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

[SE Mom]

Dan Abrams talking to the commander with the hurricane flyers- he said it's been REALLY rough up there...everything shaking so much they were having difficulty reading their gauges..this may account for the seeming disparity between the AF and NOAA??

[tcrlaf]

<<< You could also drop Gas containers from helicopters near disabled cars if you had too.>>>

They DO have tankers positioned along the escape routes...

And if you'll recall, DEMS have been blasting highway expansion for evacs as "Pork"...

ALSO!!!

Who gets the lawsuit when the falling gas can hits Grandma in the head?

Or better yet, who gets the lawsuit when the falling gas can hits the ground, bursts open and catches fire from Grandma's cigarette???

[steveegg]

It's 51.948 on my desktop.

Whatever you're using must be using the 1000 bytes=1 kb math favored by hard drive manufacturers instead of the more-traditional 1024 bytes=1 kb one.

[NautiNurse]

$12/gallon. Enterprising fellow. In Florida, he would have been arrested.

[Black Tooth]

The anchor just said he paid $60 for 5 gallons of gas. He said the man who sold it knew he would get that for it.

Huh?

[Proud_texan]

Yeah, it's pretty weird in Austin. I was at the hardware store today and they were out of batteries and gas cans.

I'm always ready for something but I seriously doubt if we'll even get much, or any, rain from Rita. There might be a serious gas shortage if it lands in the right place but sheesh.

Re: the bottled water. People forget that they always have 40-60 gallons in the hot water heater.

[debg]

The little debbies have already bit the dust, haven't they?

EAT my dust! LOL

[steveegg]

Dan Abrams talking to the commander with the hurricane flyers- he said it's been REALLY rough up there...everything shaking so much they were having difficulty reading their gauges..this may account for the seeming disparity between the AF and NOAA??

That it probably is.

[all4one]

Thank you kindly Spktyr...I will be checking that forum. After all the GW's are known for electrical harness problems, gas gauge problems. etc.

BTW I hope all is well with you and yours as this storm approaches.

[technochick99]

Mason has a 30 minute minimum on petting. I got that covered for ya.

Tummy rubs too!

[Tall_Texan]

Texas City ought to be on the "clean" side of the eye so they will get heavy winds and rain. Galveston Bay may cause flooding with the wind pushing the waters southward but, unless the animal shelter isn't able to withstand the wind, the animals ought to make it okay.

I used to live in Texas City back in the 1980s and went through Hurricane Alicia. Other than flooding and power outages, they made it through pretty well back then.

[MamaB]

I do not know what his name was but that is what he said. I just wonder if it was someone on the road that maybe had that much in a can or something. He did not make it clear. He said the man asked him how much money he had and the tv guy said, $60 and the gas man said, "That is enough". Very odd!

[meyer]

The car exhaust has got a lot of water vapor in it. On cold days, it condenses in the tail pipe.

I agree - at least until the exhaust system gets good and warmed up.

[McLynnan]

I don't get it. Austin and Waco have water, aren't being evacuated, and may get some big, long thunderstorms (refuse to think about tornados). This isn't much different than our normal violent weather threats in the spring, when nobody stocks up on anything. Plenty of time to fill water bottles if anybody feels the urge. Want to bet Central Texas area HEB's are out of toilet paper too?

[steveegg]

LOL!! Lou Dobbs just read a letter from a viewer that said he was too far left and needed to be "bitch slapped."

Okay; who sent that in? Stand up and be recognized.

[technochick99]

Min-Pin cam

Dibs on the Min-Pin-2 cam name. How could I not reference both my Thor and Penni in the name?!?

[green pastures]

Thanks, Tall_Texan. I hope and pray you are right.

[RDTF]

Hey I have a min-pin too!

[greyfoxx39]

Just curious, did Security do anything besides "witness"?

[Howlin]

What link are you all using?