Hurricane Ike & Houston, Texas, Wind Speed Profile

City of Houston Department of Planning and Development

This 3D map of downtown Houston shows the wind speeds that were present at 10:30 the morning Hurricane Ike made landfall on September 13, 2008. The majority of downtown Houston was experiencing winds between 68 and 69 miles per hour.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) wind grid data was used to generate a wind contour gradient through downtown Houston. Parcel lines and building footprints were added in tandem with the 2008 lidar dataset provided by the Harris County Flood Control District (HCFCD). This information was used to analyze the damage to city-owned structures after the passing of the storm.

At the time of data capture, the center of Hurricane Ike was approximately 21 miles northeast of downtown Houston, putting the central business district on the “clean” side of the storm. If Hurricane Ike had passed to the west of downtown, the damage would have been far greater.

Courtesy of City of Houston.

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