Local News

MIAMI (CBS4) ― Ike remains a category 2 hurricane expected to slam the Texas coast, but forecasters say its effects may be extremely devastating. They believe Ike could make landfall on Saturday between Corpus Christi and Houston as a major hurricane.

At 11:00 p.m., Ike was a Category 2 storm with winds near 100 mph, with higher gusts. Ike is located near latitude 26.3 north, longitude 90.4 west or about 340 miles east-southeast of Galveston, Texas, and was moving west-northwest near 12 mph, with a turn to the northwest expected Friday. Hurricane Ike is already larger than Hurricane Katrina, but not quite as strong. Hurricane force winds extend 115 miles from the center, while tropical storm force winds extend outward up to 265 miles.

A hurricane warning has been issued from Morgan City, Louisiana, to Baffin Bay, Texas. A warning means hurricane like conditions are expected within the next 24 hours. A tropical storm warning is in effect from east of Morgan City to the Mississippi-Alabama border.

The hurricane watch south of Baffin Bay to Port Mansfield has been discontinued, but a tropical storm warning is in effect for the area.

The Galveston-Houston area could be on the edge of hurricane-force wind gusts, even if the storm makes passes 100 miles to the southwest. Forecasters with the National Hurricane Center said coastal storm surge flooding of up to 20 feet above normal tides could be expected when Ike makes landfall. There is also likely to be rainfall amounts of 5 to 10 inches along the coast, with isolated amounts of 15 inches possible.

The surge in Galveston Bay could push flood waters into Houston, damaging areas that include the nation's biggest refinery and NASA's Johnson Space Center.

The oil and gas industry also watched the storm closely, fearing damage to the very heart of its operations. Texas is home to 26 refineries that account for one-fourth of U.S. refining capacity, and most are clustered along the Gulf Coast in such places as Houston, Port Arthur and Corpus Christi. Exxon Mobil Corp.'s plant in Baytown, outside Houston, is the nation's largest refinery. Dow Chemical has a huge operation just north of Corpus Christi.

Refineries are built to withstand high winds, but flooding can disrupt operations and cause mass power outages that can shutdown equipment for days or weeks.

"It's a big storm," Texas Gov. Rick Perry said. "I cannot overemphasize the danger that is facing us. It's going to do some substantial damage. It's going to knock out power. It's going to cause massive flooding."

In Surfside Beach, a coastal community about 40 miles south of Galveston, the police chief was so worried that the entire force planned to ride out the storm inland.

"I don't have a crystal ball, but if I did, I think it would tell me a sad story. And that story would be that were faced with devastation of a catastrophic range," said Chief Randy Smith. "I think we're going to see a storm like most of us haven't seen."

Most of the evacuations were limited to sections of Harris County outside Houston, as well as nearby bayous and Galveston Bay. But the 2 million residents of the city itself and 1 million in other areas of the county were asked to remain at home.

"We are still saying: Please shelter in place, or to use the Texas expression, hunker down," said Harris County Judge Ed Emmett, the county's chief administrator. "For the vast majority of people who live in our area, stay where you are. The winds will blow and they'll howl and we'll get a lot of rain, but if you lose power and need to leave, you can do that later."

Authorities hoped to avoid the panic of three years ago, when evacuations ordered in advance of Hurricane Rita sent millions scurrying in fright and caused a monumental traffic jam so big that cars ran out of gas or overheated. Ultimately, the evacuation proved deadlier than the storm itself. A total of 110 people died during the exodus, including 23 nursing home patients whose bus burst into flames while stuck in traffic.

This time, traffic was bumper-to-bumper on the freeway leading away from Galveston immediately after the evacuation order, but by late afternoon, many evacuees had made it past Houston, to the north. And just in time: Waves were already inundating the beach on one end of Galveston Island.

(© 2010 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

Tropical Weather Resources

• Tracking Ike - 11 AM Advisory
• 8:00 a.m.: Ike Weakens, Eye Over Cuba
• CBS4.com Hurricane Info
• CBS4.com Hurricane Preps