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Posted on 09/21/2005 1:36:24 AM PDT by 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
prolly not...
MY guess is they will be using P3Cs out of Tampa....
Just found out that the mayor of Rockport has ordered a mandatory evacuation by 3:00 p.m. today.
Show them a picture of a flattened house.
Then, after telling your Dad you're *only* doing it for your Mom, pack them up. The most you all will be out are the gas mileage, food, and hotel stay.
I don't know, it seems more cost effective to just buy new carpet.
The reason I think we will find out she is that high is that look at the outflow from the equator side of the storm...
its getting stronger.
Natural gas, propane, oil refineries, a second hit to the energy belt of the US is not going to be fun.
http://store1.yimg.com/I/pennwell_1860_18932673
My parents are that old as well. My thick-skulled father did little the last two days to get ready and now they might have to drive all the way to Ft. Stockton to get a hotel.
But at least they are getting ready now and will decide Thursday morning if they are going to shove off Thursday AM.
But, they are 45 year older now. Please be safe.
Technically, we've had plans for this for over 100 years, since Galveston was destroyed in 1900.
That said, the current, highly detailed set of plans for this scenario is only about 4 years old. However, we know that at least part of the plan works - see the recent Katrina shelter work. By the way, all the big Texas shelters are now almost empty - Reunion Arena was to be empty by today. So we're reset and ready to go there.
TXCN: People unable to get out of Houston who wish to do so should call 311 in the city or 713 837-0311 in outlying areas. Your evacuation will be arranged.
And bigger.
Trains from the Dallas-Fort Worth commuter rail system are currently shuttling down to the coast and loading up people to evac out.
Don't be surprised to see Metro trains from other TX cities getting people out.
"Technically, we've had plans for this for over 100 years..."
yeah, but all the people who had them that long have all passed away.
Hmmm... I don't know that people in Houston are supposed to be evacuating until the people in the flood plain are out. Of course that doesn't mean they can stop you... I just found out there are no shelters in Houston. It's not considered safe.
Depending on traffic, that may be too late. Get them out tonight, if you can.
But you can't evacuate 4.5 million people. Can't be done.
I know, and Thanks :).
I would be a lot less freaked out if they were on their way out of here.
Easy way to convert knots to mph and vice versa...
Go to Google and type into the search box:
140 knots = ? mph
hit enter, and it will bring up:
145 knots = 161.109123 mph
No, they're still in the emergency files in Austin. We don't throw any important documents away in TX.
They are the basis that every plan starts from. They are regularly updated, too.
George Bush Doesn't Care About Old People.
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