This really does not look good...
Oil rigs in the path of Hurricane Rita (map: RigZone.com)
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Locked on 09/22/2005 3:40:46 AM PDT by Jim Robinson, reason:
New thread: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/1489163/posts |
Posted on 09/21/2005 4:19:11 PM PDT by NautiNurse
Extremely dangerous and large Category Five Hurricane Rita is churning westward across the Gulf of Mexico toward Texas. Air Force Reconnaissance indicated the central pressure has dropped to 904mb, making Rita the fifth most intense hurricane ever in the Atlantic Basin.
Hurricane and Tropical Storm Watches have been issued from Northern Mexico through the South Louisiana coastline. Galveston TX used school buses to evacuate residents. Mandatory and voluntary evacuations are in effect along the Texas coastline.
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 Western Gulf of Mexico
Current Weather Warnings and Watches for Texas
Current Weather Warnings and Watches for Louisiana
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
Streaming Video: (coverage may be intermittent)
KHOU-TV/DT Houston: mms://beloint.wm.llnwd.net/beloint_khou
WWLTV NOLA
Additional Resources:
FReeper Sign In Thread Check in to let us know whether you are staying, going, and when you get there
FReepers Offering Lodging To Rita Evacuees People and/or Pet Friendly FReepers Offering Shelter
Coastal TX Evacuation Maps
KHOU Houston
KTRK ABC News Houston
Hurricane City
Wxnation Houston
Galveston Webcams
Golden Triangle Weather Page Provides Galveston Weather, Warnings, Radar, etc.
| 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 II
Hurricane Rita Live Thread, Part I
Tropical Storm Rita
Tropical Depression 18
I'm off to cruise for gas.
Not really. Landfall looks to be somewhere around 2-10 am Saturday as a mid-range Cat 4.
Hurricane evacuation routes
West of the Brazos River: Take Texas 36 North to Brenham
Freeport, Surfside, Lake Jackson, Pearland: Take Highway 288 North to Beltway 8 West to Hwy. 290 West to Hwy. 6 North to College Station
Santa Fe, Hitchcock, Sugar Land: Take Highway 6 North to Hwy. 290 North to College Station
Texas City, La Porte, Kemah: Take Highway 146 North to Hwy. 321 North to 59 North to Lufkin
Galveston: Take I-45 North to Huntsville
Pasadena, Deer Park: Take East Sam Houston Tollway North to Hardy Toll Road North to Huntsville
High Island: Take Hwy. 124 North to FM 1406 North to Hwy. 90 West to Hwy. 146 North to Lufkin
For in inland communities not listed on the evacuation map, use the nearest evacuation route to your area
http://www.khou.com/images/hurricane/HurricaneEvacuationMap2005.pdf
This really does not look good...
Oil rigs in the path of Hurricane Rita (map: RigZone.com)
eep!
Okay, it's 4:20 and my hubby has manged to travel 15 miles since my last post at 2:05 ~ boy, he is starting to sound tired, too! They've been on the road 13 hours and have traveled about 90 miles!
On a good note, he did say that, despite the all the traffic and the long, long, long delays, folks were really behaving well....which helps a lot!
He says the a lot of the traffic seemed to have taken the hwy 321 exchange west which allowed the flow to finally open up a bit - his plan now (still) is to drive into Livingston, pick up 59 and head up to Lufkin.
Exactly-- call it "a turn for the worse."
Guess we'll be heating the house with coal this winter and driving a dogcart to the store.
Ouch.
Where did he start his travel?
Do we have evac maps for the Beaumont/Lake Charles areas?
Hurricane Impact Report* for Galveston
http://tinyurl.com/a667p
He started out about three blocks from the seawall in Galveston at about 1:30 yesterday afternoon. He went down to evacuate his 94 years old aunt up here to Dallas.
oil/gasoline/gas futures aren't "that" much higher right now. unleaded gas up to $2.14, which is much less than katrina peak. a lot of the hurricane may already cranked into the price.
You have the latest as far as I know in the local links already there.
I'm scanning now for updates and traffic info.
ALL the latest models are now showing the Sabine Pass area, the Tx La border. The strom has started it's turn earlier than anticipated and is now moving WNW.
Bad bad news for New Orleans.
Dang! It looks like our aunts home is probably going to be a goner! My Lord....this is going to be hard on her, even though she's not there!
Speaking of boarding up, did you see the plylox window clips mentioned on another thread? I'm planning to check those out for the patio doors.
Link copied & saved- thank you!
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