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

[Wthrman13]

Nope, the storm surge is mostly due to the strong winds piling up water in and near the eyewall. The low pressure maybe adds 3 feet at MOST to the total surge. Also, as has been mentioned by others many times, the actual central pressure of the storm has nothing to do with the wind speeds. What matters is the pressure gradient between the surroundings of the storm and the center. The higher the "background" pressures, the stronger the winds in the eyewall will be for a given central pressure, all other things being equal.

So, DO NOT go by the central pressure alone to get wind speeds. This is why recon is so important.

[abb]

somebody needs to shoot these assclowns on kplc....

[steveegg]

Dunno what program is telling you that. I've got 50.73 kb (it's bytes divided by 1024).

[MamaB]

The guy on tv says Jefferson and Orange counties will get the most winds and rain begins tonight. What cities are in those counties?

[ruoflaw]

he asked about bringing a camping stove inside. A camping stove is made for using outside and it is not the same as a gas range using propane from a propane tank. I took the time to research it on the net. The outside camp stoves should only be used outside unless it says on the stove that it is safe to us inside. It is not worth risking his life and those of his loved ones from carbon monoxide poisoning or fire.

[Abigail Adams]

Our local storm really got us thinking about preparedness. While our power was out and we were trying to sleep (too hot with no AC!), all I could think about was if we didn't get power back for several days, what would we eat? And what would we do with all the food in our fridge and freezer? And where might we be able to drive to find ice? Thank God our power came back on after just 5 hours.

We always have a decent amount of bottled water, canned fruit and meat, as well as crackers and peanut butter and granola bars. But it got me thinking we need to be even better prepared. We need to map out an evacuation route, too.

[pamlet]

Sounds like she's from my grandma's stock!

Glad to hear they finally made it home! I know it's a relief!!!!

[abb]

port arthur and orange, tx

[RDTF]

ah ha! The formula!

[LA Woman3]

the LSU vs. Tennessee game is still scheduled for tomorrow night!!

Is this a case of gridiron bravado, or denial?



Most likely, both.
They are making a decision about it later this evening. ESPN was supposed to come to town for College Game Day and they canceled yesterday.
I'm an Aggie and A&M was smart enough to reschedule our Saturday game. (It is tonight!)

[steveegg]

51,600 bytes is pushing the rounding limit, and 51,200 is exactly 50 kb.

[tx_eggman]

Local CBS station here in MN saying authorities in TX telling people that if you have children, and they are injured in the storm, they may be charged with child endangerment (for not evacuating).

Gotta call BS on this one ... your local new whores are full of crap

[MamaB]

Thanks. The map was too small to make out the names.

[BurbankKarl]

Wayne Dolcefino/ABC13 on in Beaumont....gridlocked, evacuees out of gas, gas stations all closed....

[burzum]

Thanks for the info.

[ArmyBratsMom]

I have no idea what kind of surf is available off of the coast of Houston. If surfing is good, then add whatever seems like a good number.

That number would be zero. Galveston is known for a lot of things, but surfing is not one of them. {:o)

[abb]

live cam @ lake charles shows eastbound traffic *moving* on I-10, but slow.

[james_f_hall]

Anyone catch the report on TWC with the Hurricane Hunter? He was saying Rita had Hurricane force winds 120MI North and that when they dropped instruments reading came back from the surface at 200-235MPH. I would assume those are gusts.

[eastforker]

Good to see you also, been in many of a confined space also old time common sense, as old Hank Hill would say, propane is your friend.

[cgk]

I'm actually enjoying their computer model... trying to figure out which color is which...