September 5, 2008 saw Hurricane Ike churning along with maximum sustained winds of 145 mph, making it a Category 4 storm. At one point, its tropical-storm wind field stretched 600 miles and hurricane force winds 240 miles making Ike the most massive Atlantic hurricane recorded.

On Friday afternoon, September 12, the National Hurricane Center said Hurricane Ike could produce a 20-foot storm surge and 50-foot waves.

Saturday morning, at 3 a.m. the eye of Hurricane Ike powered onto land in Galveston, Texas and continued straight up the Houston Ship Channel.

The current death toll is 51 in Texas but there are still hundreds missing and searchers fear that many will never be found.

With its catastrophic storm surge, Ike ranks as the third-costliest tropical system to strike the United States in 150 years, behind only Hurricanes Katrina and Andrew.