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

[JFC]

Cat 2 Now!

[laz]

She's ramping up fast, isn't she?

[LikeLight]

If it's a Cat 2 now, it's way ahead of schedule - might be the unpredicitable intensification mentioned in the last NHC discussion.

[WhyisaTexasgirlinPA]

Only if you're Mac Davis smartazz

[nwctwx]

Yup. Looks good, if you like big storms.

[JFC]

My local radio here in Texas said.. Houston might call for total evacuation. We are 9 hours north of Houston, (still in Texas) and they told us to prepare for more evacuees.

[jpsb]

Go where? Not a room for rent in all of Texas. Quess one could just start driving north and keep going until finding a room in Montana.

[samantha]

Mike on Dayside on Fox just reported Rita is now a Cat 2.

[nwctwx]

They had it as cat2 south of the Keys. Water is warmer there than in most of the GOM. It should have been expected. I was thinking 100-110mph was a sure bet by this point.

[NautiNurse]

tsk tsk...will forgive you this time...

;o)

[JFC]

West Texas is told to open up homes ect for South Texas displaced. Come on up... We got lots of wide open spaces out here in Lubbock.

[nwctwx]

smiling..

[No Blue States]

"THE UPPER RIDGE WILL BEGIN TO BREAK DOWN LATE IN THE WEEK AS A STRONG TROUGH DEVELOPS IN THE WEST AND RITA APPROACHES FROM THE EAST."

This is what is expected to let Rita go North.
Could you elaborate on this? Good to see you btw.

[KSApplePie_two]

I think by tonight she'll be a cat 3 with forward motion at 10-12 mph. then once she gets into 85 water temps in the gulf she'll hold steady. Don't think she'll ever make cat 5, but who knows. A cat 3 is bad enough!

[Dog Gone]

Cool. It went from a tropical storm to a Cat 2 in about six hours.

And nobody has offered a reason that I've seen why Rita should not continue strengthening.

I think Texas should just assume that it will get a Cat 4 storm in a little over three days.

[MplsSteve]

I've never been to Key West - but two winters ago, I spent several days in Marathon.

I found the keys to be enchanting. I really liked the place - although real estate prices looked like they were spiralling upwards.

Going across 7-Mile Bridge was a very interesting experience and walking around with Key deer was quite cool.

I always play the Lottery up here and I've told myself that if I win, I'm gonna buy a condo in Marathon - somewhere near Sombrero Beach Road.

[WoodstockCat]

so is 110 mph the max this storm can get if the GOM is cooler than for Katrina?

[numberonepal]

If it's a Cat 2 now, it's way ahead of schedule - might be the unpredicitable intensification mentioned in the last NHC discussion.

I still believe there was a small eye yesterday morning and last night and this morning was an ERC. She's bombing out now and will emerge with a very well defined eyewall. And as I guessed yesterday, don't be surprised if this comes of the tip of Cuber at 120 kt. As much as I hope I'm wrong, we may have another annular storm on our hands.

[NautiNurse]

Hurricane Rita Category 2, winds 100 mph

[foreverfree]

Where did the "Q" storm go? Did I miss it?

ff