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

[Howlin]

I know! I'm just thankful for FR for the facts.

I saw Mississippi; it looked like a bomb went off.

[Semper911]

my hubby wants to know how to board up windows on brick

Sorry no one has replied to you about this. I am trying to think of what you could do.

Drill in some anchors and use bolts? Or maybe liquid nails (construction glue)? Both are extreme measures. Maybe someone else has some ideas.

[Keith in Iowa]

>>>I had no idea it got so strong today.

It's not a Cat4...yet. And The accuweather guy, Joe Bastardi said on FoxNews that it will likely reach Cat5 before landfall as a Cat4.

[weef]

Hey - I've only been in Houston (actually The Woodlands) for 11 years and have never gone through one of these. Unfortunately I'm having a difficult time trying to convince people (the family, friends) that we need to bolt.

Right now it looks like the path will be about 125 miles to the west so we're on the bad side of the storm. I live in a forest of extremely tall pine trees that I can see coming down on my "now-I-can't-believe-how-many-windows-I-have" house. Also my town ran out of gas and propane (as far as I can tell) tonight but I was able to fill up both cars (I picked up all kinds of supplies last night).

Here's another delimma: I'm expected to drive to the Galleria tomorrow for work. Seems wrong to drive towards the people evacuating from Galveston doesn't it? And I'm wasting gas that would be used from evacuating! Man, lots to think about...

[RummyChick]

Freepers in the Zone should go out and get supplies tonight. Don't wait until tomorrow. The more people panic the worse it gets and the more shortages occur. Go to a 24 hour Walmart.

[Arrowhead1952]

That red circle in the center sure looks ugly. I've never seen that acceleration of a TC so fast. Not good for TX if it hits the coast.

[texas_brewer]

Got to get to Academy, I only have 200 rounds left of Heavy Dove! Looters will find Texas is heavily armed... Locked and loaded in The Woodlands. (lol)

[RDTF]

Ya know, talk about timing, I was just thinkin how Sheehan caught such a break in Crawford back when Katrina was going thru FLA and thousands went down there to stand up for the troops and it didn't get much coverage. Well now we have the big rally all weekend in DC this weekend, and guess what will occupy the news: Rita.

[Howlin]

But that's not what the MSM will say; when they should be saying that you all have LEARNED from your past experiences and PAY ATTENTION to the weather reports, they'll be saying that you were all freaked out by what happened in NO and overreacted.

[bmwcyle]

You'll miss all the fun when Jim Robinson rolls in.

[tjbravo]

Oh, we're leaving. No doubt about that. Just wondering what the "rules" say about coming back.

[sinkspur]

If anyone can get at least 200 miles North of where the best guess that the storm will be making landfall, please do so

That's Dallas. I-45 will be a parking lot going north, starting tomorrow. It would be wiser to hit I-10, then take the highway at Columbus (I forget the designation), go into Austin, then head up I-35.

I just checked Expedia. There are still lots of hotel rooms available in Fort Worth and Dallas. A large number of the evacuees have been moved into apartments, so the hotels are open, particularly in Fort Worth.

[lonestar]

I'm inland--but not far enough... approx 50-60 miles north of Port Arthur in Southeast TX ...about 15 miles west of the TX-LA line, or Sabine River.

[james_f_hall]

I knew that would happen. The same will happen in Texas with Rick Perry and our local leaders. Because of Katrina, blah blah blah. Anything to make a good response effort look like a fluke or lesson learned from Katrina that Nagin and Blanco just didn't have the luxury of. Just you watch. They will simultaneously absolve Nagin and Blanco and discredit anything Texas has or will be doing.

[CedarDave]

Went to Harris County Flood Control District but don't see it posted. Really need a link.

http://www.hcfcd.org/news.html

[Gabz]

Having worked in radio back in the days before 24/7 cable TV news - during storms or other emergency situations paying attention to the here and now was paramount....the comparisons could wait until later.

I can understand a small amount of comments regarding NO, only because this one is also headed to the gulf after hitting Flroida - however it was inexcusable last week when Ophelia was aiming at the EAST COAST.

OTOH maybe they know us east coasters are just as self reliant as you redneck cowboys :)

[Vermonter]

Tapcons are the way I do it

[SouthTexas]

thinking about a hinged door.

What is your elevation?

[WoodstockCat]

Cantore and Steve Lyons: "unlikely to be a category 4 at landfall, likely strong category 3..hard to get category 4 landfalls, the 4-5 strengthening usually only lasts for a day or day 1/2"

[pepperdog]

Oklahoma City is a long way to come, but we could take two people and two small dogs.