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

[de Buillion]

"I wonder if they've revised the sea level for Houston since I was in school several decades ago. Back then they taught us Houston was 6-10 feet below sea level."

I remember rumors/ herbal legends that during the big Alaska earthquake, Houston ROSE six inches, and a friend swore that he felt it while driving- in Louisiana!

[cgk]

From the looks of this one, I'm sending more prayers.

[rdl6989]

Yep. Fox News says Bourbon Street parties on:

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,167242,00.html

[de Buillion]

God bless Elvira- what happened to her?

[TomGuy]

Live traffic shot:

[MSCASEY]

Thank you I am glad you see it! It gave me a sense a peace!

When the pictures came out and the one had a demonic looking one lower in the building up in the clouds a much bigger profile appeared. As I said "He was there for His"

Fear Not!

MCD

Are you a believer? Just curious!

[cgk]

Wow. That "only hurricanes here are the ones we're drinking" comment. That's like... deep.
Who ARE those people?!

[BurbankKarl]

From Frisco!

[Prophet in the wilderness]

what was it ? I did see some kind of eye that looks like a horses eye near Florida.

[janetjanet998]

just took a nap and i am back...th only thing we can hope for is eyewll replacement cycles...which could weaken it back to "only" cat 3 for a while and hopefully that will be as it moves onshore...hurricne allen went from a Cat 5 to three several times doing that

[Flux Capacitor]

----Who ARE those people?!----

Bait.

-Dan

[NormsRevenge]

FRom AP not too long a go.

---

Officials urge La. residents to evacuate

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20050828/ap_on_re_us/hurricane_katrina_1

By MARY FOSTER, Associated Press Writer


NEW ORLEANS (AP) - Residents in south Louisiana jammed freeways in a rush to get out of the way of hurricane Katrina, but officials worried that not enough people were taking the monster Category 4 storm seriously enough.

"People need to take this very seriously and get to a safe area while they can," said State Police Sgt. Frank Coates.

By Saturday evening, Mayor C. Ray Nagin was visiting New Orleans television stations and urging people to leave - just hours before Katrina strengthened early Sunday to Category 4 with winds of 145 mph.

Katrina was expected to hit the Gulf Coast early Monday and a hurricane warning was in effect from Morgan City to the Alabama-Florida border.

"I've been here 33 years, and we've always been concerned about New Orleans," said National Hurricane Center director Max Mayfield. "I had to let the mayor know that this storm has the potential not only to cause large property damage, but large loss of life if people don't make the right decision."

Mayfield said Katrina could be a disaster for New Orleans because the bowl-like city sits below sea-level and is dependent on levees and pumps to keep the water out.

"You could very well be looking at a storm surge of 15 to 20 feet, possible 25 feet," he said. "If that water breaches the levees it will take forever to drain it back out.

President Bush declared a state of emergency in Louisiana, and his spokesman urged residents along the coast to heed authorities' advice to evacuate. Nagin was exploring the idea of ordering a mandatory evacuation.

"At this juncture, all we can do is pray it doesn't come this way and tear us up," said Jeannette Ruboyianes, owner of the Day Dream Inn at Grand Isle, Louisiana's only inhabited barrier island.

The storm formed in the Bahamas and ripped across South Florida on Thursday, causing nine deaths, before moving into the Gulf of Mexico. It was expected to grow in strength over the gulf because surface water temperatures were as high as 90 degrees - high-octane fuel for hurricanes.

Nagin said he spoke to a forecaster at the hurricane center who told him that "this is the storm New Orleans has feared these many years."

"Ladies and gentlemen, this is not a test. This is the real deal," he warned. "Board up your homes, make sure you have enough medicine, make sure the car has enough gas. Do all things you normally do for a hurricane but treat this one differently because it is pointed towards New Orleans."

Making matters worse, at least 100,000 people in the city lack the transportation to get out of town. Nagin said the Superdome might be used as a shelter of last resort for people who have no cars, with city bus pick-up points around New Orleans.

"I know they're saying 'Get out of town,' but I don't have any way to get out," said Hattie Johns, 74. "If you don't have no money, you can't go."

Owners of gas stations in and around New Orleans were forced to direct traffic as lines to the pumps stretched down surrounding streets. Gas stations were running low on gas by midafternoon Saturday.

"I was in line at the bank for an hour and have been waiting for gas for 30 minutes," said John Sullivan. "If it's anything like they say its going to be, we don't want to be anywhere close to the city."

Louisiana and Mississippi made all lanes northbound on interstate highways. Mississippi declared a state of emergency and Alabama offered assistance to its neighbors. Some motels as far inland as Jackson, Miss., 150 miles north of New Orleans, were already booked up.

By 2 a.m. EDT Sunday, the eye of the hurricane was about 310 miles south-southeast of the mouth of the Mississippi River. It was moving west-northwest at about 8 mph and was expected to turn more to the northwest during the day, the hurricane center said.

"We know that we're going to take the brunt of it," Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco said. "It does not bode well for southeastern Louisiana."

Some tourists heeded the warnings and moved up their departures, and lines of tourists waited for cabs on New Orleans' famed Bourbon Street.

"The problem is getting a taxi to the airport. There aren't any," said Brian Katz, a salesman from New York.

But plenty of people in the French Quarter stayed put, and bars were rocking Saturday night.

"The only dangerous hurricanes so far are the ones we've been drinking," said Fred Wilson of San Francisco, as he sipped on the famous drink at Pat O'Brien's Bar. "We can't get out, so we might as well have fun."

New Orleans' worst hurricane disaster happened 40 years ago, when Hurricane Betsy blasted the Gulf Coast. Flood waters approached 20 feet in some areas, fishing villages were flattened, and the storm surge left almost half of New Orleans under water and 60,000 residents homeless. Seventy-four people died in Louisiana, Mississippi and Florida.

Katrina was a Category 1 storm with 80 mph wind when it hit South Florida on Thursday, and rainfall was estimated at up to 20 inches. Risk modeling companies have said early estimates of insured damage range from $600 million to $2 billion.

Nine people were killed in Florida, including two people discovered Saturday in their home after suffering apparent carbon monoxide poisoning from a generator. Utility crews were working to restore power to about 700,000 customers, down from more than 1 million. Florida has been hit by six hurricanes since last August.

Katrina is the 11th named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season, which began June 1. That's seven more than typically have formed by now in the Atlantic, Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico, the hurricane center said. The season ends Nov. 30.

[yield 2 the right]

Prayer bump.

[de Buillion]

Ive been seeing shots like this all day (yesterday) with a few cars on the other lane- and have been hearing contraflow is in effect? Is that lone idiot going the wrong way, or a cop blocking traffic?

[buickmackane]

The Alexandria Town Talk is continuing to update its online coverage of evacuees heading for Central Louisiana at this link:

http://www.thetowntalk.com/apps/pbcs.dll/frontpage

As I said in my previous post on this thread, if you are evacuating, please do NOT head up I-49 toward Alexandria or Shreveport unless you have confirmed hotel reservations. It's already been reported that all lodging is already sold out for the next several days in both Alexandria/Pineville and Shreveport/Bossier City. Price gouging has been observed at Alexandria area hotels according to the updated news report. Evacuees are being redirected to hotels in Texas and Arkansas instead.

I'm going to sleep now, but again I send my prayers to everyone in Katrina's path. Pleasant dreams, y'all!

[MSCASEY]

Yes, I do see that but I am not familiar with hurricanes. I lived through Northridge and now I live in Idaho! Take one more look Florida is the hair it is a profile looking down! My daughter just came up and I had to get something out of her eye after that I showed her the picture and asked if she saw anything in that area, she saw the profile!

Ms. Caseys Daughter

[cgk]

Double LOL. Thanks.

Okay... now are the areas to the far east on this map MORE storms coming?

[Prophet in the wilderness]

ok, the more I look at it, I see 2 eyes looking at you, one in the gulf, and the other eye near Tampa, looks like a baby cub tiger or lion.

[rdl6989]

"who are those people?"

Drunks at a hurricane party. I fear for those people.

[Crazieman]

The one just above lattitude 10 is in a favorable environment.

The one above lattitude 20 is experiencing tremendous windshear (the clouds ripped off that sucker extend into Europe) and will likely not survive for much longer. Admittedly it has shown surprising resiliance.