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

[Robert A Cook PE]

Boarding windows into brick:

Best way: Drill 1/2" dia holes into the brick for lead anchors tat fit 5/16 screws/lag bolts. Use 2" (or longer lead anchors), 1-1/2 -> 2-1/2" long lag bolts or screws: space obviously at every corner and 18-24" between corners. Closer if you can more lag bolts and anchors: Don't try plastic anchors (wallboard type) but other brick/concrete/mortar anchoring systems can work also. These lag bolts hold the plywood into the brick. reinforce edges of plywood and centers with cross boards, if you can.

Not as good: Cut plywood to it INSIDE the window opening in the brick, then nail plywood into the wood spacers around the window. Definitely NOT as strong as anchoring into brick, but it may hold. Better than nothing at all across the windows certainly.

Consider likely wind direction based on eye passing by: Will the strongest winds come from west, north, east, northeast? Few people will actually get winds from all over as the eye isn't very big (on average) but hurricanes move: so predicting the eye is a guessing game anyway. Try to reinforce the windows on the most likely side of high winds, but remember spray and twists and gusts will pound all sides of a building.

(Xena checks bells and tiara again, decides to nail new hubby. (Er, nail new hubby down. Again.)

[SouthTexas]

Between Victoria and Corpus, Refugio Co.

We have the freezer full, as full as can be, with clean milk jugs filled with water. Will hold the cold and you can drink it if needed. Duh. Now more?LOL

[WoodstockCat]

For Al Gore: Carla '61, Betsy '65, Camille '69, what Protocol did we not sign to get those storms?

[MikefromOhio]

she is probably ok...

she needs to make sure she has at least 4 days worth of supplies....

[hobson]

I found D's at Dollar Tree after going to Lowes, Home Depot, Walgreens and Kroger.

[Sprite518]

Very Scary.... I do not know why some people do not think this will not be a Cat 5... The water in the Gulf is very Warm. People in the strike zone need to bolt... Perhaps tomorrow morning would be a good time to hit the road..

[WoodstockCat]

Heads Up on Weather Channel: Comparison coming on Rita vs. Katrina..Cantore hosting should seperate any hype from fact.

[Howlin]

Will you put your location in your tagline?

[Battle Hymn of the Republic]

You should be nervous,

Seriously, this has proved that we can't rely on anyone to protect us. Not the feds, state, or local govt... it is up to us. Unfortunately, there is no utopia and there are many bad apples.

[NTegraT]

Yikes, from what I understand, rooms are gone in San Antonio, Austin, don't wait to find them one.

[CindyDawg]

I don't anticipate ever flooding but the next time we re-roof I'm thinking about a hinged door. (I haven't felt comfortable broaching this to my husband yet but I will when the time is right:') Also putting some supplies/tools in the attic if you are going to stay might not be a bad idea either.

[rwfromkansas]

Wow. I have been busy putting the college paper to bed, but my word, they are saying it may be a cat 4 now. Yikes!

I had no idea it got so strong today.

[Howlin]

Don't we wish; my niece picked this weekend to move!

[Dog Gone]

Be safe Dog Gone. Maybe you could join your wife at the hospital. Might be safer there. They would probably be looking for volunteers to help with patients evacuated from other hospitals.

Perhaps not a bad idea. This is just going to be a play it be ear situation. Fortunately, her hospital is less than five miles from our home. I could walk there if I had to.

[Syntyr]

"that's what i got but i just thought it was a t-mobile thing"

Not AT&T/Cingular, and Sprint are reporting heavier traffic.

[JWojack]

Yeah, I'm not saying it would be good for it to hit NO, but if it's already destroyed...

And remember that Katrina missed NO by something like 100 miles.

It's my understanding that the Houston has a lot more oil infrastructure than the NO area.

[4everontheRight]

My family is on the coast as well...spread from Long Beach to Waveland and I could not agree with you more!!! I tried to watch the Saints game last night and could not take anymore NO talk...no mention of Mississippi at all! For the first time in my life, I turned off a Saints game for pure disgust (other then the hundred or so times I turned it off before I tried to kill someone!)

[OC_Steve]

They actually put out that notice? The panic will start tomorrow. It was a frenzy until now. I was hoping the panic would be delayed until we got a higher certainty of landfall. Well, crap. Rita is going to be memorable around here even it hits Mexico.

I was amazed at how bad it was at the store today. I posted a few minutes ago that a guy was absolutely frantic that he could not find D batteries. Once the evacs start it will be bedlam around here. I figure the commute home tomorrow will be bad.

I do have an open question, does anyone know how the evacuation will work on Highway 6? Do they basically close it and do outflow all the way up to 290?

[Sam Cree]

Ch 7 "News" reporters were just telling everyone that Governor Jeb was really on the ball with Rita after watching the debacle of Katrina and NO. They conveniently forgot to mention that Jeb handled 2 cat 4's last season in FL with no problem at all, and 2 cat 2's. That he didn't need to watch how someone else did it. That he already knows how to be a governor.

It may come as a surprise to liberals, but many people who live in coastal areas understand very well what a hurricane can do and how to prepare for it.

[SE Mom]

Here's an interesting reply to your question:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1487815/posts