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

[shield]

Looks like Joe Bastardi-Weenies crazy thought pattern to me. I think you can name them all Broadway Joe Bastardi-Weenie!!'s EGO. ;o) He loves to get face time on FoxNews. Wish Fox would wise up. He's just way over the top with his hurricane forecasts.

[JWojack]

Or just have a helicopter land off the road, scramble out and give every gas, lift off, and go get another load of gas...

What a mess!

[NautiNurse]

I have broken the little thingy in the back twice. Is it some sort of spring?

[Howlin]

Yes, ma'am.

[steveegg]

And Andy Cooper decided to join the hurricane party as well (also left of the storm) trying to blame the authorities for the traffic jams.

[Mo1]

Yep; that's Shep, and yep, he's left of the storm.

Is there ANY news station I can watch that won't make me run from the room screaming??

I just can't deal with that BS again with this storm

[james_f_hall]

I don't know. I was multi-tasking.

This loop appears to show her getting meaner:

http://www.ssd.noaa.gov/PS/TROP/DATA/RT/gmex-vis-loop.html

[tcrlaf]

21 foot waves now being reported 64 miles south of Dauphin...

I assume this is water heading for the Ponchatrain??

[RDTF]

Promise to eat as much crow as you can swallow if he's right again like he was with Katrina?

[CedarDave]

From Bastardi's "outlook":
6.) Analogs to middle and late September 1985 are being glanced at, but until I have some time, I can't hone in yet. The point is that new in-close tropical activity is likely to develop next week, be it the wave coming across or just the pattern allowing for southwest Atlantic development.

Nauti Nurse, you can't just catch a break can you? No vacation for you next week either!

[JWojack]

Or maybe they should invest in digital gauges..

[steveegg]

News? Nope (at least not nationally). Weather? There's always TWC. There's also the streaming links above if you've got broadband.

[Sally'sConcerns]

Glad to hear aunt and hubby are home.

Just got a report from sister, Alexis the Bengal Kitty located at Hw6 & Bellaire.

Her power went out so she called and after being directed to several different phone numbers she finally found a live person to talk to. She has power now but the interesting part is why the power is going out now. Seems the deadlocked traffic is causing it's own mini heat storm and is causing transformers to overheat.

My son is now at her house and will be staying with her through whatever happens. He's never been in any really bad weather or power outage so my sister is having to educate him on little things like not opening the refrigerator or freezer door and gaze at the goodie when the power is out. Bless his heart! Sometimes he doesn't have the sense God gave a goose.

[SE Mom]

If Shep saw an eagle swoop down to get a mouse for supper it would be "the dramatic cruelty of nature's wrath"

[RDTF]

And Bill (the Babe) Hemmer is in New Orleans

[Interesting Times]

Hysterics to commence. Geraldo will be on the clogged highway holding a screaming baby. Seepage in the levees according to Gibson. OH MY!!

Somebody needs to whisper in Geraldo's ear that spending the night with his finger in the leaking levee would really boost his ratings.

[numberonepal]

Station 42040 - MOBILE SOUTH 64 nm South of Dauphin Island, AL
Conditions at 42040 as of
(4:50 pm CDT)
2150 GMT on 09/22/2005:

Wind Direction (WDIR):	E ( 90 deg true )
Wind Speed (WSPD):	29.1 kts
Wind Gust (GST):	33.0 kts
Wave Height (WVHT):	21.3 ft
Dominant Wave Period (DPD):	13 sec
Average Period (APD):	8.7 sec
Mean Wave Direction (MWDIR):	ESE ( 123 deg true )
Atmospheric Pressure (PRES):	29.69 in
Pressure Tendency (PTDY):	-0.05 in ( Falling )
Air Temperature (ATMP):	82.8 °F
Water Temperature (WTMP):	83.3 °F

 

Continuous Winds

TIME (CDT)	WDIR	WSPD
4:50 pm	E ( 92 deg )	28.4 kts
4:40 pm	E ( 91 deg )	27.0 kts
4:30 pm	E ( 92 deg )	28.0 kts
4:20 pm	E ( 88 deg )	25.8 kts
4:10 pm	E ( 86 deg )	25.8 kts
4:00 pm	E ( 87 deg )	26.4 kts

[greyfoxx39]

I lived in the southwest all my life until I moved to Waco...I never knew it could rain like that...seems like the storm cell just sat there are rotated for days on end. Quite an education for a desert rat! I think Katrina has put a scare in about everyone, may account for the run on the stores.

[bwteim]

Just now transcribing Chris M on PMSNBC

Chris: Can you actually project these almost constant geometric turns

The rest is all the WeatherDude:

Turns are very erratic

98 degrees with 102 degrees heat index for people on hiways in Houston

New stuff, winds down to 145 (still old report) but bringing it ashore as Cat 4.

NOLA now under TS warning

Raining hard

Could rain there for 72 hours

Official forecast track has not changed much.

If you are on the right side of the landfall, etc. blah blah

We have indications this storm is starting to slow down.

Some computer models show storm stalling out in Eastern Texas, showing "squirrely lines" after land fall.

One to two feet of rain

Then, tributaries lead to Mississippi, and "we all know where those little rivers go"

Beaumont, Port Arthur is projected now as area of landfall

[RoseofTexas]

NO, I'm watching the TexasWC and Rita is wobbling herself towards the borderline of Texas and Louisiana! It looks like RITA is changing paths slightly, very slightly!