Live Thread - Hurricane Katrina, Part IV (Update: Now a Category 5 )

NOAA - NHC ^ | 27 August 2005 | NOAA - NHC

[NautiNurse]

Hurricane warnings and watches are posted. Hurricane Katrina continues to strengthen in the Gulf of Mexico. The forecast models continue to converge upon New Orleans. However, all interests in the northern Gulf of Mexico should follow the path of this very large and dangerous storm, and be prepared for a major hurricane landfall. There have been reports of coastal animals leaving in droves for higher ground. Meanwhile, New Orleans continues to suggest that residents evacuate.

The following links are self-updating:

Public Advisory Currently published every 3 hours 5A, 8A, 11A, 2P, etc. ET
NHC Discussion Published every six hours 6A, 11A, 6P, 11P
Three Day Forecast Track
Five Day Forecast Track
Navy Storm Track
Katrina Track Forecast Archive Nice loop of each NHC forecast track for both three and five day
Forecast Models
Alternate Hurricane Models via Skeetobite
Bouy Data Louisiana/Mississippi
Buoy Data Florida

Images:

New Orleans/Baton Rouge Experimental Radar Subject to delays and outages - and well worth the wait

Mobile Long Range Radar Loop

New Orleans/Baton Rouge Radar

Ft. Polk, LA Long Range Radar Loop

Northwest Florida Long Range Radar

Storm Floater IR Loop
Storm Floater Still & Loop Options
Color Enhanced IR Loop

Other Resources:

Hurricane Wind Risk Very informative tables showing inland wind potential by hurricane strength and forward motion
Central Florida Hurricane Center
New Orleans Web Cams Loads of web cam sites here. The sites have been very slow due to high traffic
New Orleans Music Online Couldn't resist--love that jazz
Golden Triangle Weather Page Nice Beaumont weather site with lots of tracks and graphics
Hurricane City
Crown Weather Tropical Website Offers a variety of storm info, with some nice track graphics

Live streaming:
copy/paste into player:

WWL-TV/DT New Orleans (WMP) - mms://beloint.wm.llnwd.net/beloint_wwltv
WVTM-TV/DT Birmingham (WMP) - mms://a1256.l1289835255.c12898.g.lm.akamaistream.net/D/1256/12898/v0001/reflector:35255
WDSU-TV/DT New Orleans (WMP) - http://mfile.akamai.com/12912/live/reflector:38202.asx
Hurricane City (Real Player) - http://hurricanecity.com/live.ram
ABCNews Now (Real Player) - http://reallive.stream.aol.com/ramgen/redundant/abc/now_hi.rm

Hurricane Katrina Live Thread, Part III
Katrina Live Thread, Part II
Hurricane Katrina Live Thread, Part I
Tropical Storm 12

Category	Wind Speed	Barometric Pressure	Storm Surge	Damage Potential
Tropical Depression	< 39 mph < 34 kts			Minimal
Tropical Storm	39 - 73 mph 34 - 63 kts			Minimal
Hurricane 1 (Weak)	74 - 95 mph 64 - 82 kts	28.94" or more 980.02 mb or more	4.0' - 5.0' 1.2 m - 1.5 m	Minimal damage to vegetation
Hurricane 2 (Moderate)	96 - 110 mph 83 - 95 kts	28.50" - 28.93" 965.12 mb - 979.68 mb	6.0' - 8.0' 1.8 m - 2.4 m	Moderate damage to houses
Hurricane 3 (Strong)	111 - 130 mph 96 - 112 kts	27.91" - 28.49" 945.14 mb - 964.78 mb	9.0' - 12.0' 2.7 m - 3.7 m	Extensive damage to small buildings
Hurricane 4 (Very strong)	131 - 155 mph 113 - 135 kts	27.17" - 27.90" 920.08 mb - 944.80 mb	13.0' - 18.0' 3.9 m - 5.5 m	Extreme structural damage
Hurricane 5 (Devastating)	Greater than 155 mph Greater than 135 kts	Less than 27.17" Less than 920.08 mb	Greater than 18.0' Greater than 5.5m	Catastrophic building failures possible

[bannie]

touche'!

LOL.

We've never fallen off before.

[Heatseeker]

I'm watching a replay of a TV interview with the mayor now - that guy is a sick joke even by Dem standards!

[Torie]

Earthquakes kill very few if you live in a to code building.

[Wthrman13]

Good deal.

[Torie]

I wasn't exaggerating was I? I always try to tell it straight, but this one is so hard to believe.

[OKIEDOC]

Democrats get what they vote for.

It's the new Democrat party.

Lies are norm for the day.

Tell the people what ever it is they polls say is safe to say.

[Mad_Tom_Rackham]

As an occasional latecomer, I had become irritated that I was prevented from responding to Freepers on the earlier (locked) threads. I still see this as a problem. But not nearly as severe a problem as that which faces the good people of New Orleans and Western Florida. I appreciate your earlier post(s) and diligence. Best Regards, Tom

[Revel]

Sounds like you are having a bad time. I hope things get better. I noticed you signed up to FR one day before me. That was kind of neat to see. It is not hard to guess how you found FR and what event brought you here.

[Frank_2001]

LOL!

[MplsSteve]

Maybe the mayor needs to get on local radio/TV and say

"You know - I can't order a mandatory evac - but if you decide NOT to evacuate, you are on your own. You stand a really good chance of dying. And if you don't die, I can't promise if and/or when the city will be able to rescue you. Therefore, I encourage you to evacuate for your own good and that of the city of New Orleans".

Screw the lawyers at this point. Lay it on the line.

[alancarp]

(2) the possibility of the Mississippi River being pushed backwards, with heavy flooding at the points where the stoppage occurs
What effect would that have, on people as far up as Baton Rouge?

I am betting on "none": Red Stick is what, 70-80 miles NNW of the expected hit spot? Any river push back would be localized to the area within, oh (guessing) 10-15 miles of the center. This is a bit of uncharted terriotory, but the river heads NW from NO and that's a good direction for the capital.

[toldyou]

"I was watching WWL a little while ago and they were interviewing Houma residents. They were having a shrimp boil and said they weren't going to leave. It is so sad. They've never had a cat 4 storm down there and they don't know what they're facing."

I have a great respect for Mother Nature! I'm in NJ, and several years ago, I was going to be gone from my home for "15 minutes" to pick up my daughter. It was a bright and sunny day! After I picked her up, a tornado, with rains occured. Certainly I wasn't watching the weather channel, or else I might have known about it (I'm assuming.) There were winds, and on the way home, huge trees fell over the streets, which blocked our way. Turning around, and finding another route, back yards sheds were blowing across the road. When I dodged those, and thought I was almost home, the road was flooded!
It was a nightmare! That day I decided that you can't take the weather for granted!

I hope and pray that the people in the path of this storm realize the danger.

[Knitting A Conundrum]

Used to walk by the Cemeteries every day on my way to work....now I live across the street from a western one, and I wonder where all the little white mausoleums are....headstones just don't look right to me...

[Termite_Commander]

Does anyone know when we might expect any kind of new data out of the storm besides the 2 AM advisory? Perhaps one of those Vortex updates.

On a side note; TWC reporting eyewall replacement cycle just completed. The eye's very clearly defined on IR satellite.

[spycatcher]

[STARWISE]

OMG -- waves at 34 feet!

[sonsofliberty2000]

But that might hurt someones feelings and cause a person to feel blue and alone. The mayor needs to go on TV and say something to the effect that the hurricane has infringed everyones personal belief systems, but if they want to leave they can, but he won't force them. If he throws in blame on Bush he may also get to be Democrat Chairman next year.

[Crazieman]

Visible eye now

[Flux Capacitor]

Think about that for a minute. You're asking a Democrat politician to go before the people and tell them that they need to take PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY for their own lives and that the government may not be able to do anything for them.

-Dan

[NautiNurse]

As far as I know, this was the first time a prior thread was locked. If it happened before, I didn't know about it. The 1000 post limit was requested by FReepers in the path of the storm. They are the reason these threads exist.