Ike Blog: Thursday 3:45 p.m.

I've chased a lot of Oklahoma tornadoes throughout the years, but this is my first hurricane, a big one too. Forecasters look for "IKE" to be Cat 3 by the time it hits Galveston early Saturday.

I've always been fascinated by "wild weather". I think my Dad first took us storm chasing when I was about five, so I'm anxious to experience the power of a hurricane. As "Cosmo Kramer" famously put it..."Mother Nature is a MAAADDD SCIENTIST!!"

At the same time we're hoping there's no loss of life and as little property damage as possible. Still, we've packed for several days if there is.

I'm glad to have a couple of hurricane veterans with me.

Photojournalist David Young rode out Katrina in New Orleans with Amy Lester, and just two weeks ago Gustav with Rusty Surette. In the grime still coating the back window of his News9 truck...the finger graffiti reads "Gustav Bound", but now Gustav is marked out and "IKE" is scrawled underneath it.

Our Managing Editor Brian Eckert is field producer on this trip. Brian's a veteran of two hurricanes as well, and took the shopping duties upon himself. We appear to have a good supply of beanie weenie and canned cheese laid in for the trip.

Texas authorities ordered people living in low lying areas to evacuate yesterday. Sounds like soon I-45 will only flow away from Houston so we'll probably have to back road it in.

I'll update you as we get further South.

-Kelly Ogle