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

[WoodstockCat]

Gen Honore up on Fox now.

"Jack McCaeffery..you're beyond hope..you're just stuck on stupid with your foot nailed to the floor and running in a 'stupid' circle"..

[ken5050]

Back in the 50's when I was little..we spent a few summers in the Rockaways..The Rockaway peninsula ..south of NYC..forms the southern barrier of Jamaica bay..It was 4 or 5 blocks wide at that point..One summer, a hurricane off in the Atlantic..don't rememebr the year, or the storm..exactly..pushes a storm surge towards the coast...obviously thee was no forecasting or satellites like we have now..the storm never hit..not rain or wind..but we woke up in the middle of the night when the water rose three feet...We spent the next two days on the roof..Jamaica Bay and the Atlantic Ocean were continuous..one body of water..it's hard to comprehend the power that can do something like that..let alone visualize a 30+ store surge..

[palmer]

his explanation was: to keep people from buying gas

Nothing wrong with that. I would rather be able to buy some later than have none available because everyone hoarded it at the cheap price.

[Dog Gone]

All Krogers in the strike zone will also be closing at 5pm today.

Big deal. They're out of everything except frozen food and school supplies as it is.

How many rolls of toilet paper do you need for a hurricane, anyway?

[sheikdetailfeather]

CSPAN 1 is still showing the FEMA briefing.

[humblegunner]

the other problem is all the Bubbas drive SUVs....there is your gas shortage right there.

I've got both the Bubba SUV and the Bubba Hunting Truck gassed
up and by gum I'll gas 'em up again if I feel like it.

We refine it right down the road from here on HWY 225.

[kx9088]

Deleware.

[BurbankKarl]

Shep will be hunkering down with Anderson, not Stephanie.

[steveegg]

Speaking of "stuck on stupid", Wendell Gollner can't get out of the rut.

[IamConservative]

I like your tagline. I have also heard: "Ignorance is finite. Stupidity is not."

[Spktyr]

That depends on how big it is and how scared you get.

[Arizona Carolyn]

If not vented, I believe it may be..... I know for sure BBQ's are dangerous no matter what.

[mewzilla]

Jack Cafferty? Talk about stuck on stupid....

[AliVeritas]

Dang missed it.

[johnb838]

I guess the older hospitals had't gotten upgraded at the time and it was a friggin nightmare, no lights because the batteries hadn't been checked in the backup lights, sam problem with battery powered IV pumps. No oxygen, hand bagging. Carrying patients down 20-30 flights of stairs. Millions od dead animals rotting -- some that were part of irreproducible experimental research. All subsurface areas flooded and stinking. Radioactive waste lost. Many deaths. Hundreds of millions in diagnostic equipment lost. Horrible, horrible thing.

Major construction at Methodist, St. Lukes, Hermann hospitals, UT and Baylor Med schools to remediate, some of it is not finished yet, over 4 years later. The MEdical center got it really, really badly.

[Howlin]

I looked for the Romper Room Weather thing, but couldn't find it, but you're probably not old enough to remember that.

I completely understand; we have 5 grandchildren under 5 and we have turned into simpletons around here. We have regressed to their educational level concerning most matters.

I can, however, act out the entire Nemo movie if you'll hum the soundtrack. :-)

[Temple Owl]

We need to fill the Gulf with ice. It's too hot.

What would happen if we used about a thousand planes filled with ice to bombard a hurricane? Would it have any effect?

[Arizona Carolyn]

I sent so many emails about that buffoon last time -- all to no avail. Now I refuse to watch CNN, period!

[SE Mom]

I was "little" in the 50's too...grew up on Cape Cod (back when it really was a lovely place for real people to live)
...I know about storms that break through former beach barriers- it's frightening beyond words.

[Carolinamom]

After this hurricane season and the paucity of gasoline supplies, any liberal envionmentalists who whine about drilling in ANWAR should be required by law to WALK wherever they have to go.