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

[I'll be your Huckleberry]

Yes and no.

I make my living as a professional gambler in Nevada.

While it is true that there is no line on hurricane landing sites. I can walk into any number of large casinos this afternoon and place a bet on this event.

It is called a proposition bet. I will call ahead and tell the book what I intend to bet and how much, after a certain length of time the book will give me odds on my bet and usually (but not always) take the action.

Proposition bets are normally a suckers bet, but if you have an edge of some sort there is money to be made.

It is not a bet for amateurs or tourists.

Hope this helps.

HUCK

[Txsleuth]

I just saw the weather guy on MSNBC....

He is predicting it will hit SW LA. about 9:00 AM on Sat...

and that EAST Texas will get some rain, but Dallas area won't get ANY rain at all!!!

And he shows the hurricance just hitting and then disappearing over east Texas and the middle of LA...then, just gone...

I am amazed...I am not going to say that I wanted a hurricane, oh, no I didn't....but I have to say that I will be disappointed if we don't even get a drop of rain, here in the DFW area...

[LikeLight]

I think that's a historical report about the N.O. police, during the height of the Katrina debacle.

[mhking]

10 pm flurry of updates due in 22 minutes.

Tell me about it...

[alancarp]

Here's the latest round of model runs, as listed by the South Florida Water management district. The models are trending now back toward the West from the solid red line -- the official Hurricane Center's track.

http://home.earthlink.net/~alancarp/images/storm_18.gif
original source: http://www.sfwmd.gov/org/omd/ops/weather/plots/storm_18.gif

[PAR35]

Some of the east Texas roads were made contraflow as well.

[MikefromOhio]

well that and Dennis upwelled and the water wasn't nearly as warm then as it is right now under Rita.

there is always a chance it could weaken, but that is in the eye of the beholder on this...it will still hit as a CAT 4 at the very very least.

Where Dennis hit, Ivan had already taken care of...

[maeng]

Right, Ted Koppell last night kept saying Bush has probably learned his lesson with Katrina!!! Counld have shot the tv.

[Syntyr]

"What they need to do is ask locals not to use the highways."

I dont know of any locals that would even venture on to a freeway the past 48 hours...

[the Deejay]

LOL!

I only have 3 grandkids. None have them
have stayed overnight. The two oldest ones,
(brothers), do stay overnight with my
youngest son and his wife [they have no kids.]
once in a while.

[Zacs Mom]

"Undocumented procurers"?

[ncountylee]

"Now on CNN - report on 8 NOLA police looting, stealing generator from hospital to keep their beer cold and holding up in a hotel room. Surprisingly honest from CNN. Damning to the NO PD - at least these 8 officers."

Surprized they weren't in Vega.

[james_f_hall]

Good ole TxDOT. If they didn't take 8 years to build more roads it'd be fine, and by the time the roads are finished they have to be built again so it is endless construction.

If the trans texas corridor was built, would that help evacs any? I assume so. Is it worth it?

[dawn53]

I just tuned in to look at the maps/sat views and is it my imagination or has Rita started taking an almost westerly course?

[Iwo Jima]

The Galvez?

[watchwoman]

I am just waiting for someone in the media to start harping that Texas is in "ready mode" more than Louisiana because of course that is Bush's home state!!"

I heard Paula Zahn spouting this evening about how Bush's trip to Texas is mainly a photo-op. "What does he hope to accomplish?" she asked her guest (I think it was Senator Kay Bailey Hutchinson.)

Texas is the president's home state. He lived here for many years. He still owns a home here. I think its only logical that he is coming here.

[Don'tMessWithTexas]

Hey we used to live about twenty miles south of Glen Rose. Beautiful country.

[Vintage1]

They interviewed an officcial with the NOPD who said there may have been some misunderstanding as to what these officers were actually doing - but to CNN's credit - the report refocused on the eyewitnesses to the officers looting, etc. - "they know what they saw."

[Txsleuth]

No actually....Joe Scarborough's show had a headline of Thousands of Texans suffer in 97 degree temps, waiting to evacuate...in stalled traffic...

So I think they would rather find out what goes wrong in Texas...

[sinkspur]

Did I just hear the TV guy mention a town called "Cut And Shoot"?

Yep.

Cut and Shoot, Texas.