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

[Termite_Commander]

Solar's way too expensive. I like wind power, although nuclear fusion is my personal favorite. =)

[SE Mom]

LOL..well thanks for trying to understand him:) If you can figure out what he means let me know! I know there was some discussion of a loop when it was quite aways inland..maybe that's what he means??

[steveegg]

Good thing I checked before sending the newest NOAA message. For comparison purposes:

- This NOAA run (from the northwest) got to the eye about 10 minutes before the AF plane from the northeast.
- While the AF plane reported 122-knot winds in the NE quad (which was down 3 from the previous NOAA run), this NOAA run found 133-knot winds in the NW quad (up 8 from the previous run and 11 from the concurrent AF run).
- Pressure is down 1 mb from the last measurement (the AF extrapolation doesn't count).
- There is now disagreement between NOAA and the AF on the eyewall composition. The AF is reporting a single eyewall 16 nm wide, while NOAA is reporting a double eyewall 18 and 48 nm wide.

[tutstar]

mucho gracias!!

[cgk]

Yes.. it was GREAT. I hope they reshow it - I only caught part of it on the rebroadcast.

[Crawdad]

So the guy says to the doctor, "It hurts when I do this."

[NautiNurse]

Around here, the storm stock ration is 3:1 water and gatorade. Always have gatorade in the house.

[Spktyr]

They don't have enough police personnel (and some of the local support outside Houston just hasn't responded) to cover 290, so they're keeping it open. Plan B - and yes, there is a Plan C, D, and E.

[WxMan2000]

The Dvorak technique was developed in the 1970s as a method for estimating hurricane intensity based soley on satellite imagery. Using data from past stroms, the satellite image of the current storm is matched to past storms of known intensity. This is how they estimate the intensity of storms far out in the ocean when there is no recon.

That being said, I would agree it looks like a 5 and the pressure supports a 5. Once we're back to one eyewall, I expect the pressure gradient to tighten and the wind speeds to increase again.

[sheikdetailfeather]

Hannity is going to bring Bastardi back on again and maybe we will be able to understand him then. I will rewind my tape and see if I can decipher it now.

[floriduh voter]

No danger over here, very breezy, dark. If I turn on my tv, I get a little undone by all the traffic and at how long it's taking them to get out of Houston. I think they should have made all lanes go north sooner. Who is they? Heck if I know. The TSA employees didn't show up for work in Texas but no specifics were given on what their job duties were. They abandoned their posts???

Let us pray.

[SE Mom]

In that case- only one question remains- which one of them stayed at a Holiday Inn last night?

[Arizona Carolyn]

He thinks it may go towards Dallas and then double back. He also thinks since it is so large it will pull in dry air and weaken more.

[NautiNurse]

There is now disagreement between NOAA and the AF on the eyewall composition. The AF is reporting a single eyewall 16 nm wide, while NOAA is reporting a double eyewall 18 and 48 nm wide.

Who wins in that matchup?

[cgk]

Always have gatorade in the house.

You too? Wish our cars ran on gatorade. More expensive by the gallon, but we'd be flush. :)

[pgkdan]

One missing preposition later, and we had it all figured out.

LOL...I saw that. As usual I'm a day late and a dollar short.

[WoodstockCat]

I grew up in Hattiesburg in my mid-teens, walked 36 holes a day just about every day in the summer, changed shirts at lunchtime, drank water like crazy but it really didn't phase me.
I go back now to my in-laws house, walk outside, take one breath of air and say, "I might can go 9..."

[bwteim]

"I would rather pay $6 than look at a bag over a pump. "
Depending on the situation, I'd agree.

[Types_with_Fist]

Forecaster on PMSNBC saying the Weather Service would likely have the track a bit more to the east again and landfall actually inside Louisiana... looked to be Cameron Parish.

[gpapa]

Lot of action at buoy 42001; 28.44 press., 97 gusts one hour ago.