Ike is a massive 1000 miles long and a 1000 miles wide. Ike's track has shifted from the likelihood of a direct hit on Corpus Christi to a more northwesterly target - Galveston at landfall, the Houston. A hit on Houston of course would be catastraophic.
Ike still has a few days before we know for sure where landfall will be.
The third major storm of the season is due to strike the Texan coast on Friday evening or early on Saturday. Ike was rated as a category two storm today but is predicted to reach category three or even a powerful four on the five-tier Saffir-Simpson scale.
When the storm slams into the mainland this weekend it is forecast that devastating winds could reach up to 131mph. Hurricanes are notoriously difficult to predict however and the authorities in some coastal regions are reluctant to implement early evacuations.
Residents of parts of Galveston and four counties south and east of Houston were issued with mandatory evacuation orders yesterday and hundreds of weak or ill patients were being driven to San Antonio as President Bush declared a state of emergency in Texas.
Houston itself is likely to feel the power of Ike on Saturday, but no immediate evacuations have been ordered in Harris County, which includes America’s fourth largest city.
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