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

[pamlet]

We have no idea. Just mentioned we're on a hill - of course I suppose it COULD be a heat island with all the hot air that's generated in my house between a husband and two sons... hahahahahaha

[CedarDave]

Yes, both Rush and Sean are on that station. I'm sure they will be pre-empted on Friday.

[Spktyr]

Beeville is about 40-50 miles inland, NNW of Corpus.

Invite your brother to come stay with you for a while.

[NotJustAnotherPrettyFace]

FROM THE "I COULDN'T MAKE THIS UP IF I TRIED" DEPARTMENT:

Friday, August 01, 2003

Posted 5:20 PM by Patrick
The Hill.com reports that Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Texas) is upset that the current roster of hurricane names does not include any "black" names. "All racial groups should be represented," she says.

I know you think I'm making this up, but I'm really not.

Lee apparently wants to read headlines that say, for example, "DeShawn Kills Fourteen in Louisiana" or "Keisha's Killing Spree Said Likely to Continue." What better way to mark the progress of blacks in our society?

UPDATE: Eugene Volokh (who is Jewish) has picked up on the story as well. He is insisting on the names Irving, Haym, and Shmuel.

[jpsb]

Businesses closing, gas stations out of gas, people packing and leaving in great numbers. ... North Galveston county.

[milagro]

Good on ya Laz. And one of my favs is Col 2:8--"See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic [and often very BASE] priniciples of this world, rather than on Christ."

Am no where and no way in danger from this whirlwind, but am praying VERY earnestly that God send MIGHTY angels to ride in it and quell its fury!

God bless you NN for your incredible work here--and all our precious Freepers, especially those in harms way.

[CindyDawg]

I know someone with dark skin named Rita.

[kx9088]

Wow. Just...wow.

[NotJustAnotherPrettyFace]

GMTA! :-)

[SouthTexas]

Thanks

[No Blue States]

"Dallas is only ~250mi N of Austin, too, and I'm expecting us to get the biggest rainstorm I've ever seen at the very least - we're only about 400-odd from Houston."

Dallas is only 240 miles from Houston. ;)

Austin to Dallas is 196 miles.

[Zechariah_8_13]

I'll keep you in mind in case we ever see a "storm of the century". We'll just set up a tent in your yard and ride it out. ;)

[burzum]

What is annular?

An annular hurricane is a very symmetric hurricane what very strong convection throughout its structure. This allows it to not have to undergo eyewall replacement cycles (where the older dry eyewalls get cycled out every once in a while). This means that an annular hurricane doesn't undergo the power fluctuations that most hurricanes have. It also looks like a donut. Here is a picture of katrina when she was annular:

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Image:NOAA-Hurricane-Katrina-Aug28-05-2145UTC.jpg

I don't think Rita is annular yet. You can see that she isn't as symmetric as Katrina was and she has a stronger spiral pattern:

Rita

[NotJustAnotherPrettyFace]

Lots of Hispanics named Rita. I even know a Russian lady from Moscow with that name :-).

[Moose4]

Is it just my eyes, or has that forecast track slid a little further south away from Houston and toward Corpus Christi?

}:-)4

[4everontheRight]

Ha!!! That is great!!!

[Jrabbit]

I wonder who Fox will send to Texas to cover this? Shep? Jerry? I notice we're still getting reports about NO and all the hand wringing over if it will rain or not.

[Spktyr]

Now, where are those idiots that said that "ordering an evacuation this early was just stupid" on an earlier thread?

Oh, that's right, nowhere to be found.

Thanks to my state and their local authorities, that hurricane will come ashore and likely find *very* few people remaining.

[Knitting A Conundrum]

It's a good thing, cause the latest models seem to show a good chance of the storm coming in somewhere close to Port O'Connor...much better for your folks to be out of the area...

[Don'tMessWithTexas]

I share your concern. Jackson was about 100 miles or so from Gulfport. If landfall is in the Port Lavaca area or thereabouts, Austin is about 140 miles from the coast. If this is anywhere accurate and Rita is as strong as Katrina when it comes ashore, Austinites need to take necessary precautions.