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Part VI: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/1490045/posts |
Posted on 09/22/2005 5:44:09 PM PDT by NautiNurse
Extremely dangerous Category Four Hurricane Rita continues to move toward landfall along the northwest Gulf of Mexico shoreline. Mandatory and voluntary evacuations continue across Texas and Louisiana coastal areas. Lake Charles LA is providing evacuations by bus for residents who have no transportation.
Traffic gridlock in the greater Houston area was compounded by gasoline stations without fuel, long lines at those stations still carrying fuel, and record breaking temperatures on the first day of autumn.
Offshore drilling platforms and rigs, as well as oil refineries, petrochemical and natural gas plants are in the path of the storm. Wave heights recorded by buoy have exceeded 38 feet. The refineries threatened by Hurricane Rita are on higher ground than those affected by flooding from Katrina. As a result, speculation abounds regarding future prices for winter heating fuel and gasoline.
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
KPLC-TV Lake Charles KPLC Streaming
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 IV
Hurricane Rita Live Thread, Part III
Hurricane Rita Live Thread, Part II
Hurricane Rita Live Thread, Part I
Tropical Storm Rita
Tropical Depression 18
>> Under "State Of Emergency", shoot on sight.
In Texas, can't y'all do that about any time anyway?
<<
Not without having to drag them into the house. Under a state of emergency, we can just leave them where they fall. Makes it more convenient.
"Doesn't get much worst then that".
That should be "Does not get much worse than that".
You are obviously not from Texas. We like our neighbors (the love thing can cause a little issue with the missus). Funny how there are no widespread reports of looting, rape, murder and mayhem. Begging your pardon, yet you are welcome to BITE ME.
Don't Mess With Texas
Hahaha! that is hilarious. I know this one is hiding from me. Its between the cat's bag of food and its kitty litter.
It's always the blame game, when they say 'there's plenty of blame to go around' you know the blame points to them.
I don't remember the 'evac' routes but I was there back in the 60's. I just remember traffic was a bit$h back then.
Hours to go....
Thx.
That'll be those 12 foot waves at 300 NM radius mentioned earlier.
Thank you for that link & info. I had heard the "turning home" story earlier today, and hoped it had been a vicious rumor. That's really too bad.
Dumas also used to have big welcome signs on the roads into town which said "Welcome to Dumas! Home of the Ding Dong Daddies! 5,000 Friendly Folks, and A Few Old Soreheads!"
Yeah, long time ago, being PC, of course. It may still say RE Lee on the front of the building--I haven't been by there in a while--but anything reported in the media, such as sports or just general usage, has to say "Houston Lee." That's probably their UIL name, too.
Only 1) to stop a fleeing felon, 2) to stop someone from causing bodily injury or 3) if they're on your property after dark - if they're in your house, you can shoot them at any time, but just plain old trespassers can only be shot after dark.
Generally, you cannot shoot in the daytime to *prevent* someone from committing a crime against someone else's business property. Under "State Of Emergency", that rule is suspended, along with the nighttime restrictions on trespassers.
Somebody needs to slap AP upside the head and tell them that this ain't Hollywood, and tell the lemmings that know only the big roads that there are other ways out of town. Heck, I know of innumeralbe ways out of where I live, and the route that I'm likely to choose has but 2 major intersections to worry about until I get well out of the county.
"City Cam", eh? I like Channel 13's name better: "The Jam Cam".
OK so it hops out when the lights are out.I have a stange house.Mine hop out and make noice when the lights are on.Kitty will get this one.
The traffic hasn't changed, but the evac routes are clearly marked every 1/2 to 1 mile or so. The Houstonians can give a more accurate number for that.
Fair enough. I didn't want to inject religion into a hurricane thread, but when someone asked how long we have to endure all the lying and hatred, I had to reply what my gut has told me for some time.
Back off with the cheerleading. He's down in the middle of it, with a home at risk, you aren't.
Some of the state agencies made major mistakes with the gas shortage and Hwy 290 contraflow. Nothing like what happened in LA, but still a big problem. The evac plan didn't anticipate that so many inland Houston folks would evacuate, nor did they anticipate that so many gas stations would shut down early and run(many did NOT run out of gas, but rather their staff simply closed up and got out.) Some of the inland counties and municipalities failed to provided the staff and resources that they have been required to implement in the evac plan for years. There will be hell to pay for that later on. Before 2pm TXDOT was saying that it would soon open up the 290 contraflow, one of 3 contraflows. At 2:15 they said that they couldn't open it because they needed the inbound lanes for emergency traffic. That kind of stuff is supposed to be figured out in the planning stages, not when a crisis erupts. Also turns out that they discovered that they didn't have the personnel to seal off enough of the entrances/exits along that road. Another planning failure.
Amazing that we've evacuated 2.5 million already, and more will get out before it is over. Harris County, Houston, and Galveston have done a great job. Rick Perry has done some great things during this. However some state and local agencies have dropped the ball, and they sure as hell better hope this storm doesn't shift back west to Houston.
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