Just 2 weeks shy of the 3rd anniversary of our 20 hour trek from Houston to Dallas as we ran from Hurricane Rita. We vowed we wouldn’t do that again. So pray for us as we say hello to Ike this weekend.

Forecasters expect the storm to make landfall this weekend somewhere between Corpus Christi and Houston, creating the potential for heavy punishment for Houston even if it’s not hit directly.

Some forecasts say Ike could strengthen to a fearsome Category 4 hurricane with winds of at least 131 mph over the Gulf of Mexico, and emergency officials warned it could drive a storm surge as high as 18 feet.

If current projections of the storm’s path hold up, the area surrounding Houston — home to about 4 million people — would be lashed by the eastern or “dirty” side of the storm, said meteorologist Jeff Masters, co-founder of San Francisco-based Weather Underground. This stronger side of the storm often packs heavy rains, walloping storm surge and tornadoes.

“I expect a lot of damage in Houston from this storm,” said Masters, adding that Ike could cause a “huge storm surge” affecting at least 100 miles of the Texas coast.

If we have power, I’ll try to post updates throughout…

UPDATE: Evacuations have begun. Lines at gas stations are already 10 cars deep at every pump.

Starting to feel like deja vu.