Go west people! Heck, even southwest would be better than going north on 45. We welcome you here in Austin.
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Posted on 09/22/2005 3:25:57 AM PDT by NautiNurse
Extremely dangerous Category 5 Hurricane Rita continues to threaten the Greater Houston Metropolitan area. The forecast track has shifted slightly to the northeast, increasing the risk to Southwest Louisiana, and a significant portion of the oil and gas operations in the Gulf of Mexico. Texas Governor Perry is urging all coastal residents between Beaumont and Corpus Christi to evacuate as soon as possible.
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
Houston/Galveston/Beaumont/Lake Charles Wx Watches/Warnings
Current Weather Warnings and Watches for Texas
Current Weather Warnings and Watches for Louisiana
Hi Res Houston Flood Zone Map Slow load, great detail
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)
KPRC-TV/DT Houston - KPRC-TV/DT Houston - http://mfile.akamai.com/12944/live/reflector:38616.asx
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
Beaumont TX evac Routes
Lake Charles/Southwest LA Evacuation Map
KHOU Houston
KTRK ABC News Houston
KPLC Lake Charles Evac Routes, news
KFDM Beaumont/Port Arthur News, evac info
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 III
Hurricane Rita Live Thread, Part II
Hurricane Rita Live Thread, Part I
Tropical Storm Rita
Tropical Depression 18
This is not true...it is forecast to be at 125kt (144 mph) at landfall, and 100kt 30 miles inland.
FOX now blabbing about Nola again, alarming viewers.
Countless thousands, millions hoping that Rita will weaken.
ReporterDude saying Mayor Nagin said: "If you want to get out, I have a bus for you"
As was just mentioned in the TX gov.'s news conference, the high that is helping to steer the hurricane more northward is anticipated to lose strength. Thus they expect the storm to at some point resume a more westward course. Lots of variables in play. It will go somewhere between Port O'Connor, TX and New Iberia, LA, and likely between the town of Matagorda and Lake Charles. Can't simply extrapolate based on a few hours movement, things are too dynamic.
On another thread someone said that if there was a ranking for a Category 6 storm, Rita would be it.
Is that true?
I've noticed with the vehicles we've owned over the years that the miles per tank are about the same. The bigger the vehicle, the bigger the tank, so we can go about as far on a tank in out mini-van as we can in our Accord and we used to in our Escort. Of course, I drive the car as much as possible, but in a situation like this, you'd get about the same distance for most vehicles on a full tank.
The problem being that the gas trucks are going to run into the same traffic problems that everyone else is having.
Go west people! Heck, even southwest would be better than going north on 45. We welcome you here in Austin.
No...when they made the scale, they stopped at CAT 5 b/c, in the words of Dr. Simpson, once the winds hit 155 mph, it doesn't matter anymore.
I use this formula to predict surge.
Outer eyewall to outer eyewall radius is assigned the variable R.
Max surge begins halfway between eyecenter at landfall and outer left eyewall at landfall.
Max surge stretches right for a distance of 2 times R, with a third value of R getting less dangerous but still significant surge.
This has served me well.
Yes, but this hing is a monster, do you wqnt to be hit with a speeding truck or a speeding bus.
Does that family have laps?
You mean they haven't evacuated the Katrina refurgees? Oh. my. God. God Help Louisiana. Texas will take care of itself. (just kidding, we can't do it without God either)
If we arrest you now, or during the storm, you will spend the rest of the time at the jail at your own risk.
A weakened high would allow it to go further east, not west.
Is the storm weakening a bit - down from 175 to 165 mph.
About the only certainty right now is that a direct NO hit is impossible.
Yes, and with all the NO evacuees that you guys have absorbed, I don't blame them one bit. We're jus' poor northern folk. One per driver, and when the kids start working, they get their own. (They're no even in college yet.)
Almost always. Dennis did the opposite at landfall. The outer affects were more significant to the east than the west but the eyewall effects were much stronger on its west side.
idiots on TWC still pushing galveston.
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