Our son is an hour from the coast. That's also not very far when you're talking a Cat 5. You know, how far is far enough?

I'm glad he got an early start seetheworld, and that he knew the back roads! Now to get that plane "outta there"!

It took a jog in the night, significantly further north of yesterday's Port Lavaca landfall, and now back to Houston...worst of the scenarios with that huge population center! I hate to wish it on anyone but I sure hope it jogs a lot more before Saturday morning.

And....is it me, or is the storm now tracking farther north, directly to Galveston?

Yesterday on the news I heard that if the storm were to stay this strength and hit Galveston directly, they would expect a 30+ foot storm surge. The sea wall is 17 feet.

An hour isn't far enough cd. Charley (Cat 4) had been over land for about 160 miles when it hit Orlando and it still did a fair amount of damage.

Currently the official target IS Galveston Bay

CD In 1954 the town I lived in suffered extensive damage from Hurricane Hazel,
I lived in Newmarket Ontario CANADA!!!

From Al Roker again - this morning it looks as if it will track just east of Galveston/Houston, which is better news for them - but God Bless NO as Rita is closer to them and they are to the east.

Mayor of Galveston was impressive on Today Show this morning. It seems as if they did everything right regarding evacuation. And, folks are listening post-Katrina.

I'm very concerned. I wish he would start driving north but like he said, how do you get the 4 million people of Houston on the highway?

For those wondering about conditions at Houston's airports, my cousin couldn't get on her 8am flight, even though she got there three hours early. She says the scene at the airport is "the worst thing she's ever seen."

I hope STW's hubby gets on his flight. That's why I started keeping the rental car and just driving home. One time stuck in an airport in the midst of chaos was more than enough.

I've got my fingers crossed.

Effective at 9am, the following roads will become one way, with both sides leading out of Houston:

I-45
I-10
290

A poster on another thread was good enough to provide me this link for evac info.

http://www.dot.state.tx.us/

Except P.M. I just heard on CNN that as of right now, it hasn't happened yet.

On this morning's 6am ABC station news in Dallas,their reporter live from Galveston said that I45 North all the way to Huntsville was already one way north and would stay that way indefinitely.

cd, darn!! Maybe they'll get it open soon.

Just wanted to give you an update.

My husband left this morning at 3am to make a 8:16 flight out of Intercontinental to Chicago. The trip to the airport took 2 1/2 hours. The last 10 miles of the trip to the airport were at a complete standstill, so he took the back roads.

He is now on a flight back to New York.

I only briefly spoke with him, but he said it was the longest check-in line he's ever seen - 100 people ahead of him and 300 behind him by the time he got to the counter.

American Airlines said they would go back and forth, to get as many people out as possible before the airport shuts down.

If I have repeated this information in some other post, forgive me. I'm sure he will have some interesting details to share with me, after I give him a big, long hug.

Again, our prayers are with those in the path Rita.

Great news! I think you also deserve a big hug. I think several of us were worried for you. I did not want to compound your stress by asking.

STW, I am so glad he got out safely. I've wondered all day. Give him a REALLY big hug when he walks through the door and let him know Fodorites were praying for him and his team.

Hi Everyone... this is my first time on one of these internet chats... My parents are in The Woodlands TX (they moved there 2 yrs ago). They've never been through more than a Thunderstorm and my 15-year old sister is with them. I go to college in Boston so I'm far from them. I'm worried because we don't get specifics of the threats to nearby areas of Houston. The maps shown on most websites are not very detailed so I don't know where The Woodland stands in the grand scheme of things. They're planning on riding out the storm. Are there any tips they might not get from the news that any of you think are important?
My prayers go out to any of those to be affected and to those recovering from Katrina.

God Bless.

It's been an emotional day, but he's home and we are both thankful. Thanks for your prayers - continue to pray for those who are in the path of this storm. He is just beginning to tell me what he witnessed...

Florice5, I just spoke with my husband to try and get some information for you. He said Woodlands is a beautiful area with well-made homes and he has heard that it falls in the Cat 1 or 2 of the storm (much better than Cat 4 or 5, but this is unpredictable). By now your parents probably have prepared with water, flashlights, etc. It's most likely too late to evacuate but others who are currently in the area would be better suited to answer that question. Remain positive and we're here if you need to chat.

Oh STW, that is such wonderful news, you must feel so relieved. I am very happy he is on his way home, and may be safe with you by now...

24 hours ago in MN we had severe storms and a tornado touch down. At their strongest the winds were 80 miles per hour, 110,000 people lost power. One gentleman passed away when he and his wife were trying to pick up their daughter after she got done working after she was done with work. My point is that at the high winds we had, all I could think about was what it would be like with wind gusts DOUBLE what we were experiencing. I had 25 women at my house for a get together, the husbands on the cell phones kept those phones ringing for several hours. My DH is out of town and I could hear the worry in his voice.

I am so glad STW that you don't have to have that worry anymore.

God bless all in the path of these storms we have no control over - it is just frightening.

Take care all, Tiff