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

[ZOTnot]

Thank goodness!

After seeing 'ERC' countless times, finally someone spelled it out!

Now, I'll ask my dumb question:

What does it mean? (What happens during the ERC?)

[secret garden]

That's where my family is too!

[TheLion]

Check out post #88....too much rain!

[bwteim]

Depends on how long Rita lingers.

Here is national link for river gauges.
http://www.weather.gov/ahps/

From there you can navigate.

[Sweet_Sunflower29]

Thinking good thoughts and praying for all of you in Rita's path.

NN, many thanks for such a great job of keeping us informed!

[DollyCali]

Conroe Texas.. is that a safe area to be? N of Houston?

[LikeLight]

I'll try to add addresses on the Beaumont calls when I can hear them up.

[Hilltop]

A white male taking an air conditioner. Well I guess that balances the scale.

[NCjim]

The best of luck to you - between Katrina and Rita this year, and your daughter's experience last year, your family has had more than their share. While I would not wish these storms on anyone, it is certainly someone else's turn!

[nwctwx]

Smiling. :)

I need to get back to TM, I wish the weather would stop for a while. Dialup is difficult on most sites I have created/run. I guess I should remember the folks left back in the stone age of tellecommunications. hehe.

I don't get everything done that I should, but I try!

[NautiNurse]

Thanks for the info. Someone gave me the KPLC feed earlier, so it's at the top of the thread. Will add the KATC link on the next thread.

[nhoward14]

Oh crap. She's gonna go to Marshall, TX and then hitch on to the tail of the caravan of old farts leaving the Shreveport casinos to head home in D/FW.

[james_f_hall]

depends where it stalls.

[freeperfromnj]

How many miles is Corpus Christi from Galveston?

[don-o]

I do remember that. Curdled my blood. Indeed, seemed to be a hoax.

[fishntex]

"That pool contractor guy in the condo right on the beach is an idiot. Said you would have to have an explosion to destroy the building and he was staying."

Like most things reasoning power is not something God passed out equally.

[Dog Gone]

I've never heard of Bay Oaks, but all of the area southeast of Houston is vulnerable to storm surge. At the moment, the storm track won't produce massive storm surge around the Bay, but probably all areas 6-8 feet above sea level will still get flooded.

[sam_paine]

It's true. I know one of the docs staying in the Galveston Hosp. I'm not so sure it was completely voluntary as much as it was their commitment to their duty to care. The patients couldn't leave, so the docs had to stay....even though they might be sacrificing their own safety. God bless them.

[steveegg]

Got a link to the Beaumont scanner?

[VRWCTexan]

Conroe is relatively "safe" - as compared to the coastal areas -