Yes, but usually the monsters lose 20mph or so before landfall - unfortunately, in this case, there is extremely warm water all the way up to landfall - it will likely be at or near its peak intensity for that reason at landfall...it will likely push much further inland than normal - yes, not 140mph winds, but still 100mph winds as far in as Austin (or wherever the final track takes it)....that will make this way more dangerous.
I think Masters latest says it all:
All indications are that Ike will intensify into a major hurricane that will bring widespread destruction to a large stretch of the Texas coast. I expect Ike will generate a 10-15 foot storm surge along a 100-mile stretch of Texas coast from the eye landfall location, northwards. I urge Texas residents to take this storm very seriously and heed any evacuation orders given. Most of you living along the coast have never experienced a major hurricane, and Ike is capable of causing high loss of life in storm surge-prone areas. Tropical storm force winds will spread over the Texas coast beginning Friday afternoon, and evacuations must be completed by Friday morning. All airports in eastern Texas will be forced to close Friday night, and will probably remain closed most of Saturday. Ike has a good chance of becoming the most destructive hurricane in Texas history
AI
