Hurricane Rita Live Thread

NHC - NOAA ^ | 20 September 2005 | NHC - NOAA

[NautiNurse]

Hurricane Rita is in the Florida Straits, impacting the Florida Keys and South Florida Peninsula. Hurricane watches and warnings are in effect for numerous portions of South Florida. Check local weather statements for updates.

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

Rita Forecast Track Archive
Forecast Models
Buoy Data SE Florida
Current Weather Warnings and Watches for Florida

Images:

Storm Floater IR Loop
Visible Storm Floater Still (only visible during daylight hours)
Color Enhanced Atlantic Loop
Florida Radar/Sat Loop Caution: Broadband users only
Extra Large Miami Radar Broadband only
Extra Large Key West Radar Broadband only
Miami Long Range Radar Loop
Key West Long Range Radar Loop
Miami Experimental Radar Still Image
Key West Experimental Radar Still Image

Streaming Video: (coverage may be intermittent)

WTVJ-TV/DT Miami (NBC6)
WFOR-TV/DT Miami (CBS 4)
WSVN-TV/DT Miami (Fox)

Other Resources:

Florida East Coast Surf Reports Lots of great info here, including surf cams
Central Florida Hurricane Center
Hurricane City

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

Previous Threads:
Tropical Storm Rita
Tropical Depression 18

[CindyDawg]

But I thought you were supposed to let prisoners go, during storms.

[johnb838]

I don't know if I'm going to leave. :( I don't have anywhere to go.

[WhyisaTexasgirlinPA]

No animals so it is kind of a waste of money for me to visit a vet........;^)

[MEG33]

They are clearing out the shelves.
http://www.khou.com/

Just posting the link..

We are packing bags just in case..We have plenty of stuff for the animals..but missed out on the extra batteries..We have bottled water galore, drawing up extra water..Emergency food..some sources for light other than batteries..We are leaving after the storm even if the storm doesn't hit us hard if there is going to be a long power outage..

Decision to leave will depend on the news tomorrow. The car ride will be interesting with 3 adult cats and 5 kittens.

[WhyisaTexasgirlinPA]

Well the neighbor in the two story house to the side of me says they are staying and he's not worried.......which is a sure sign MY house will get hit by something from his house...........:^)

[Sally'sConcerns]

I'm being the eyes and ears for my son since he's located in SW Houston. I'll have him go up to Lake Livingston to hang out with his Dad.

So, I guess in a way I'm prepping for the storm. :^)

I'm also talking to my sister who lives in Houston but she's got some experience with hurricanes so I don't have to give her the headsup.

[johnb838]

I think that's a bad idea. Then they prey on the helpless refurgees in the aftermath, not to mention looting.

[GRRRRR]

Kerry ate dinner while PRESIDENT Bush spoke...

Efin'Skerry...did ya know he was in Cambodia for the Holidays?

I'm so glad "W" is our President...all the livered liberals whould be peeing in their depends after all this...Faith in God and Country brings extraordinary COURAGE and INNER PEACE to our President in these trying times.

[Dog Gone]

I filled up my truck with gasoline on Saturday and it still reads full. I'm still going to top off tomorrow because if we lose power, we lose the ability to pump gasoline.

In the worst case scenario, I want to be able to drive out of the affected area which might be rather large.

This storm is currently forecast to come ashore very close to the South Texas Project, the two nukes near Bay City. While the nukes themselves should be okay (not sure of the storm surge potential, though), the transmission lines from it could be snapped. That would have repercussions as far west as San Antonio.

[Types_with_Fist]

I like his stuck on stupid, and his "Over"

Yes. LOL! The "over" is cute. I'm just semi-serious about the "stuck on stupid." If you like it, that's okay with me...:-)

[WhyisaTexasgirlinPA]

Thanks so much - that is exactly what I needed to hear!

[shield]

Doc Frank...has percentages on likely hits by Rita...13% Galveston...11% Matagorda...12% LA/TX Border...11% CC...11% Brownsville

He's as unsure as all the models are...

[WhyisaTexasgirlinPA]

Oh great just what we need - more prisoners!

[rodguy911]

One of the stations did a huge 5-6 minute live spot in Islamorada at MM 74 this afternoon about how bad the debris was on US one. Advising motorists to stay off the road and nto go anywhere near.
Channel 7 just annoucned it's been clearded and is open.

[SouthTexas]

Saw your post, but guess you can't answer from one thread to the next.

I think ya'll are safe. Going in north of us, but Claudette did that two years ago and then turned south once on land.

Wife actually bought water today. First time for everything. Don't know what's wrong with that stuff that comes out of the faucet!

[CindyDawg]

I was being sarcastic. This was probably one of the stupidest things LA did. How many of the victims were harmed or killed by these criminals. How many are now roaming Houston?

[bwteim]

http://meted.ucar.edu/hurrican/strike/orig/danger.swf

According to this site, "a storm's winds typically decrease 50% after 12 hours of travel on land".

Let me translate that. a fast moving storm means trouble... and a slow mover means misery.... take your pick.

What are your local emergency people advising? (Assuming they are not Naginites)

[Dog Gone]

Thanks, cmsgop. I'm still holding out hope that I'll just get a light drizzle, and be able to watch college football on Saturday.

[Robert A Cook PE]

Wellllllllllll, technically speakin' there will ALWAYS be a maximum sustained winds from a hurricane - as long as there are any winds at all, some of the gusts will be above average, some will be below average, and some will be at the local maximum.

8<)

But, realistically speakin' - cause ah know you're worried (and rightfully so!) figure that the guesses are just about right.

As soon as the eye passes over the coastline, the winds will begin diminishing: Figure that they'll drop continuously as long as the storm stays over land: even crossing Florida in only 8-12 hours caused hurricanes to lose 20% or more force.

So if winds are 120 continuous at the coast for 3 hours, inland 50 miles later they'll may gust to 100 mph for only a 1-2 hours when the eye goes by; if they are 100 away from the eye for four hours: then that same area may get only 75-80 mph for two hours 50 miles inland.

Tree damage very common at sustained gusts over 80 and long power outages can be expected as lines are torn down by falling trees and falling poles. Flooding (in the Sugarland area - where my sister and SIL live) is likely ONLY if those lakes and flood plains overflow/break the dikes into the old rice fields north of I-10. Otherwise, flooding is not going to be too bad for too long.

At 60-80 mph many fewer trees are knocked over, but tornado damage in local areas is more obvious. "Most" (not all) modern houses can take 75 mph for a while with moderate damage. Poorly built/cheaply built modern houses start getting killed (losing whole roofs and walls!) at 75 mph, with complete damage at anything much over 100: That's what got Homestead in FL: poorly applied local building codes didn't require girder truss clamps and beam fasteners to the roof, so builders didn't add them to cheap houses, so roofs were completely blown away. THAT, in turn, meant the entire interior was destroyed by water and wind damage. Otehrwise, if the roof and walls had stayed, the inside could have been liveable after the storm went by.

[johnb838]

I figured you were, I was kind of playing along. You sort of have to give them some minimal protection because your responsible for them, but releasing them? That was insane over and above all the other insanity of those idiotas.