Hurricane Rita Live Thread, Part III

NHC - NOAA ^ | 21 September 2005 | NHC - NOAA

[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

[No Blue States]

Thank you! That on my hard drive now.
It looks fun. With 30-40 sustained in the DFW area I might try that before the flood. I bet landing can be painful though.

[mlbford2]

Swiss Cake Rolls

[Calpernia]

>>>hurricane Gilber

Wow

http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/1988gilbert.html

Thank you!

[Black Bart]

NOAA has been showing a slightly more northerly track than some other forecasts most of today. For a moment I thought all my huffing and puffing was having an effect on Rita's track.

I'm kinda hunker'd down several miles north of Lavaca/Matagorda Bay.

[mhking]

For anyone familiar with Houston, I-45 NB from NASA Road 1 to downtown is running at 283 minutes (and no, that's not a typo).

[paulat]

Take care, sweetie...I am tough love on this one...get the hell out!!!

[duffthor]

MMMMM....Star Crunches and Beer!!!!

[Strategerist]

The highest wind for an Atlantic Hurricane is 165 kts, shared by Allen and Camille.

Rita is still 15 knots below that.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

From Accuweather:

[steveegg]

Gilbert's the strongest Atlantic hurricane. Typhoon Tip out in the western Pacific got down to 870 mb.

[NautiNurse]

Same here...ready, willing, and able to help, house people and animals, etc. Oh yes, and provide great nursing care...

[JWojack]

...Rainfall amounts of 2 to 24 inches will be possible across southern Louisiana... including the New Orleans metropolitan area.

I know most everyone is getting sick of talking about New Orleans... but from what I've heard, as little as 3" of rain could collapse the levees all over again. Rita could smash Houston and "Katrina" NO again! Never mind the ballooning deficits (just revoke the transportation bill, that'll solve your money problems!), and the fact that we have a month and half to go for this hurricane season...

[RDTF]

Fudge rounds - and the little pecan pies

[PAR35]

Here's a list for Texas (Off the top of my head, you can ignore Big Spring, Tyler and El Paso The Port Arthur/Beaumont ones are likely out of the danger zone as well.):

* Age Refining, Inc. (San Antonio @ 10,308 BCD)
* Alon USA LP (Big Spring @ 61,000 BCD)
* BP Products North America, Inc. (Texas City @ 437,000 BCD)
* Citgo Refining & Chemical Inc. (Corpus Christi @ 156,000 BCD)
* ConocoPhillips (Borger @ 146,000 BCD)
* ConocoPhillips (Sweeny @ 229,000 BCD)
* Crown Central Petroleum Corp. (Pasadena @ 100,000 BCD)
* Deer Park Refining LTD Ptnrshp (Deer Park @ 333,700 BCD)
* Dow Haltermann Products (Channelview @ -0- BCD*) *880 BCD Idle on 1/1/05
* ExxonMobil Refining & Supply Co. (Baytown @ 557,000 BCD)
* ExxonMobil Refining & Supply Co. (Beaumont @ 348,500 BCD)
* Flint Hills Resources LP (Corpus Christi @ 288,126 BCD)
* La Gloria Oil & Gas Co. (Tyler @ 55,000 BCD)
* Lyondell Citgo Refining Co. LTD (Houston @ 270,200 BCD)
* Marathon Ashland Petroeum LLC (Texas City @ 72,000 BCD)
* Motiva Enterprises LLC (Port Arthur @ 285,000 BCD)
* Premcor Refining Group Inc. (Port Arthur @ 255,000 BCD)
* South Hampton Refining Co. (Silsbee @ -0- BCD*) *Asphalt plant
* Total Petrochemicals Inc (Port Arthur @ 233,500 BCD)
* Trigeant LTD (Corpus Christi @ -0- BCD*) *Downstream capacity only
* Valero Energy Corp. (Sunray @ 158,327 BCD)
* Valero Energy Corp. (Three Rivers @ 90,000 BCD)
* Valero Refining Co. Texas (Corpus Christi @ 142,000 BCD)
* Valero Refining Co. Texas (Houston @ 83,000 BCD)
* Valero Refining Co. Texas (Texas City @ 209,950 BCD)
* Western Refining Co. LP (El Paso @ 107,000 BCD)

[LikeLight]

Yes, slightly more to the east.

[Strategerist]

Actually Gilbert is in a tie for third for highest wind speed in the Atlantic, though it had the lowest pressure.

[Howlin]

Honest? Dead bodies? Where were they?

[nhoward14]

Haven't they heard of contraflow down there?

Turn them roads around now!

[MozartLover]

Nutty Bars.

[milagro]

Reminds me of the time I lived in Denver: saw a guy on a motorcycle riding down a main thoroughfare with a bookcase. His head was through one shelf and his hands were holding the handlebars through another. Darndest thing I ever saw.

Would have given anything to have had a camera with me cuz sometimes I really wonder if that's what I really saw!