Hurricane Rita Live Thread, Part V

NHC - NOAA ^ | 22 September 2005 | NHC - NOAA

[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

[nwctwx]

I don't think I did anything, but I'm more than willing to take credit! :-p

[macamadamia]

"Rita will not make landfall in Texas."





John has a long mustache.

[nwctwx]

You deserve an honorary meteorology degree after this summer.

[Palladin]

I think the guys at the hurricane center had Rita Cosby in mind when they picked the name.

[WhyisaTexasgirlinPA]

Thank you very much -

[nomorelurker]

placeholder

[james_f_hall]

Isn't this a little late to call a evac there? Corpus Called an evac when it was on the southern edge of the cone. Louisiana has always been in the northern edge of that cone of uncertainty. Louisiana is what about 18hrs behind Texas on this?

[cgk]

Stormwatchers: Citizen Bloggers covering Hurricane Rita

[laz]

Somewhat off-topic, and maybe it's just me, but does Philippe look like he's trying to reform?

[yield 2 the right]

I was waiting for someone to say that! I, too, hope that is not the case....

[Dane]

Bastardi on Fox now

Bastradi was on CNBC earlier and IMO, it seems he wants Rita to hit Galveston.

He was talking about how he thinks this will be a cold winter and even mentioned something like calling his broker.

[Pointblank]

Reading the link, it seams to be harder to cross into Mexico than into the US.

[Dog Gone]

My cousin lives just north of 290-Jones Rd. intersection in NW Houston. Would you happen to know if that area is flood prone?

That's the Cypress area. The answer is no, in general. I lived there for awhile and there were some problems when we got seven inches of rain in a day, but that would be expected anyplace.

[LA Woman3]

White male taking air conditioner from window...police en route...

Beaumont scanner



And the looting begins....

[grwcfl537]

All of the most likely landfall points are in Louisiana.

Looks to me like Iberia Parish is a likely strike point. Rita seems to be riding the 1008mb isobar and many storms veer a little east on landfall.

[NautiNurse]

Great scanner report. It's going to be a long night for a lot of people.

Is Beaumont under mandatory evac?

[ekwd]

Thanks

[brickdds]

White male taking air conditioner from window...police en route...

Beaumont scanner



Are you in Beaumont??

[RummyChick]

I wonder how Brother Bush feels about Jeb Bush starting a panic about gas crisis in Florida.

[bwteim]

LOL