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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
had to switch from fox to weather channel. between trump and the anti war ads my blood pressure was rising. such foolishness
Are they doing anything to help these people out who have no gas and are blocking traffic?
Does anyone know if...in SOuth FLorida.....whether I95 or the Turnpike were ever turned into NORTHBOUND LANES ONLY for evacuation? Also---the keys main road.....was it ever STRICKLY NORTHBOUND Lanes?
LOL! That was great!
They are already calling for landfall east of Houston in the latest NHC forecast and I'd be rather surprised if they shift it any further toward Port Arthur before they run the models again because the official track is at the model consensus right now.
Never heard about I-95 or turnpike. The single Keys road is another matter.
Alternative routes to San Antonio I just heard on Channel 2 Houston:
Get on I-37 North to San Antonio
1093 to Eagle Lake to 90W to Seguin
God bless and good luck to everyone leaving today. We are staying put since we are farther north.
Don't waste time taping your windows...that offers no protection at all. If you can't board them up just go...traffic looks awful. Prayers for you and your family and for everyone in the path of this monster.
It took me 8 hrs + to go from Houston to Austin, leaving at 3:00 PM. My son's room mate bought a map of east Texas, left at 4:30 from Baytown (further than I had to go), too back roads and was in Austin in a little more than 4 hours.
But that was yesterday ... it might not work as well today
Xenalyte,
My neighbor just tried to go on an errand but gave up. He said everything is gridlock as far as the eye can see.
You may want to reconsider that evacuation idea unless you plan to ride out Rita in your car.
I was driving back to Orlando on the Turnpike, from Atlanta, as Andrew was approaching. Northbound was bumper-to-bumper. Southbound was wide open, and I was driving about 100mph.
True and although it won't help now, for future reference most of the camping supply places (Cabelas, Bass Pro, Sportsmans Guide(an online store/catalog) etc) have plastic collapsible water containers. THey are 3-5 gallon I believe and squish down when empty so they don't take up much space when not needed.
I wish you luck riding out the storm. If I can help you and the family out in any way please let me know. I am stocked up pretty good. I am hoping for the best for my family and yours. Take care.
NHC changing its tune...
WATCH OUT LOUISIANA!
NN, I'm looking at that map, and I'm thinking this thing is going to hit Louisiana. The High has pulled out, and there is a path right up the back side of that ridge.
WE have room... so come to Lubbock.. we are ready for you all...
Lubbock's shelter plan put on hold
BY ELLIOTT BLACKBURN
AVALANCHE-JOURNAL
City officials shut down Lubbock's shelter for Hurricane Rita evacuees Wednesday evening, planning to direct Texans fleeing the coast to local hotels or Salvation Army shelters.
After a conference call with state officials frustrated by technical difficulties and disconnects, emergency officials did not believe that the state would fly any evacuees into the Hub City, City Council chief of staff Dixon Platt said.
"We're willing to help, ready to help, but they just don't know it," Platt said.
Jim Watkins / Staff
Lubbock codes inspector Gregg Richards reahces into a box full of pillows as he sails one to co-worker Dian Taylor as Lubbock sets up its Hurricane Rita evacuee center in an airconditioned airplane hangar at Reese Center, Wednesday.
Order a print
Lubbock will instead direct evacuees that are already trickling into the city to hotels and motels with vacancies. Only 65 rooms were available Wednesday afternoon, a number that was dropping fast, but Lubbock would be working with hotels in outlying areas to help find evacuees somewhere to stay, Platt said.
"Where would you rather stay?" he said at Lubbock's shelter command post at the Reese Technology Center. "This is pretty nice if you don't have anywhere else to go, but I'd rather take a Motel 6."
Lubbock had only last week closed down a shelter in the north hangar of the center set up for victims of Hurricane Katrina. More than 400 evacuees from New Orleans were flown to Lubbock in early September after the storm ravaged the Louisiana and Mississippi coastlines.
The hangar was quiet Wednesday evening. City staff put the finishing touches on 595 cots and air mattresses, tucking in sheets and laying out blankets.
A police command trailer laden with communications equipment and satellite gear was powered up outside. In another nearby hangar, city employees moved between stacks of water bottles and soft drinks, baby carriages and wheelchairs, donated supplies from Lubbock's response to Hurricane Katrina that had not yet been moved from the center.
But those choosing to leave the coast probably had the means to care for themselves, and unless hotels and charitable private shelters filled, there was no way to know whether the shelter would be used, Platt said.
"If they don't have any other choice, then yes, we'll open it," he said.
Two burn victims being treated at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston arrived at University Medical Center on Tuesday evening, but emergency officials no longer expected to handle critical care patients, said Greg Bruce, local chairman of the American Red Cross.
There were few burn centers dotted across the state, but plenty of hospitals between the coast and Lubbock, he said.
"It makes sense for your burn patients; it doesn't make sense for your general hospital population," Bruce said.
Shelters had opened in several major cities in Central and East Texas, and Houston evacuees were being directed to College Station.
Mayor Marc McDougal and Mayor Pro Tem Tom Martin did not believe Lubbock would see many evacuees until after the storm had struck.
"Right now, everyone evacuating are people in personal vehicles. ... I don't really look for that this far north," McDougal said. "Most are going I-10 and I-35, and that doesn't bring them into Lubbock."
Relief workers were expecting healthier evacuees who would need less counseling or care than victims of Hurricane Katrina. Any Houston-area residents who fled to Lubbock would be people who made it out ahead of a disaster instead of facing the shock of the storm, said Danette Castle, Lubbock Regional Mental Health and Mental Retardation chief executive officer.
"Hopefully, these are people who got out ahead of a disaster," Castle said.
The fast turnaround from the previous storm was helping Lubbock and groups like the American Red Cross swiftly restart their shelter operations, Bruce said.
"It really has allowed us to ramp up quicker," Bruce said.
Officials had improved communications at a command center set up to handle the shelter, and would be more efficient in how it would use volunteers and other workers to care for any evacuees at the shelter, Platt said.
But the improved communications were for naught during a planned conference call between 500 cities and counties and state emergency operations officials. Top administrators in Austin, local emergency coordinators and other cities frequently lost contact with each other, and city officials new little more than they did before the call, Platt said.
"I bet we didn't hear but five minutes of the conference call," he said.
In the shelter, city employee Terri Martinez finished with the last of the air mattresses. She wasn't concerned that the shelter was being closed, and hoped those fleeing the powerful storm would find refuge in Lubbock.
"If somebody needs to be evacuated, this would be the place to come," Martinez said. "We're prepared.
My son got off I-10 at Mason Rd and plans to take 1093 to Eagle Lake then to Seguin. There seem to be gas stations along there that have gas, but lines about 100 cars long. Hope his alternate route works out. He got worried when he heard on the radio they wouldn't be opening up the opposite lanes of I-10.
Agree. Spend that time moving your electronics, etc. into the bathroom shower or tub, inside big trash bags. Use tape to close the plastic bags.
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