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

[JFC]

KRPC.COM has live feed... in Houston.

A few people are having heat strokes on the road. Heat is unreal..... and high humidity.

Prayers for HOUSTON and GULF COAST...

serious situation.

[tutstar]

ROFL

[jacquej]

Oh NO! Those poor people...

I wish I could wave a magic wand, honestly.

[Spiff]

Thats great, Spiff. You do some of the very best stuff on the storm threads. :) Thank you so much.

Thanks, but it isn't me. It is just that Google Earth is so flippin' cool that you can't help but create awesome looking and very information rich images. My employer is about to purchase Google Earth Pro for me because I proved what it could do for the work that we do. I'm demonstrating it to our head honcho who is flying out next week.

[John Jamieson]

Hey J, looks like we might get wet!

JJ from EO

[freeperfromnj]

The accuweather schedule has him on with Hannity & Colmes tonight.

[steveegg]

New Vortex Data Message, new aircraft - Eye fix at 2:22 pm CDT - Max flight-level wind down 3 knots to 122 knots -

000
URNT12 KNHC 221939
VORTEX DATA MESSAGE
A. 22/19:22:40Z
B. 25 deg 44 min N
  089 deg 15 min W
C. NA  mb NA   m
D. NA  kt
E. NA  deg     nm
F. 149 deg 122 kt
G. 062 deg 012 nm
H. EXTRAP  914 mb
I.  9  C/ 3658 m
J. 17  C/ 3658 m
K.  10 C/ NA
L. OPEN E
M. C16
N. 12345/NA
O. 0.02 /  1 nm
P. AF306 WX18A RITA01       OB 02
MAX FL WIND 122 KT NE QUAD 19:19:30 Z

Other significant changes in the 1:37 since the last one -

- Movement - 10 minutes north, 14 minutes west
- Pressure unchanged, but now extrapolated
- Eyewall now single, 16 nm wide, and open in the east (we had a double-eyewall of 15 nm and 50 nm and open to the southeast last time by).

[bwteim]

Did you see the interview? In the time it takes to change a price sign from $3 to $5.97 or near to that amount,a few others followed suit and panic ensued. The sign got picked up on MSM and the rest is history. The guy had no good answer for the reporter. Finally, the guy said he raised it to stop people from buying. Could have put a bag on the pump, but nooooo.

[duffthor]

I nominate Hurricane Lewinsky. I can see the t-shirts now......

[backhoe]

"No wonder why the envirowhackos want all power to be natural gas; then there will be rolling blackouts from supply disruptions..." ----> I would love to have the time to go back to the "California blackout aftermath" threads to find where I, and a couple other FReepers, stated that California's foolish race to power electric plants with natural gas because it was so "cheap" and clean would drive the price way, way up...

If you don't mind a lot of reading & link-following, there is a wealth of information on this old "bump list"--

calpowercrisis:

To find all articles tagged or indexed using calpowercrisis, click below:
	click here >>>	calpowercrisis	<<< click here
(To view all FR Bump Lists, click here)

[dfwgator]

This could end up being even worse than the Hurricane itself.

[Quilla]

When I was 14, I vacationed at Foley, AL with my best friend who was, frankly, a spoiled brat. He father hired a gent to fly above the clouded area of the beach (we were trying to get a suntan) and drop dry ice into the clouds. I swear to Pete, they dissipated in less than 30 minutes.

[ncpatriot]

I needed that! Thanks

[cgk]

Oh I was thinking about Death Valley and how we got stuck there overnight once and that is what we were told: 1 gallon per person per day... and I was picturing the people stuck on the freeways and thinking it wasn't too different ;). Except it's not a dry heat.

[steveegg]

ROFL, hoping that you don't get a frying pan for that one :-)

[Howlin]

He's on again!

[cgk]

Must see pic here... #1914.

[Arizona Carolyn]

The Wilderness Society is out in force right now asking for donations to fight it; got publicity this week -- using the phony Alaskan Natives -- to stop "the travesty" of drilling in Anwar....

Environmentalists are ruining this nation -- look at our forest damage you can lay at their feet... the list is too long.

[bonfire]

Already decided here during Katrina: Hurricane NautiNurse.

And next is: Hurricane Howlin'

Catchy?

[Spktyr]

Here's an ideal evacuation vehicle:

http://www.dallasdrivers.org/albums/album64/IM001564.jpg
http://www.dallasdrivers.org/albums/album64/IM001599.jpg

Who needs a road?

The other ideal kind of vehicle is a motorcycle, if you are confined to urban areas and the concrete jungle.