Weather Update Friday Afternoon

So far, these are the only people on our block who are boarding up their windows. We've taped our windows but Don says he's feeling that our area won't be getting all that much wind.....so, I guess we'll see!

This is a shot towards the south in our neighborhood. If you enlarge the photo you can see some people out in their yards, visiting and hanging out. Things are pretty quiet overall. All the stores are closed now - with the exception of good ole' Target (they close at 3pm) . And pretty much everyone was out of bottled water, ice, wood and batteries is what we've heard.

The local news stations are on a 24/7 Hurricane coverage and they are saying that Galveston is already having major flooding and the storm won't make landfall until around 2am. Even though this is rated as a Cat 2, the big worry is the actual size of the storm. Hurricane Ike is measuring about 200 miles wide at this point and the experts are calling for a storm surge between 15 to 22 ft which would be more in line with a Cat 4 hurricane. So while we might not get the wind speeds, we will most likely be getting the water! Yikes!!

I have to take this moment to vent my frustrations - isn't that what a blog is for? - because this morning they were reporting that the Coast Guard was called in to rescue about a dozen people from their roof tops in an area that has had a MANDATORY EVACUATION policy in place for the past 48 hours. This makes me so mad!! These people said they were going to ride out the storm and they refused to evacuate. Then, when they see that this storm is for real...when the flood waters come creeping up the drive and there is no way out - they change their stupid little minds. These idiots are putting not only themselves at risk but then calling on others to endanger their lives to come to the "rescue". I personally feel that they should be fined. There is no excuse people!! If you chose to live in a coastal area you should have to sign waivers or release forms about this kind of thing. Okay. Sorry. Personal ranting done for now.

It's just after two o'clock here now and we are seeing a tiny bit of mist and the wind is picking up a bit. The clouds are moving in but we don't have any thunder, lightening or any actual rain. I will keep updating the blog as the storm progresses - as long as we have our internet connection!

Thanks for all the prayers and concern! If you have been trying to contact us by phone - a lot of people are finding that the circuits are overload. So don't panic - we are really are ok!