Ike looms large across the US by Steph Ball
East Texas bore the brunt of Hurricane Ike on Saturday, but on moving inland its influence has now been spread across several US states.
Hurricane Ike blasted ashore near Galveston Bay early Saturday, bringing widespread floods. As Ike moved inland across Houston it pummelled the city with torrential rain and hurricane-force winds, blowing out office windows and cutting power to millions of residents.
Ike is a huge storm and its effects were felt along the Texas and Louisiana coast long before it made landfall. Sabine Pass, Texas, reported a storm surge of approximately 14.5 feet early Saturday morning. During Saturday, Ike’s outer bands of rain stretched as far north as Chicago where a record 180mm (7 inches) of rain was dumped.
Ike has quickly lost its strength on moving inland and now early Sunday is crossing north Arkansas as a weakened tropical depression. Winds have now decreased from over 110mph (177km/h) when the storm first came ashore, to just 35mph (55 km/h).
Flash flood warnings remain in force today across several states, all the way from east Texas to Michigan. Ike is expected to continue moving northeast over the next few days towards Maine. After a flurry of three hurricanes in as many weeks, it looks as though a quieter spell is expected.
