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

[ekwd]

Plan on strong sustained winds.

[SE Mom]

If that holds it is a true disaster for Galveston.

[RummyChick]

Has anyone done a map of when Alicia hit or any of the other hurricanes like this one. It would be interesting to compare.
http://www.houstontx.gov/oem/c5ss.jpg

[numberonepal]

Here's a really fiery look at the temps in the Gulf.

[Dog Gone]

If the hospital is staying open you could stay there with her, instead of at your home. Volunteers are always needed.

I'll do that if Rita is a strong CAT 4 or more at landfall and I'm close to the eye. The house would probably be destroyed.

It would mean abandoning the pets.

[silentknight]

MONSTER

http://www5.wright-weather.com/bb/showthread.php?s=&postid=456205#post456205

[SE Mom]

Although it's completely off-topic...keep in mind how much China NEEDS the U.S.- whether we, or they, like it or not.

[NautiNurse]

New Thread

[meyer]

Anyone in Galveston is out of their mind to stay.

I agree - the wall may remain standing, but the water wall will be well above the sea barrier wall.

[No Blue States]

"They are now. You can't get out of town tonight. Complete gridlock and the stores are bare. Lines at the gas stations 20 cars deep."

I wont ask what you think tommorow will be like.

[blam]

"Blam, do you know if I-10 is passable down to Gulf Shores? My parents have a condo on Ft. Morgan Road and I'm thinking maybe we could head that way, but I don't know if we could make it from Houston."

I hear one westbound lane around Gautier and Pascagoula is out...If you come that way, go on I-12 at Baton Rouge and reconnect with I-10 at Slidell.

[Bubbette]

Give them to somebody coming close to Dallas and I'll take them!

[Alia]

60 foot waves ? ?

[HairOfTheDog]

My wife is needed at the hospital where she works. I could take the pets and leave her, but how could I live with myself? Depending on which part of the Gulf you measure to (since it's curved) I'm about 60 miles from landfall. It'll knock it down a category, maybe a bit more, when it arrives. Great. I just got a call from my wife at the hospital. One of her co-workers who is evacuating wants to know if I can take care of their dog. Oh man.

Maybe she couldn't live with you being home while she's in a safer building...

If it were me, I'd leave with the pets and go somewhere safe. It'll be peace of mind for your wife and her coworker that you're somewhere safe.

[CedarDave]

If things get that bad, the pets should come with you to the hospital. I know, rules and all that, but you should be able to find a room, say a maintenance or store room, where you can put them. I know they aren't going to kick out your wife since she's needed -- she needs to play the "let him and the pets in or I go" card. I'm afraid that with me, my dog comes with me where I go, or I don't go.

[ekwd]

There is storm damage over the river at Biloxi on I-10 in Mississippi near the Alabama line. Here is the AL DOT page
http://www.dot.state.al.us/closures/

Go north and west.

[Lorraine]

LOL - You have a fabulous way with words.

[Sprite518]

Just heard on Fox News its 185MPH from Acuview Weather...

[Miss Marple]

HI! I am back, sipping on a martini, and sent an e-mail to CNN. Here is what I said:

I support President Bush. You may go pound sand.

[Dog Gone]

Hurricane tornados, especially in the coastal areas, tend to be skinny little critters, taking out a few houses apiece. It would be catastrophic to be hit by one, but a couple hundred homes destroyed by tornados makes it almost jackpot odds that any one place will be hit.