 2 familys headed our way.
Be gentle Ike!

the weather guys in Chicago are already predicting the rain we can expect when Ikevatsa finishes his stay in Texas and mosey's up nort

Here's a good site to keep track of storms: http://www.stormpulse.com/

Something wicked this way comes , is more apt , but it may also fill a lot of ponds and even overtop a few dams. Close the hatches and prepare for trouble. Hope all turns out well for you guys.

Well, I got off easy with Gustav. Just a few limbs down, no power for 2 days. Some of my neighbors were not so lucky. I got 8" of rain, making my sky pond nearly dead full.

Prayers to you guys on the Texas coast!

bobad, i was thinking about you down there, i'm happy it you have a relatively good news report. how are yer fish doing?

wish we could some rain here.

Dave,

We've been catching plenty of 7" BG and a few 12" LMB. Fish are barely average weight, probably because I'm not feeding like I should be. Gams and shrimp are plentiful, but probably protected somewhat by turbidity. I blame the turbidity on the abundant rain, keeping the pond right at full. When the water level hits about 18" below full pool, it clears up nicely, but it's seldom down to that level. Wish I could give you and Jeff some of our rain.

I certainly am grateful that Ike veered away from us, but now I'm getting hurricane guilt. Best of luck to our friends in Texas.

I'm getting hurricane (media)saturation.

Uh Oh! Looks like we're really gonna get saturated this time.
Repeating Al. Ike...be gentle.

I have been to Texas twice. That's how much I know about it. Oddly, though, the second time was 2 months ago as I traveled for work. One of the tours was to Galveston and the surrounding area. I can see how Galveston Island will be devastated by Ike.
I believe that there are alot of us that sit in our living rooms further north, hear this terrible news, and shake our heads in sorrow. What I also think is that there is alot of important facts about the Texas gulf coast that really paint a considerably more detailed picture.
Since we have so many Texans on this forum, and a number of them that are very familiar with ground point zero for Ike, I'm asking for some education. For instance, the topography and elevation of the land, all the way up into Houston. It's flat as a pancake. Tell us about how extreme rainfall affects the surrounding topography. Another one, and this one will affect ALL of us, Texas City. I was in awe when we drove past Texas City. Hokey smokes! Start with this link to Mapquest; it's Texas City. Take a look at where it is located relative to Galveston. Then, go to the aerial and zoom down to the industrial park. It's a small city of a refinery. This entire area is busting loose with oil industry and it's about to be slapped in the face with a hurricane. Heybud is an oil guy. Tell us some factoids about how far this infrastructure reaches. My traveling partner during my tour was born and raised in the Houston area. He said that there are major canals that run ships all the way up to Houston. I assume it's all oil related.
I'm in steel. My customer base is into just about every industry that might use steel. When I go to a region, it's normal to visit 8 guys and get 8 different industries being served. Not in Texas. It's all oil. It's the only thing that's firing on all 8 cylinders right now. Yeah, sure, they might be doing a little of this and a little of that, but they all come back to the mother lode; supplying the oil industry.
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This will of no interest to some, but since I was just there, I'm telling ya....it is very interesting.

Of course, I wish all of you Gulf Coasters safety and luck.

If I only watched certain TV stations, and believed everything they are saying, I would think hell is coming to Texas.

I really hope that it's just media hype.

Did I understand that some government agencies are saying it's certain death if you stay in Galveston or Galveston Island?

Is that what the local TX word is?

stay safe out there

Brett, I'm not qualified to talk about the coastal areas. I seldom go there. However, I've been there enough to know that a 25 ft surge, which I just heard about on the weather report, should pretty well wet the town of Galveston. I doubt that anything in the island town of Port Aransas is 25 ft high.

Sunil, I also question the hype. We do have a local weather jockey that usually makes sense. He just said that Ike is bigger than New England and is picking up and pushing water for hundreds of miles.

BTW, gasoline has increased by about 80 cents per gallon around the coastal areas. That's gouging. However, if it hits the refineries, it could get kinda pricey everywhere.

I haven't heard certain death, but I bet that's not far off. Galveston isn't much more than a sand bar in terms of topography. Galveston is also the site of the worst natural disaster (in terms of death) in U.S. history--the Hurricane of 1900. 8000 people died (compared with 1800 deaths as a result of Hurricane Katrina).

Check out this link: http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/galveston.htm

With today's advanced warning mechanisms, hopefully everyone can get off the island in time. Heck, even UT up in Austin moved its home football game against Arkansas to latter September.


Unfortunately for our ponds, I think most of the rain will stay too far east. Still, safety is the most important thing now...

y'all take care, thinkin about you in el dorado.....

The Houston Ship channel starts at the northwest part of Galveston Bay and runs westward to inside loop I-610 to the city docks(48 of them)all generaal cargo and the turning basin. You see Exxon Baytown refinery, Shell Deer Park, and all along the south and north channel is nothing but chemical refineries and ship docks. I know a little about this industry as I have been working on ships here since 1975. I have been around several grain elevator explosions, chemical explosions etc. Search for the ship 'Chevron Hawaii' and you will find that it was hit by lightning and exploded, killed 3 people on deck(1 was a former fellow worker of mine. I was on a ship directly across the channel working on a radar, and it blew the windows out. It is a dangerous industry, but a profitable one. When visitors complain about the smell, some usually come back with 'the sweet smell of money'. Here is a closeup of the ship channel; carved out of a small stream called 'Buffalo Bayou'. Sorry for rambling, I am at my son and family up past the Big Airport waiting for Ike. http://maps.google.com/maps?ie=UTF-8&hl=en&tab=wl

Gas went up .75 cents yesterday and the attendant told me it will probably go up another 75 on the next load.Ill be closing early today to make final preps for Ike.However,if they got it right I probably wont even get rain.
BUT,better safe than sorry,Ill be ready.

A friend just called from Biloxi.He said theyve got 50 knot winds on Keesler air base right now.

burger, I've also been through those same places. We have an office in Houston, and it used to be in Deer Park, but many years ago, we moved to the NW side of Houston where 290 and 610 meet, so luckily, we don't get the brunt of these things.

I don't miss the whiff of hydrocarbons when going to the Houston office in the mornings.

"I don't miss the whiff of hydrocarbons when going to the Houston office in the mornings."
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Said almost same thing to a geologist friend who lived there. He replied:
"Smells just like money".
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And I think I've got problems:

HOUSTON (AP) � As a gigantic Hurricane Ike steamed through the Gulf of Mexico toward the Texas coast, officials in America's fourth-largest city made a bold decision: Instead of fleeing, most residents here would stare down the storm.

Meanwhile, the Coast Guard before dawn Friday received a radio call for help about a 584-foot bulk freighter stranded 90 miles southeast of Galveston.

Petty Office Patrick Kelley told The Associated Press the ship, hauling petroleum coke, broke down in the path of the hurricane "in a potentially dangerous situation."

"They're so far offshore, you're looking at only helicopter responses. Then you're dealing with winds," Kelley said, saying the Coast Guard was weighing its response options.

No details were immediately provided by the Coast Guard on the name of the ship or where it was headed. The vessel was carrying 22 people.

Good luck to all of the folks in or near the path of Ike. Please be careful or get out as fast as you can. If you can afford the sick gas price increases.

re:
Warning: Ike may bring 'certain death'
The National Weather Service isn't mincing words on this one: Texans living in single-family homes along parts of the coast face "certain death" if they do not evacuate before massive Hurricane Ike arrives. Ike is about 230 miles southeast of Galveston. Landfall, when the storm's center moves over land, is expected later today or early Saturday.

If help cannot make it, let's hope the correct verbiage = "is carrying"

I wont miss the smell for long. Thats why I am moving back to Miss. 34 yrs. have done a job on my sinuses. The 1st cool front that comes in a few wks. and I will get hay fever so bad, my eyes will nearly close up. Never got in on much of the money part either.
I was on a coke ship in Port Arthur Wed. It was pretty old and ragged out. Flagged in Limmasol, Cyprus. That usually means it is on its last leg. It was going out to ride out the storm, then back in to finish carge. Wouldnt be surprised if this it.

I think this is the bouy closest to Ike now: http://ndbc.noaa.gov/station_page.php?station=42361

Here's a cool site for checking out the storm. Has lots of features: http://www.stormpulse.com/