(Update: Saturday, August 26, 2017 @ 1:00 AM CDT (0600 UTC)
Around 8:00 PM CDT – 0100 UTC, Harvey began moving onshore of the middle Texas coast. By 10:00 PM CDT – 0300 UTC, the eye of Category 4 Harvey made landfall between Port Aransas and Port O'Connor, Texas with maximum sustained winds of 130 mph and a minimum central pressure of 938 mb (27.70 in) and moving to the northwest or 325 degrees at 7 mph. Prior to landfall and throughout the day, forward speed was 10 mph.
Harvey is the first Major Hurricane to make US landfall since Wilma in October of 2005 and the first Category 4 Hurricane to make US landfall since Katrina on August 29, 2005.
According to the National Hurricane Center, “Harvey is expected to produce total rain accumulations of 15 to 30 inches and isolated maximum amounts of 40 inches over the middle and upper Texas coast through next Wednesday. During the same time period Harvey is expected to produce total rain accumulations of 5 to 15 inches in far south Texas and the Texas Hill Country over through southwest and central Louisiana. Rainfall of this magnitude will cause catastrophic and life-threatening flooding”.
According to the 10:00 PM CDT – 0300 UTC advisory and discussion, the eye of Harvey should continue tracking to the northwest or 325 degrees for the next several hours, which would bring it inland over southeastern Texas. After 12 hours or so, the hurricane should become embedded in an area of weak steering currents and become nearly stationary. It is unclear at this time whether the center of Harvey will emerge over the Gulf of Mexico, as the guidance is in poor agreement on that. It is clear, though, that Harvey will remain over southeastern Texas or the adjacent waters through the forecast period, thus producing a major rainfall andflooding threat.
The Hurricane Watch Net remains at Alert Level 5 – Catastrophic Response Mode meaning a Major Hurricane is currently affecting land within the HWN area of interest. Net operations will continue on both 14.325.00 MHz and 7.268.00 MHz until further notice.
Our Net remains available to provide backup communications to official agencies such as Emergency Operations Centers, the American Red Cross, Non-Governmental Agencies, and other vital interests in the affected area. We will be interested to collect and report significant damage assessment data back to FEMA officials stationed in the National Hurricane Center.
Please keep everyone in the path of this dangerous storm in your thoughts and prayers!
Sincerely
Bobby Graves - KB5HAV
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