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Locked on 09/23/2005 9:43:13 AM PDT by Admin Moderator, reason:
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
Sean has a lot to learn but after all this time I don't think he'll ever get it.
And that may have been premature. It's still too early for anyone to assume they're out of danger.
I live out where the tanks were yanking cars out of the snowpiles, if you remember that.
Four inches can turn into four feet, overnight, but you can see twisters coming from a looooonnnnnggg way off.
http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewsr.html?pid=18144
Here is the powerpoint saved as a webpage. This will allow anyone to view it in a browser. Cedar Dave, I thought this might help you. (This will work best in IE because I used Office to convert it. Sorry!)
NASA JSC Visual Impact of a Category 4 Storm on the Galveston Study Area
Not quite...and it's Replacement, not Regeneration or Replenishment.
About two threads ago I posted a guide to ERCs and some of the mythology around them, I forget where. Anyway, a new eyewall forms surrounding the original eyewall (thus forming a bullseye) and the inner eyewall gradually fades away; the pressure rises some, and the maximum winds drop, though the area of high winds gets wider. Eventually the inner eyewall vanishes completely, and you're left with one eyewall..the new, wider eyewall. If the conditions for the storm are still favorable, this outer eyewall shrinks and the storm restrengthens again.
The entire process takes 12-18 hours. The 5AM NHC advisory noted the beginnings of it, so it likely began at 4AM today. Recon still shows concentric eyewalls but the inner eyewall is almost toast. The cycle will likely be completed by midnight or so.
Do I make "To Do" lists? LOL. No, never. Only when I think I'm going to die. Or forget something.
The secret is to put in some really simple things, so you can cross them off.
One of my Thursday things was to bake a batch of chocolate chip cookies, because I didn't want the chips to melt when the power goes off.
East - between Galveston and Port Arthur.
Local Houston weather guy said as long as Rita doesn't track any more west, anything west of I-45 should not have hurricane force winds, so that will help some of us up here in big tree country!
Boy, I was thinking the same thing (Blizzard Threads). I live in 'x-treme' snow country, and YES, I would LOVE a blizzard thread. I can report from western NY - snow capital of NYS (and maybe a lot of other places) :))
If you do, PLEASE put me on your ping list..... thanks.
You riding her out DG?
Never thought about that, given the satellite thingie...what do you get?
I love our local setup...nice David Benoit piano or Pat Metheney guitar background muzac while they scroll through the details.
"Colmes is such a DOLT. He just...doesn't...get it."
I hate the s*$# eating grin he wears too.
Looking at your map made me think of the horror if the Tobasco Pepper crop is wiped out in New Iberia this year.
One of them is the San Luis - where the mayor said they would have their headquarters.
Eat the ice cream and sleep it off? Where do you live?
That would be funnier to me if I had been able to buy any today. I tried!
thank you Dolly and VRWC!
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