The latest on Hurricane Ike from the National Hurricane Center:
Bulletin time: 8 p.m. CDT
General conditions: Ike's outer rainbands lashing the upper Texas and southwestern Louisiana coasts
Hurricane warning: Morgan City, Louisiana to north of Port Aransas, Texas
Storm's center: About 70 miles southeast of Galveston, Texas, and about 95 miles south-southwest of Beaumont, Texas.
Speed: Moving between the west-northwest and northwest near 13 mph
Forecast: The center will be very near the upper Texas coast by later this evening or early Saturday morning.
Wind speed: Near 110 mph, with higher gusts, for category 2 strong hurricane; could reach the Texas coast as a category 3 major hurricane.
Recent conditions: Sustained winds of 55 mph have been reported on Galveston island and a gust to 70 mph was measured offshore
Surge forecast: Coastal storm surge and flooding of up to 20 feet, with near 25 feet in some areas
Rainfall forecast: 5 to 10 inches over eastern Texas and extreme southwestern Louisiana, with isolated amounts of 15 inches possible
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