Hurricane Rita Live Thread, Part IV

NHC - NOAA ^ | 22 September 2005 | NHC - NOAA

[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

[BureaucratusMaximus]

Shep is in Galveston.

***ROLLS EYES***

[cgk]

Thanks! I am never sure if they are combining info from all over or they are just "covering their bases." Glad to know I can still read.

_{wearegonnaplaybluescluescauseitsareallygreatgame}

[silentknight]

Satellite is looking better and better. Rita is going to strengthen after a brief weakening.

Winds will go back up. Don't be fooled if winds are lowered for a few hours.

She is a monster

[AliVeritas]

Yipes!

[Howlin]

I imagine Gloria is horrified to see her sissy boy whimpering on national TV.

[PAR35]

I can't find gasoline anywhere for my chainsaw

You need to get a Georgia credit card.

[sheikdetailfeather]

Joe Bastardi was just on Hannity radio show and said he thinks it is going to hit between 2-6am Sat. morning and the center will be just east of Galveston.

[cgk]

Yowch! What was it before Katrina?

[Howlin]

Am I lying? :-)

[Eaker]

I didn't know that you had a pic of me loading stuff on yer back.

Cool!!!

The only pic I saw was from the reverse angle displaying your nickname!!

[steveegg]

Does that mean the eye wall has been breached? I guess it's a part of the regeneration cycle, but I'm no meteorologist.

The eyewall has been open there for at least the last 4 hours. It sounds like an eyewall replacement cycle, and I would expect it to close back up when the outer eyewall finishes replacing the inner one.

[jacquej]

Yep, but now they are arguing with "lefty" about his eyewall "theories", and calling each other very childish names. Makes us look like real grown-ups.

[AliVeritas]

LOL

[bwteim]

Actually, that was really our inernal vote to see whether we wanted you to keep up the Rita Threads...
Just kidding and ducking

[truthandlife]

A woman stands outside her car on Interstate 45 near downtown Houston on Thursday.

Storm evacuees stand on the side of Highway 290 which has become a parking lot as people attempt to flee Hurricane Rita.

Motorists wait in line for fuel at one of the few open gas stations in Pasadena, Texas, Thursday, Sept. 22, 2005. Residents were evacuating the area west of Houston due to a mandatory evacuation prior to Hurricane Rite arriving.

[COEXERJ145]

Somebody's gotta ask...so where's the Storm Stud and the Storm Babe?

Jim Cantore is in Seabrook.

[dfwgator]

I wish CNN would deport her back to England (permanently).

That would be a double good, since we would get rid of Jamie Rubin at the same time.

[BureaucratusMaximus]

With Shep and Rita in Galveston, they're now doomed, (though it remains to be seen if they are domed :-)

Shep just wants to say, "dodged a bullet" and be right this time.

[Moose4]

It'll drop. The last hurricane hunter aircraft report had the winds up at their flight level down to 125 knots (140ish mph) and those are usually slightly higher than ground-level winds. I'd lay odds they'll report it no higher than 140 mph at their 5:00 pm EDT update. But, it will strengthen again once the eyewall replacement is complete. Will it get back to 175 mph? Probably not. But like Max Mayfield said, the difference between Cat 3 and Cat 4 is whether you get run over by an 18-wheeler or a freight train. They're both messy.

}:-)4

[Dog]

the center will be just east of Galveston.

Thats bad.