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

[rwfromkansas]

over at easternwx, more people are saying this will hit east of NO, near Gulfport.

I guess we will see.

[Diddle E. Squat]

Yep, everything I've read supports that.

[NautiNurse]

Visible--very visible eye now. She's a monster

[bannie]

The weather channel said that they're less than an hour away from an update. They said this within the last 10 minutes.

[Prophet in the wilderness]

Has this ever been seen before in the US of animals leaving the area for higher ground ? if not ? then ? this is unprecedented in our modern times, and if this evidence of these animals leaving this something very terrible is about to happen with this Hurricane.
If those people are to stupid to leave and have their unfathomable stupid " Hurricane Parties " then, they are in for a rude awakening.
I was watching on TV a few days ago before this storm was about to hit Florida, and they had some Rap singer ( I think P-diddy ) on, and he said, we are still going on with the show in spite of the hurricane.
How arrogant and plain stupid to defy the strength of a hurricane.
A hurricane or tornado with defiantly put the fear of God in you.

[sonsofliberty2000]

Absolutely breathtaking.

[blam]

"Katrina should become a Category 4 hurricane Sunday and could even reach Category 5 intensity before Monday morning. "

Holy Moly!

[PAR35]

I think there's a chemical plant quite close to NO

There are dozens of chemical plants and toxic waste sites in the area. They pretty much line both sides of the river all the way to Baton Rouge.

[NautiNurse]

Are they the same people that bet their midwest farms it was headed for New Orleans two days ago?

[buickmackane]

For those of you who will be evacuating, please don't plan on coming to Alexandria/Pineville without advance reservations. Hotel desk clerks are diverting guests to Texas and Arkansas because the Shreveport/Bossier City hotels are reportedly full, too. See this link from the Alexandria Town Talk, which is updating its site with breaking news coverage:

http://www.thetowntalk.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050827/NEWS05/50827020

In Pineville, business is very brisk at gas stations even at this late hour, and the Wal-Mart SuperCenter's bottled water shelves are nearly empty.

Prayers to everyone affected by the storm.

[AntiGuv]

I'm still guessing about at the Mississippi/Alabama border and I'm sticking to it! Not that I really know anything much about hurricanes, other than that Hugo and Fran both dropped trees on me. =)

[alancarp]

It sure could. And there's at least one Accuweather forecaster thinking that the slow speed will allow for a move to the NNE late tomor... uh, today (Sunday). So while we're focusing (too much?) on the Big Easy, I would be leaving if I lived anywhere between there and Mobile.

[Heatseeker]

The mayor better hope it goes east or west and things turn out OK - otherwise he may well be held responsible for a huge loss of life.

At times like this, the job of a politician is to tell the lawyers to go **** themselves; and do what must be done to protect life.

[MplsSteve]

Flux-

You're right. It is a reach.

But if has any brains, he better lay it on the line now.

[mabelkitty]

Well, Sen. Landrieu, how nice of you to place the NG in the middle of NO so they could drown.

[Torie]

I found the chemical plants much more interesting than the antebellum mansions driving up the river. Those chemical plants are erector set monsters.

[ImphClinton]

Would be the first Cat 5 since the scale was invented to hit the US. At least that is what I seem to remember.

[Diddle E. Squat]

Yeah, I just learned today that the weakest link is the levees on the west side of the city/metro, and the most likely first breach is water coming east from the Bonne Carre Spillway that lies between the SW corner of Lake Pontchartrain and the Mississippi River. If you look at a map, that is the area approx. between where I-10 and I-55 connect and the I-310 interchange.

[NautiNurse]

blam--this storm is truly a monster. If you haven't looked in the past hour, check out the satellite presentation.

[CajunConservative]

Well I have been letting my liberal friends and family know just how stupid and incompetent Blanko has been in this. It's up to us to make dang sure that the truth does not get skewered here. I can promise you if Jindhal had been elected we would not be having this discussion. Sure we would be talking about the storm and the flooding but there would be something done in getting people out of harms way in an efficient and orderly manner.

We need to keep this in mind that dumb democrat women should NEVER ever be elected in critical leadership positions. Yes, I'm thinking what would happen if shrillary managed a coup. She's not that bright either.