:confused:

There are mandatory evacuations taking place along most of the Gulf Coast. UTMB on Galveston Island is being evacuated right now and the school where my wife works is being setup as a staging area for more evacuations that are set to start at noon.

There's plenty of time.

For those of us not in a storm surge area the worst we will see is high winds and lots of rain. I'm planning for two weeks with no power, which will be the main affect of this storm. I have my grill setup in the garage to cook soup, hot dogs, and other items.

Yes, only people at risk of surge and those in unsafe buildings (mobile homes, poorly built homes, etc) should evacuate.

No matter how well stocked your wine cellar is, Ike is looking to be a "heck with the wine, we're going to need a couple barrels of Scotch for this one" kind of storm. :p

Memo from Florida to Texas: Thanks for taking this one. ^

Perhaps tomorrow you can start a "Live Hourly Ike Updates until the Power Goes Out" thread. :D Stay safe.

Thank you! I'm used to cooking for mobs, but don't have experience doing so without power.

If I can just keep people munching it will be OK.

I hate to buy water, but don't have enough containers to just store tap water. Poor planning!

Husband went out and cleaned the gutters! That is not a regular event. This is serious!

One of my neighbors told me that he is washing out and filling up his various garbage and recycling bins to have water to flush toilets. Very creative!

Are we having fun yet!

I think that's all a little overkill for what you're going to get in Dallas. :)

Wait - you're WEST of Dallas and doing all this? Interesting. Also, are you really worried that if people don't constantly have food that they'll be unhappy? Are you hosting a dinner party or helping people through an evacuation? I mean, you're being nice and all, but it seems extreme.

I live on the very north edge of the city of Dallas. As best as I can tell, the worst case scenario for here is heavy rain (4-8") and TS winds (40, gusting to 60). And the worst of it should be during the overnight hours Saturday night. Not fun by any means, but I expect the damage should be limited to a few downed tree limbs, and scattered power outages that last less than a day.

As you move South of I-20 and down towards Austin, the winds may be stronger (NWS says sustained 50, gusts to hurricane strength).

They postponed this game to Saturday, September 27th, as I had expected they would do all along.

Forget trying to get a room in Austin that weekend, however. ACL is going on simultaneously.

Best regards,

William R. Sanders
Online Guest Feedback Coordinator
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide

[email protected]

Tom Brady's torn knee ligament is in Austin this weekend? :D

Actually, what we do in Florida sometimes is to fill up the bathtub with water. Can be used for toilets, plus in a pinch can be used for drinking water or at least cooking water. I like your wine idea better though.

I know that you East Coast Dems are snobs but using wine for toilets is going too far!

You really should relax and not go overboard. Stay tuned here (and not to some raging weatherman): http://blogs.chron.com/sciguy/

You are not even in the storm path as of noon, let alone a hurricane. ;)

LOL. No, nothing but a lot of wind and rain is scheduled for Austin this weekend. However, the Austin City Limits (ACL) Music Festival is going to be held over the September 27th weekend simultaneous to the new date for the Texas/Arkansas game. They made this mistake once and vowed never to repeat it. But, I guess necessity trumps vows made to the contrary. ;)

Best regards,

William R. Sanders
Online Guest Feedback Coordinator
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide

[email protected]

Have you ever tried Florida Muscadine Wine? Some would argue it's not good enough to flush a toilet with. :D

Yes, I'm west of Dallas. We lose our electricity for the least excuse or even no excuse at all. A major storm could leave us in the dark for a long time.

I do feed people when they are under my roof. Perhaps that's why they come!

Made a run to COSTCO. They are extremely well organized and had a mob of customers. I was in and out of there fast.

Traffic is heavy up moving on I-20 and very heavy on I-35W coming from the south, but still moving.