As a Louisian native, watching the Gulf is part of my blood.  I can remember as a little boy watching the news during hurricane season with my grocery store hurricane map to get the latest update.  I would mark it down and track the storm.  

“… and the sea will grant each man new hope, as sleep brings dreams of home.” Christopher Columbus.

The devistation in the wake of Hurricane Katrena has left residents on the Gulf Coast especially sensitive to these deadly storms.  Having the local weather man tell you what he thinks is not longer acceptable.  Tracking storms has moved into the 21st century.  As Hurricane Ike moves closer to the Texas coast I sought out a way to track these storms.  The first site that I visit for information is StormPulse.

  StormPulse is a Rich Internet Application that leverages Flash technology and google maps to track major storms.  StormPulse provides visitors with more information than they will ever need.  Users can view forecasting models, ocean buoy data, and wind probabilities among other things.  It not my favorite because of the bells and whistles but because it combines the glitz with real data.  The latest message from the National Hurricane Center can be found on the home page.  

As Hurricane Ike comes ashore in Texas I will continue to post updates and pictures as long as my internet connection holds out.  If and when that goes down I will post messages via my cell phone to twitter(jgardner04) and flickr(jonathan.gardner04)