Update: Category 5 Hurricane Rita - Live Thread, Part II

NHC - NOAA ^ | 21 September 2005 | NHC - NOAA

[NautiNurse]

Category 3 Hurricane Rita became the fifth major hurricane of the 2005 season during the night. Hurricane Rita threaded the needle through the Florida Straits and moved into the Gulf of Mexico. Storm damage in the Florida Keys and South Florida Peninsula was light, with scattered power outages, scattered tornados, and mild to moderate flooding.

Mandatory evacuations are in effect for Galveston County TX and New Orleans. Additional evacuation orders in the Greater Houston Metropolitan Area are anticipated throughout the day.

Crude oil prices reacted as oil producers shut down and evacuated workers from platforms in the Gulf of Mexico.

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 Eastern Gulf of Mexico
Buoy Data Western Gulf of Mexico
Current Weather Warnings and Watches for Texas

Images:

Storm Floater IR Loop
GOM WV Loop
GOM IR Still Image
Visible Storm Floater Still (only visible during daylight hours)
Color Enhanced Atlantic Loop
Key West Long Range Radar Still Image

Streaming Video: (coverage may be intermittent)

KHOU-TV/DT Houston: mms://beloint.wm.llnwd.net/beloint_khou
WWLTV NOLA

Additional Resources:

Coastal TX Evacuation Maps
KHOU Houston
KTRK ABC News Houston
Hurricane City
Wxnation Houston

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:
Hurricane Rita Live Thread, Part I
Tropical Storm Rita
Tropical Depression 18

[Ditter]

I know you are right about Santa Fe. I made my first trip there in 1952, when I was 12. I love the place but the California freakos moved in and changed it, even the long time Santa Feans didn't like them. If they give me any lip I'll just tell them I have lots of ill gotten Republican money to spend and to get out of my way and let me spend it. LOL

[NautiNurse]

Are you going to get the dog?

[AliVeritas]

Indeed.

[truthandlife]

I am in the Cypress, TX (NW Houston) area. I have been here most of my life. I was here during Alicia and had a lot of tree damage.

I could have said this was going to be a category 5 quickly because I have never felt heat like this the past 4 weeks (even for Houston). It was over 100 degrees here in Houston. It is like gasoline in the gulf right now.

Being a Cat 5 and having 4 children with 1 on the way, we will probably be leaving early tomorrow morning for Boerne. I don't know if our house can take 110 mph winds and I am not going to find out.

If the path changes overnight we might stay.

We went to Wal Mart today and got $350 worth of groceries. I waited in line 2 hours for water and luckily got some. Some people were waiting for 4 hours for water. I went to 3 gas stations for gas without luck but finally found one. No propane tanks available and no ice.

Pray that Houston/Galveston will not get hit. Major population base and even Wall Street understands if we get hit, it will kill our economy. Houston is a major hub for our economy and the energy capital of the world.

[sissyjane]

I think your wife would want you and your pets to be safe. I know I would. I think you should leave.

[RummyChick]

For you experts, how does the possible landfall for this compare in severity to the 1900 Galveston hurricane in terms of the wind and then the storm surge?

[My Favorite Headache]

WTNT63 KNHC 212146
TCUAT3
HURRICANE RITA TROPICAL CYCLONE UPDATE
NWS TPC/NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER MIAMI FL
545 PM CDT WED SEP 21 2005
...RITA BECOMES THE FIFTH MOST INTENSE HURRICANE ON RECORD...

DROPSONDE DATA FROM AN AIR FORCE RESERVE UNIT RECONNAISSANCE
AIRCRAFT AT 416 PM CDT...2116Z...INDICATED THE CENTRAL PRESSURE HAS
FALLEN TO 904 MB...OR 26.69 INCHES. THIS MAKES RITA THE FIFTH MOST
INTENSE HURRICANE IN TERMS OF PRESSURE IN THE ATLANTIC BASIN.

RITA CURRENTLY RANKS BEHIND HURRICANE GILBERT IN 1988 WITH 888
MB...THE 1935 LABOR DAY HURRICANE WITH 892 MB...HURRICANE ALLEN IN
1980 WITH 899 MB...AND HURRICANE KATRINA LAST MONTH WITH 902 MB.

FORECASTER STEWART

[Syntyr]

You are NOT kidding!

Took me 2 hours to go 10 miles on surface streets! From the Galleria to Memorial. Cell Phones ar enow useless. I can only get a connection in about 1 out of 15 trys. My Email to my phone is poping just fine however. So I have resroted to that.

No money at any ATMs

and I saw one group of people in what appeared to be a fight at a Kroger gas station on the way home.

This is crazy!

[Ditter]

I am not familiar with Rio Rancho, where is it? What is it?

[SaveTheChief]

LOL. That's a post that even spell check wouldn't have been able to save. But speaking of Galveston and food, I do hope that Gaido's is somehow spared and able to open again.

[My Favorite Headache]

Identical if you ask me.

[Zacs Mom]

My husband left Galveston at a little after 1:30 PM - I just managed to get thru to him on the cell phone and he is just right now crossing the bridge into BAYTOWN!

[CedarDave]

When I lived there, I hated Texans. Now I'm five miles from being one!

(BTW -- horse racing starts Friday at Zia Park racetrack and casino in Hobbs; come and spend your money here instead of SF!)

[RummyChick]

There is the thought that someone who is out of the hot zone might be able to do something after it is over to help those that had to stay in the hotzone.

Tough decision.

It would seem to me that they would be evacuating patients and staff in some of these areas.

When is Geraldo landing in Galveston?

LOLOL

[BurbankKarl]

He is a looney left coast liberal...I have been wondering why he is my friend...

[Sprite518]

Man just get out of their.. Call your wife, ask her what she needs packed because you are coming by to get her. If the job makes her stay, then its not worth it... What is more important family or a job? I am sure she will not have trouble finding a job later.. Now go call her...

[BurbankKarl]

I would be scared too...she probably got all those Nagin emails the past 3 weeks...but they have performed 1000 percent better than N.O.

[sissyjane]

>>When is Geraldo landing in Galveston?

LOLOL<<

And I wonder if his 82nd Airborne buddies will be there to greet him.;>)

[ekwd]

What are the roads like heading NW towards Abilene and
Midland?

[Molly Pitcher]

Aren't you in a mandatory evac area?

I lived as a girl in LaMarque in the 50s - the oil industry heydey when my father worked in T.C.

Anyway, LaM...TC and League City are under mandatory evac.

I think the mandatory evac areas should be expanded since this storm has intensified...