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

[ladyjane]

I got my wind-up radio - believe it or not - from Bed Bath and Beyond.$39. It's AM-FM Short Wave by Grundig, has a light, needs no batteries because it's a wind-up. Radio Shack was out of them. BB&B had a stack of them.

[Coldwater Creek]

My family lives at Conroe. If you run out, you can look them up. They have 5,000 of everything that there is to have.

[No Blue States]

That leaves us with the EWC as the only chance of weakening. Its grim for the Texas coast.

[No Blue States]

ERC that is. unghhh.

[Zechariah_8_13]

Hurricane Blodeuwedd Hurricane MEADGHBH, NANTOSUELTA, Seasaidh

NOW yer talkin'! Uh, at least you'd be attempting to, anyhow...

[Lemondropkid31]

Hahahaha they prepare for a hurricane at all time of the year? Not a bad idea...

[sarasota]

Northwestern Illinois expects rain tomorrow and Friday.

[Jeff F]

Nothing to worry about, they can crash-shutdown the place and get out if they have to.

Just came over the radio that they are shutting down the reactors.

[Spktyr]

Grapevine has the very large Gaylord Texan Hotel, near Bass Pro Shop. There are also hotels in Las Colinas, as well as DFW Airport.

I think the Gaylord was already almost full with a convention or meeting or something, but sure, it's worth a try.

[Jrabbit]

Any freepers live in Pasadena? Jaded asking what you are planning to do....git or stay?

[Zechariah_8_13]

hey there James. We're neighbors - we're in Gtown.

[Spktyr]

Good. That means an orderly shutdown, which means that if the complex doesn't take any major damage, it can be back online in a matter of a couple of days at worst after the storm leaves.

[sigSEGV]

Satellite estimates have it at 5.

http://thestormtrack.com/archives/2005/09/models_shift_hu.html

[TX Bluebonnet]

I wonder about all the chemical plants in the Port Lavaca area - Formosa, etc. That could be a major problemo.

[Spktyr]

I will unhappily point out that the ERC didn't seem to do anything to Katrina but make it *bigger* and stronger.

[PennsylvaniaMom]

Yikes...like I said, hubby has worked down there. Also at Farley in Dothan, AL. Every few years his company re-organizes and there is a chance of relocating. We are very happy that we got to stay here...up north in PA. Prayers to you Texas FReepers.

[jpsb]

thanks much, please ping me if you post another forecast track ..... this one is a nail biter.

[Coldwater Creek]

What is going to happen at Victoria? My husband has a niece that works at the newspaper there.

[cspackler]

I hope you can convince them to leave. Victoria will not escape the winds and rain...

I haven't been able to get ahold of them this morning, I'm working on it.

[RDTF]

Thanks for that blog link