Ike's Bad Blow Could Have Been Worse - [PHOTOS OF HOUSTON AND GALVESTON]

NVDL: It seems as though in the case of Katrina, Gustav and Ike, New Orleans and Galeveston have 'gotten lucky'. Probably we can anticipate more busy hurricane seasons, and luck doesn't last forever. The question is, will Americans around the Gulf change their living arrangements, or will they try their luck against each successive hurricane season?

Ike made landfall pretty much as forecast -- as a strong Category 2 storm with winds near 110 mph, one mile per hour slower than Category 3 status. My guess is that had the forecast been for a strong Category 3 or higher at landfall, Houstonians would've been told to hit the road. So, the question is, how close was Ike to surpassing its predicted strength?

Several hurricanes over the past few years have surprised forecasters with unexpected and rapid intesification. And in fact, meteorologist Jeff Masters over at Weather Underground notes that Ike was becoming better organized in the 12 hours prior to landfall, and if it "had another 12-24 hours [over water] to complete this process, it would have been a Category 4 hurricane with 135-145 mph winds." - Washington Post

clipped from voices.washingtonpost.com Galveston was hit hard but appears to have avoided complete devastation, mostly because the storm track shifted slightly to the northeast at the last minute. As a result, Ike's eye hit Galveston head on instead of just to the southwest. It's the area just north or east of the eye -- where the direction of the counterclockwise-circulating winds and storm surge is perpendicular to the coast (see graphic) -- that usually gets the worst of it.