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

[publana]

I cannot stand that guy. When he comes on I have to hit the mute button or lose my teeth to grinding them down to the gums.

[NCjim]

Sounds like a commercial for Taco Bell

[mathluv]

I foound the link. http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1488737/posts

[CharlesMiller]

TJ Cinnamon in SLand. I'm going this am! THe Cinabon (sp?) in tha Mall is closed. How was the traffic?

[OC_Steve]

OK, we have a hurricane coming into Texas and now a bus burning up killing 20 people and people are actually emailing into KPRC asking when they will be returning to regular programming. Amazing, but I guess people are worried what happened to Joey Tribiani over the summer.

[Petronski]

Don't look at Bastardi, just listen and you will learn something.

Kinda like Self-promoting Hype 101?

[publana]

>>Don't look at Bastardi, just listen and you will learn something.<<

Where the hurricane isn't going? He was claiming last night that it was going straight into Galveston.

[ladyjane]

Wasn't it you who once said, "Don't judge a book by its cover?"

[kassie]

Now that is my kind of find!

[4everontheRight]

No...his name is Joe but not Bastardi. His last name is Sobel. He is the only one who can accurately predict our winter weather here...he is right on the money every time! He bases our snow falls on one loaf of bread or two loaves!!!

[laz]

Some of the elderly passengers had oxygen tanks with them, but it was not known whether this may have contributed to the fire

Nah, why would anyone suspect the oxygen tanks? Maybe it was the center fuel tank.

[HoustonCurmudgeon]

How was the traffic?

None.

[Broker]

FOX & Friends reports that we will have "GAS PAINS SOON!"

[jeffers]

Yes, it's a big one, but that graphic is based on a 35 mile diameter inner eyewall with ten mile deep maximum winds.

Either the 0500 or 0700 uopdate says we're at 33 miles for the diameter now, so Houston and Galveston, while still right on the edge, while no doubt going to get flanked and wet, may still yet avoid heavy surge damage.

As long as the track doesn't shift south...

[markman46]

LOL matthew Lesko the gov $$$ man hehe
Good Morning all

[steveegg]

Morning everybody.

I was hoping to wake up to better news (especially not the bus fire), but I'll take what I got regarding Houston.

There is a fresh Vortex Data Message that showed up just after the 7 am advisory with an eye fix of 6:43 (the fix matches the 7 am advisory with rounding errors) - pressure measured this time at 927 mb (the advisory had an estimated 930 mb) - max flight-level winds of 126 knots in the NE -

527 
URNT12 KNHC 231207
VORTEX DATA MESSAGE
A. 23/11:43:10Z
B. 27 deg 05 min N
  091 deg 27 min W
C. 700 mb 2481 m
D. NA  kt
E.     deg     nm
F. 309 deg 098 kt
G. 215 deg 017 nm
H.         927 mb
I.  12 C/ 3043 m
J.  17 C/ 3046 m
K.  15 C/ NA
L. CLOSED
M. E36/30/25
N. 12345/ 7
O. 0.02 /  1 nm
P. AF307 2118A RITA         OB 21
MAX FL WIND 126 KT NE QUAD 08:25:00 Z
INNER EYEWALL RAGGED ON NORTH SIDE, THIN S.

I've been out since about 1:20 am, so I'm surprised they're talking about an inner eyewall again. Did Rita not finish her ERC, or is this another one?

[Alia]

Thank you Guenevere. Take care.

I cannot shake the images of the Galveston Hurricane as authored by Erik Larson. My dreams last night were so vivid.

[Ichneumon]

Speaking of links, here's one that I have been watching. Lots of stuff from various sources in one place, and additional links: http://www.crownweather.com/tropical.html

WOW, that's a lot of information. Thanks for posting the link.

[sono]

Bus explodes carrying evacuees ... 20 thus far reported dead ...

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,170212,00.html

[Petronski]

It was, and I'm not.