Chatfield

September weather has settled in. Highs in the 70s. The occasional cold front drops it to the 50s. Cloudy, and rainy for a day. Back to the 70s. 80 today.

Guess the Broncos are going to the SuperBowl this year, based on last night’s performance against the Raiders.

Almost time for the third season of Dexter on Showtime. We’ve been treating ourselves to the first and second seasons on DVD. We’ll be ready.

We hang around Becky’s house and she cooks for us. We hang around Matt’s house and cook for him. It all works.

We’ve been watching the course of Hurricane Ike for a week. Originally it looked like it would bend up toward Louisiana, but every day the projected path sags a little farther south. It won’t make landfall before Friday, so there is still considerable uncertainty, but right now it is headed straight for Port Aransas. Here is the article from our local newspaper.

Breaking news – 12:30 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 9

Recommended evacuation may come Thursday afternoon

Port Aransas may be in for direct hit

Hurricane Ike at noon Tuesday, Sept. 9, appeared to be making a beeline for Port Aransas, according to City Manager Michael Kovacs.

Owners of RVs, high profile vehicles, boats and trailers as well as tourists and “folks who want to beat the curve” may be asked to leave the island Wednesday afternoon, Sept. 10, Kovacs said. That’s also when people on the 211 list – those who have no transportation or have no means of leaving the island – will be taken to Corpus Christi where transportation will be awaiting them.

Thursday afternoon, Sept. 11, the general population of Port Aransas may be asked to leave, he said.

“It takes 22 hours to empty the Coastal Bend based on this storm track,” Kovacs said.

As a result, Port Aransas emergency management officials are coordinating with Corpus Christi and Nueces County officials.

Kovacs said preference is for evacuation to take place in the daylight hours, so the evacuation timeline may be stepped up.

Hurricane Ike is expected to be a Category 3 storm at landfall. A Category 3 storm packs winds from 111 to 130 mph.

“That’s major -- 10 to 12 foot storm surge with waves on top of that. Most new stuff (construction) is 8.5 feet above sea level. The old stuff is barely above 4 to 6 feet or lower. Most housing will have an issue with that,” Kovacs said.

Forecasters have told Kovacs that Ike is “very much like the 1967 Beulah track” when Port Aransas experienced back bay and dune side flooding, Kovacs said.

The Bill Ellis Memorial Library has been closed so staff can assist with issuing disaster cards at city hall to residents who did not get cards in advance of hurricanes Dolly and Gustav.

The Department of Public Safety (DPS) is preparing the hurricane evacuation lane on I-37 between Corpus Christi and San Antonio (the far right lane marked with a hurricane symbol), and preparing for the general contra flow system in which all traffic is directed away from the hurricane zone, Kovacs said.

The ferryboats will operate “until we get everyone off or the weather is too bad,” according to ferry operations manager Howard Gillespie.

The ferryboats go to the Port of Corpus Christi to ride out hurricanes, and the decision to shut down the ferry operation and head for Corpus Christi is based on weather conditions both in Port Aransas and Corpus Christi Bay, where conditions can be worse, Gillespie said. It takes several hours to move to safe harbor, he added.

To anyone who plans to leave Port Aransas via the ferry, Gillespie advises that “If an evacuation is called for, go as soon as possible.”

The next update will be posted shortly after 5 p.m. today.