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

[BurbankKarl]

This reporter is blaming FEMA for all this....people are lined up at the gas stations and they are locked and empty.

[Zacs Mom]

She's a hoot!! At 4'6" and maybe all of 95 pounds soaking wet with shoes on, she is one of the sweetest and spriest ol' gals you could ever meet!

They grow 'em sturdy in Galveston!

[Dog Gone]

My wife just called from the hospital where she works in town. Since all other businesses are already shut down and boarded, it's the only major parking lot being used in this part of town.

Security has witnessed several people siphoning gas from cars there. There's no gas stations with gasoline here and the freeways are still clogged.

I have no idea whether my wife's vehicle was robbed of the liquid gold or not. Guess I'll find out later tonight.

[Michael Goldsberry]

btw - 984mb is lower than Hurricane Rita's eye.

Umm... I thought we saw something like 898mb last night and 912mb in the eye this morning. This barometer only goes down to 950mb so I won't be able to report anything like that, even if I'm still online.

[All Blue State]

Yesterday a woman from Houston said the same thing (on Sean Hannity). Her husband is a police officer who is going on duty Friday night. She was talking about Galveston or Beaumont, and said Child Protective Services had issued warnings to the effect that they would take charge of children not evacuated.

[tx_eggman]

Untill it jams, if you can cock it you can fire it, nufff said.

Don't have to cock my Glock (that was fun to say) ... 16 round clip, one in the chamber (no kids around) ... I've fired several K rounds, no jams yet ... nuff said.

[MamaB]

Wayne sounds very upset with the traffic gridlock and no gas.

[numberonepal]

Conditions at 42001 as of
(4:50 pm CDT)
2150 GMT on 09/22/2005:

Wind Direction (WDIR):	NW ( 310 deg true )
Wind Speed (WSPD):	68.0 kts
Wind Gust (GST):	87.4 kts
Wave Height (WVHT):	32.2 ft
Dominant Wave Period (DPD):	12 sec
Average Period (APD):	9.0 sec
Mean Wave Direction (MWDIR):	NNE ( 29 deg true )
Atmospheric Pressure (PRES):	27.41 in
Pressure Tendency (PTDY):	-1.38 in ( Falling Rapidly )
Air Temperature (ATMP):	79.9 °F
Water Temperature (WTMP):	82.4 °F
Dew Point (DEWP):	79.9 °F
Heat Index (HEAT):	86.7 °F

 

Continuous Winds

TIME (CDT)	WDIR	WSPD
4:50 pm	NW ( 309 deg )	69.3 kts
4:40 pm	NW ( 311 deg )	78.5 kts
4:30 pm	NW ( 312 deg )	82.4 kts
4:20 pm	NW ( 320 deg )	79.6 kts
4:10 pm	NNW ( 333 deg )	75.2 kts
4:00 pm	NNW ( 339 deg )	72.8 kts

[eastforker]

Depends on what type of fuel it uses, gees.

[shield]

Click on it...

[Crawdad]

IIRC, Wayne gets upset alot.

[texsean]

The only surfing going on down in Galveston are guys surfing on the wake of large cargo ships. I don't know if anyone caught that story on ESPN during Sports Center's 50 (states) in 50 (days).

[meyer]

But you STILL need a CO detector inside.

It's certainly a good idea, but I don't think it's required. At least not around here. All the homes I've been in over the years that had gas stoves did NOT have a CO detector. Of course, the CO detector is a relatively new phenomenon on the market, having come around in the last 10-15 years. When I grew up, those and even smoke detectors weren't around.

I have a ventless gas fireplace - no CO detector came with the house despite that, though I bought one as I'm a little suspicious of ventless fireplaces.

[NautiNurse]

Heard earlier that LEO were providing empty tanks with a gallon of gasoline.

[RDTF]

coool here's more: The strongest winds will occur from Friday night into Saturday, concentrated along and just inland from the northeastern Texas and western Louisiana coasts. In this area, winds of 120 to 150 mph with higher gusts are expected. Winds of this magnitude will cause catastrophic damage, on the order of what we saw in southern Mississippi where Katrina made landfall. Winds in downtown Houston are expected to gust 100-120 mph, especially for high-rise buildings and skyscrapers. Winds of this magnitude will cause many windows to break, with dangerous, flying debris all across the city. As the storm tracks inland, winds will blow to hurricane force for up to 150 miles inland right along the center's path, enough to cause widespread damage to trees and power lines along with some structural damage. So be prepared for a large portion of eastern Texas and western Louisiana to be without power for an extended time. Torrential rain will also be a concern with Rita as it blasts ashore. A large portion of eastern Texas and western and central Louisiana should receive more than 4 inches of rain, enough to cause some flooding problems. There will be 10-15 inches of rain for some locations, and if the storm stalls that could be 20-25 inches. Rainfall of this magnitude will cause significant flooding problems. So if you live in an area that is prone to flooding, be aware that you may be dealing with a potentially life-threatening situation as some point this weekend. Story by AccuWeather.com meteorologist Gerald Mohler

[Dog Gone]

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

Bueaumont, Port Arthur, Orange, and a lot of little smaller towns.

A town you've probably never heard of, Winnie, is going to get clobbered. The town of Liberty, which actually is a little west of those counties, is going to have problems. It often floods during tropical storms.

[RDTF]

yea yea I know, I just needed the formula that I forgot

[McLynnan]

Another Waco area FReeper here. Greyfoxx, is your family in a low lying area? I'm not especially uneasy about things here, but maybe that's stupidity on my part. Just got home from work, and saw gas lines in Waco, and heard reports that a few larger stations will run out of fuel tonight. The grocery stores are out of bottled water. Not sure if that's from a local panic mentality, or water supplies are being diverted elsewhere. I'm with one of the local hospitals, and we spent the day perfecting our disaster drill skills. We've already received transfer patients from hospitals southeast of us.

[NautiNurse]

I only caught the end of that report earlier. When was that flight?

[meyer]

Wayne sounds very upset with the traffic gridlock and no gas.

I'd be upset too, if I were in the gridlock. As is said among truckers in traffic jams, "too many cars, not enough asphalt".