Hurricane Katrina Live Thread, Part VII

NOAA - NHC ^ | 28 August 2005 | NOAA - NHC

[NautiNurse]

Extremely dangerous Hurricane Katrina is bearing down on the North Central Gulf of Mexico and New Orleans metro area. New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin conceded that as many as 100,000 inner-city residents didn't have the means to leave and an untold number of tourists were stranded by the closing of the airport. At this hour, people are still filing into the Superdome after security screening for weapons and contraband. National Guard have brought in 360,000 MRE (meals ready to eat) to feed the estimated 30,000 storm refugees in the Superdome.

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

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:

Fully-linked version of the live feeds (just in case a few people don't want to first open up WMP to cut-and-paste) -

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
WKRG-TV/DT

Mobile (WMP) - mms://wmbcast.mgeneral.speedera.net/wmbcast

.mgeneral/wmbcast_mgeneral_aug262005_1435_95518 WDSU-TV/DT New Orleans via WESH-TV/DT Orlando - http://mfile.akamai.com/12912/live/reflector:38843.asx

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

[Sidebar Moderator]

Oh good. It's probably because I borrowed the Admin Mod's badge polish.

[newzjunkey]

what makes the super dome so safe?

Engineer's hubris. You know, like the Space Shuttle and WTC. No, seriously, the Superdome is not below sea level so it should be relatively safe from flooding. Honestly, they're guessing whether it'll be sufficient. There is a reason it is *not* being called a "shelter" by the officials but rather a "destination of last resort." They're very careful about that.

Supposedly the roofing has been replaced (the panels, not the coating) recently. There are outdated wind data profiles but since they don't exactly have time to dream up an alternative.

[MplsSteve]

"Eyewall replacement lasted 20 minutes according to Channel 2."

Damn, that's pretty fast, isn't it? I recall hearing earlier today (and yesterday) that eyewall replacement took several hours.

On the face of it, this doesn't sound good at all.

[Howlin]

No, we're talking about a mayor who is a simpleton and can't put two sentences together in a row.

He could barely read his OWN order today for the evacuation; and yesterday he actually said he didn't KNOW if he could order a mass evacuation.

Anybody who doesn't know that, shouldn't be the MAYOR of any city, much less New Orleans.

He's going to get blamed because he did NOT KNOW WHAT TO DO during the storm of the century.

[Mjaye]

There are a whole lot of children in the Superdome, you know. Are they undeserving idiots, too?<<<<<<<

Of course not. But if I had small kids there is nothing that would have stopped me from getting out of Dodge one way or another when I heard of the impending storm coming. Too many of these people interviewed had other choices but chose to stay too long then got stuck, kids and all. Let the gov't help the sick, elderly and truly helpless people; some of these folks could have left on their own early on. God help them all to make it through.

[JennysCool]

Prayers for you, Prime!

[CindyDawg]

That's a heck of a lot of people to not be sure. It's too late now and they have to put them somewhere though.

[aft_lizard]

A few years ago in SW Kansas a storm bl;ew in that dropped the temps from the 70's to low 20's in a matter of minutes with wind gusts of 90mph, and semi-trailers were ripped off the highways, me and my van however were able to drudge along at about 45 mph and managed to stay upright. Of course we were used to high winds in SW Kansas.

[bonfire]

Ya just gotta love Rudy for that! That was something I'll never forget.

They don't make em' like Rudy anymore.

[aaCharley]

Sorry, but I just think that in the case of natural disasters a government is supposed to plan for the safety of all of its citizens, not just the smart ones and the ones who own cars. There are a whole lot of children in the Superdome, you know. Are they undeserving idiots, too?

---

The fact that some children have parents who do not make good decisions is not something that the mayor or the govenor can be now held responsible for reversing. Further, your idea that the mayor or govenor should have had a plan to evacuate this city within 48 hours is hyperventilating nonsense. Some people will not leave. And should have the right to stay, even if you believe it nutty.

[pnz1]

Heard they have ceased emergency services and told personnel to go to shelters.

[Flux Capacitor]

----Why do I get the feeling we have some Dems on this thread? Cannot feature anyone else defending the Mayor.----

I'd be surprised.... but if you're praying for New Orleans, as most good Freepers have been, you're praying for a whoooooooole lot of Democrats. Louisiana is still a blue state.

-Dan

[Carolinamom]

Cynthia McKinney took the money.

[TypeZoNegative]

Hey, can you give me the feed to that TV station in NO?

[Hillarys Gate Cult]

Don't forget to put Japan on the list. They always come through with help and money even though the media rarely reports it.

[TheSpottedOwl]

It'd be worse if it was orange. I don't see how much worse it could be. Here's what I made as one of the desserts last Christmas. I used a simple cheesecake recipe, and baked it in a foil lined, rectangular pan. Then I made a topping out of unflavored gelatin, cranberry juice, and a can of whole cranberries. The tartness of the cranberries cuts the sweetness of the cheesecake. It came out pretty good.

[Chena]

Maybe Maybe not ;0)

Shoot, there goes my "milk money". :(

[Tiger Smack]

"You guys defending this Mayor amaze me -- he had NO plan and without being forced by the President's announcement not sure he would ordered evacuation. I have heard him several times during the day and think less of him everytime. Too much of this is not going to hit New Orleans by this Mayor to suit me."

Well I will defend the mayor because the previous mayor...mayor Morial was a crook! Secondly, the other night before going to bed katrina was a cat 3 and then this morning its a Cat 5! That wasnt expected. Also, how do you prepare a plan for a once in a century hurricane for a city that is BELOW sea level? Simple, you cant. Thats like complaing about the mayor of Los Angeles when a 10.0 earthquake strikes Los Angeles.