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Posted on 09/22/2005 3:25:57 AM PDT by 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
Scanner crashed....
Small town, I think this is going to be a problem...
...Rita continues west-northwestward... ...Outer rainbands spreading over southern Louisiana...
a Hurricane Warning is in effect from Port O'Connor Texas to Morgan City Louisiana. A Hurricane Warning means that hurricane conditions are expected within the warning area within the next 24 hours. Preparations to protect life and property should be rushed to completion.
A Tropical Storm Warning is in effect for the southeastern coast of Louisiana east of Morgan City to the mouth of the mouth of the Pearl River including metropolitan New Orleans and Lake Pontchartrain....and from south of Port O'Connor to Port Mansfield Texas. A Tropical Storm Warning means that tropical storm conditions are expected within the warning area within the next 24 hours.
A tropical storm watch is in effect from south of Port Mansfield to Brownsville Texas...and for the northeastern coast of Mexico from Rio San Fernando northward to the Rio Grande. A tropical storm watch means that tropical storm conditions are possible within the watch area...generally within 36 hours.
For storm information specific to your area...including possible inland watches and warnings...please monitor products issued by your local weather office.
At 7 PM CDT...0000z...the center of Hurricane Rita was located near latitude 26.0 north...longitude 89.9 west or about 350 miles... 565 km...east-southeast of Galveston Texas and about 290 miles... 465 km...southeast of Cameron Louisiana.
Rita is moving toward the west-northwest near 10 mph...17 km/hr. A gradual turn toward the northwest is expected during the next 24 hours. On this track...the core of Rita will be approaching the southwest Louisiana and the Upper Texas coast late Friday.
Maximum sustained winds are near 145 mph...230 km/hr...with higher gusts. Rita is a extremely dangerous category four hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson scale. Some fluctuations in intensity are likely during the next 24 hours.
Hurricane force winds extend outward up to 60 miles... 95 km... from the center...and tropical storm force winds extend outward up to 205 miles...335 km. Any tropical storm force winds in the New Orleans area are expected to be confined to a few squalls associated with quickly moving rainbands. Shortly before 6 PM CDT...NOAA buoy 42001 just south of the center of Rita reported a 10-minute average wind of 83 mph...134 km/hr with a gust to 112 mph...180 km/hr.
The latest minimum central pressure reported by an Air Force hurricane hunter aircraft was 913 mb...26.96 inches.
Coastal storm surge flooding of 15 to 20 feet above normal tide levels...along with large and dangerous battering waves...can be expected near and to the east of where the center makes landfall. Tides are currently running about 2 feet above normal along the Louisiana...Mississippi and Alabama coasts in the areas affected by Katrina. Tides in those areas will increase to 3 to 5 feet and be accompanied by large waves...and residents there could experience coastal flooding.
Rainfall accumulations of 8 to 12 inches with isolated maximum 15 inch totals are possible along the path of Rita over southeast Texas and southwestern Louisiana as it moves inland. Based on the forecast track...totals accumulations in excess of 25 inches are possible over the next several days as the system slows down. In addition...rainfall amounts of 3 to 5 inches are possible over southeastern Louisiana including New Orleans.
Repeating the 7 PM CDT position...26.0 N... 89.9 W. Movement toward...west-northwest near 10 mph. Maximum sustained winds...145 mph. Minimum central pressure... 913 mb.
The next advisory will be issued by the National Hurricane Center at 10 PM CDT.
Forecaster Knabb
$$
Is it still weakening? How can that be...looks better than it has all day!
I read the book....it's excellent....and History channel did it well...
...Believe it or not, Sean Astin (Samwise from Lord of the Rings) has bought the rights to the book for a movie!
They dumped Wayne in Beaumont...he said the PD officers have no clue what is going on...
Now the Houston Mayor is on.....says the fuel under the State Plan was not there.
Come on, are you surprised... Nagin said the strip clubs were open earlier, consider the sources.
The official word on contra flow is that it starts at FM-1488 which is 20 miles north of this location and the point where I-45 north narrows to two lanes. However, callers to KPRC (on the internet) say that they have now moved the contra flow start further south. Whether that is official or not I don't know. Press conference now starting...
LOL!
Prayers, gab1279...check in when you can, OK???
Keep in mind that Eaker is talking about propane ranges that are designed for indoor use, and are correctly set up to provide plenty of air into the air/fuel mix to ensure complete combustion. This is not necessarily the case with outdoor-type grills, and is why you should not bring such into the house (plus the hand-tightened connector on the outdoor grill might be slowly leaking propane gas). See my post 2881
I just hope they don't "Titanic-ize" it by putting in some hokey love story.
OPEN THOSE LANES!!!
NHC is late with the 7 PM advisory. Hmmmm. Might be waiting for new Recon info.
I just happened to have on CNN and this guy Chad Meyers was pretty good.
Oooo! Come to West Texas, Rita. We need some rain!
Forward movement still less than 10 mph.
Be careful Flyer, and keep the grill goin'
Spaghatti on the grill aint too bad
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