Ike Affects Florida from

the Keys to Panhandle

Wind, Flooding, Beach Erosion Widespread

15 September 2008

IKE

With Hurricane Ike, Florida was again affected by a tropical event that did not make landfall in the state, but still brought widespread winds, flooding, beach erosion, rip tide and wave surges from the Keys northward to the Panhandle.  Ike was the largest storm of the season, with a width that extended over 500 miles.

The effects of Ike were expected to linger for some time, according to the Pensacola News Journal.  Click here to read on the surge that closed dozens of roads in the Panhandle.  See also links to other news stories and photos from around the state in the right column.

On Sep. 7, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) announced:  "The head of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) today announced that federal aid has been made available for the state of Florida to supplement State and local response efforts due to the emergency conditions resulting from Hurricane Ike beginning on September 5, 2008, and continuing."  Click here for the full declaration.  Public Assistance funding was directed to Monroe County.  Click here for more information on FEMA and Hurricane Ike in Florida.

FINAL STORM REPORT from the Weather Channel:

"Ike made landfall as a category 2 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Scale at 2:10 a.m. CDT Saturday morning Sep. 13 at Galveston, Texas, with maximum sustained winds near 110 miles per hour.  Its minimum pressure was 951.6 millibars, reported by the barometer at the Galveston Pleasure Pier when the center passed overhead.

Ike was a hurricane for 9 days and 21 hours. It was first named a hurricane on September 3 at 5pm ET.

Here's a quick glance at some of the highest surge levels:
Sabine Pass, Texas - 14.24 feet
Lake Charles, Louisiana - 10-12 feet
Galveston, Texas - 9-11 feet
West side of Galveston Bay - early estimation of 14-18 feet

The remnants of Ike moved into Canada on Sunday night (Sep 14). Winds gusted to hurricane force across the Ohio Valley on Sunday, and are still gusting to tropical storm force this morning (Sep. 15) in the Northeast.

The hurricane left quite a legacy from the Gulf Coast through central New York state on its path. The wind from Ike and its remnants produced damage along a 1,200 mile long and 200 mile wide path across Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, Missouri, Tennessee, Kentucky, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, western Pennsylvania and western and central New York state.

Hurricane-force wind gusts were felt as far north and east as western Pennsylvania Sunday evening. Tropical-storm force wind gusts occurred in Syracuse and Rome, N.Y. Monday morning. 

Here are some wind gusts to hurricane force from Ike's remnants on Sunday:

Paoli, Indiana: 81 mph
Little York, Indiana: 81 mph
Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania: 81 mph
Ashtabula, Ohio: 78 mph
Lebanon, Ohio: 78 mph
Wilmington, Ohio: 78 mph
Louisville, Kentucky: 75 mph
Columbus, Ohio: 75 mph."
 

Click here to read a log of News and Facts on Ike for Sep. 11-13 by the Weather Channel.