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

[jeffers]

Do you have a landfall position for the Galveston storm?

[MamaB]

I have been watching KHOU and a mayor--Galveston ?-had a news conference.

[blam]

"Is this not the case? Is there a pool of cooler water right before landfall? "

I saw a map yesterday that showed a temperature of 85 degrees at the coast and that temperature goes way out into the GOM. The hurricane, at that time, was in 90 degree waters, way out in the GOM.

[KC Burke]

I have been reading up on the history of Camille and almost hate to post one of the items from this '61 storm of similar size and impact...but it needs to be said.

Camille had a whole flock of tornados crossing all the Texas area inland from the coast that accompanied it whole storm width. That occuring while the storm passes with them popping up in numbers to large for any ample warning, all need to get in very secure buildings and shelters as even if they are far from the Gulf itself, and on high ground from storm serge, AND off the direct path of the eye, this is an important issue. I read one account of over 75 spawned as Camille came through.

I hope that I am an alarmist, but I hate to research without reporting.

[My Favorite Headache]

Temps along the Texas coast are between 85.7 and 87.6 degrees. Enough to hold a CAT 4.

[steveegg]

Thanks (I think) :-)

Plugging in extremes for the seconds, that gives 11 to 13 miles distance at 282 to 290 degrees bearing. If the times were right, she just slowed down a lot.

[Dog Gone]

Are you going to get the dog?

I hope not. My wife was interrupted by something and had to call back which gave me time to think about it.

I told her to tell the co-worker that I'm in a very precarious situation and an additional dog would make it even more dangerous for me and her dog.

To make things worse, hospital workers are just announcing that they aren't coming in, period. They're abandoning their jobs and leaving tonight or tomorrow morning.

I can see where this is heading. My wife is going to be at the hospital 24 hours a day over the weekend trying to keep patients alive, and I'll be here trying to defend a house and some pets. We won't be able to communicate. She won't know whether I'm dead or vice versa. Actually, I know she'd be fine there, but it's going to be more dicey here.

This is really shaping up to be the crappiest weekend of my entire life, finally eclipsing my high school prom, lol.

[Strategerist]

The exact center of the 1900 storm seems to have passed between Red Fish Cove and Terramar Beach.

[sheikdetailfeather]

Pointing his finger.."YOU ARE STUCK ON STUPID!" (Gen. Honore)

[watchwoman]

Just saw breaking news on the Corpus Christi Caller Times website that mandatory evacuations will be called there this evening.

[SE Mom]

If the 82nd feels about him anything like the 101st does...he better hope they're not..:)

[laz]

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

I assume from your screen name you live in Burbank. I lived there from '87 to 2002, near Magnolia and Buena Vista. From 2002 to 2004, I lived in Glendale. Then I moved to Miami. I think I prefer worrying about the Big One than these hurricanes.

[colorado tanker]

I love Santa Fe for the ambiance, food, architecture and the galleries. I just don't let the locals get to me.

[John Jamieson]

29.531 inches of mercury = 1000 millibars = 1 bar = normal atmospheric pressure.

[newzjunkey]

Whoa! Cat 5 now? W just can't catch a break.

Will be up and freeping for 'landfall'.

[nwctwx]

She has actually been going over cooler water left from Katrina most of the day... still warm, but 'cooler' than the rest of the GOM. She's into some very warm stuff now though.

https://128.160.23.54/products/K10/caribbeank10.gif

Heat potential is lower nearer the TX coast, I think this has a lot to do with water depth and heat below the surface. If she is moving fast, it won't matter too much. She will be over very high heat potential for another 24 hours... this is why I think we see winds top around 180-190mph.

http://www.aoml.noaa.gov/phod/dataphod1/work/HHP/NEW/2005263go.jpg

Anomalies are warmer than normal at the TX coast.

https://www.fnmoc.navy.mil/products/NCODA/US058VMET-GIFwxg.NCODA.glbl_sstanomaly.gif

Potential is there, and maybe even possible that we see strengthening right near the coast.

http://wxmaps.org/pix/atlpot.png

[maquiladora]

Something we must all keep in mind. Rita is growing stronger now, but it will start to weaken again. But there is a chance that this is happening a little too soon. She will have a chance to begin to strengthen again like this before making landfall.

[silentknight]

GPS dropsonde measured a 180KNT wind at 908MB on 050921/2000. That's a sustained wind of 207 MPH

[lsee]

If you get desperate, please start calling area churches and YMCA's in the cities you're considering fleeing to...Some will very likely be opening as emergency shelters. Also, call the Red Cross and ask for shelter referral. We are leaving Houston in the morning.

[numberonepal]

I think some were never fixed from Katrina.
Maybe this was this one?

Ivan killed 42003. I miss 42003.