Hurricane Rita Live Thread, Part VI

NHC - NOAA ^ | 23 September 2005 | NHC - NOAA

[NautiNurse]

Dangerous Hurricane Rita is expected to make landfall in the northeast Gulf of Mexico within 24 hours. Tornados have spawned in Louisiana. Water is filling the Ninth Ward of New Orleans again. A bus carrying elderly evacuees was gutted by fire this morning outside Dallas, with multiple fatalities. Television crews have positioned their hurricane reporters throughout the region to attain maximum drama effects. Whoooooa.

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
Jefferson Co TX NWS Weather
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:

Lake Charles Long Range Radar Still image, with loop link
Houston/Galveston Long Range Radar Still image, with loop link
Lake Charles Experimental Radar Outages and Delays May Occur

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)

KHOU-TV/DT Houston
KPRC-TV/DT Houston
KTRK-TV/DT Houston
KTRH-AM Houston
KPLC-TV/DT Lake Charles/Lafayette
KSLA-TV/DT Shreveport

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
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 V
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

[Txsleuth]

My granddaughter will be cheering at a football game tomorrow....

I will settle for WIND....the last few weeks has been SO HOT, with NO wind....

but, I see what you mean about the soakers...getting them ready tonight!

[tcrlaf]

Anyone have a good scanner link for the affected areas??

Beaumont, Port Arthur, Lake Charles??

[silentknight]

Wowsers

http://www.usawx.com/rita545pmeastinernsept23y.jpg

5:45 eastern image - POWER

[johnb838]

That's ok, the Lucky Lady had BEER, am I right?

[Squantos]

Could you stop and pick up a hurricane jug of JD Black for me.....

[RDTF]

now that is a keeper son in law! Glad you are A-Ok.

[Txsleuth]

OHHHHHH---yyeeeaaaaaahhhhhhhh!!!

[fatnotlazy]

Can someone tell me the latest forecast for landfall location?

***

I found this on the NOAA website:

http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/text/refresh/MIATCPAT3+shtml/232058.shtml

[abb]

Got my supply of hurricane gin early in the week...

[Carolinamom]

Has Shep Smith or any of the other reporters "on the scene" made any comments about when they will be leaving? And what about THEIR gas situation?

[oceanview]

steve lyons TWC - it's jogging north, which means its more likely to come in on the LA side of the border. port arthur/beaumont may be on the western side, no picnic, but better - someone ping that new freeper taking care of his grandmother.

[Txsleuth]

Howlin....where you be????

I have only been here off and on today...but I don't think I remember a post with your name on it??

Are you taking a nap...so you can stay up all night for the hurricane coverage...??

BTW, does anyone know if Fox is going to have all night coverage tonight...like they did for katrina??

[WFTR]

Wow. What are the odds that Baton Rouge could literally dodge two bullets in less than a month?

With all of the refugees from New Orleans in the city, the "dodging bullets" analogy may be appropriate. We were very fortunate with Katrina. If she'd hit Baton Rouge the way that she hit some cities in Mississippi, the relief effort in New Orleans would have been even more difficult. Many of the convoys that you saw going into New Orleans were staging a couple of miles from my house here in Gonzales. Rita was never considered a big threat here, but I was afraid that she'd turn at the last minute and hit closer to Morgan City or New Iberia. That hit would have been horrible for Baton Rouge.

Bill

PS. "Refugees" and "evacuees" are not the same. If you had a job before the storm hit, you're an evacuee. If you didn't have a job, you're a refugee. If you don't like that designation, you need to get a job before the next storm.

[AggieMom x 3]

Both of ours are majors, well, one a little more major than the other, so we'll be fine I'm sure.

[don-o]

Can't log on to KHOU-TV. Anyone getting it now?

[greene66]

Well, things are still awfully blustery here in Nederland (adjacent to Port Arthur). Seems to get a little worse each half-hour, with intermittent lulls. True, the winds aren't anything I haven't experienced before in tropical storms, but I'm well aware that worse is coming. Can't help but wonder how long the power will last.

[james_f_hall]

I am using the Yahoo! link from http://news.yahoo.com

[ARealMothersSonForever]

It does steam when rain hits hot ground. I have seen it happen in Houston, and Dallas. Has something to do with the humidity, and dry air colliding with warm/moist air.

[Heatseeker]

I am.

[RDTF]

Greek guy in Klute TX on Fox feeding law enforcement for free (donations accepted) at his restaurant because he can't get out.