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

[Fester Chugabrew]

I like Lima Beans.

That's okay. Some of my best friends like lima beans, too.

[Tuxedo]

Doesn't Exxon have a major refinery in Port Arthur? Hope they took all precautions when they shut that baby down.

[Crawdad]

Or the bottom of Bette Midler.

[Daralundy]

Hmm I just assumed the darker print on the keyword list meant something. Maybe it refers to number of articles.

[newzjunkey]

Geraldo sounds like he's reporting from the bottom of a toilet.

So Geraldo sounds same as usual?

[A Citizen Reporter]

"During Katrina, who was it who kept yelling "OOOOH --- OOOOH! while he was bent over double?"

That was Steve Harringan who does much better reporting from Iraq.

[Sender]

Mary had a little lamb;
its fleece was white as snow.
And everywhere that Mary went,
she cooked it long and slow.

[aBootes]

I have a really good one for special occasion french toast....

Ohhh Ohh. Ping me, please. I have to be gone in the AM, but I love french toast.

[NautiNurse]

During Katrina, who was it who kept yelling "OOOOH --- OOOOH!

See the last sentence of my commentary at the top of the thread. Stever Whooooa Harrigan from FOX. They locked him out of the building too. Sweet.

[DrewsMum]

hey where are you?

[Michael Goldsberry]

I just went outside and had a smoke...

... and just I gotta say...

Woooaaahhh!

* This has been a Fox News Alert! *

[Nita Nupress]

I don't live in kountze; one of my family members does. gotta run. talk more later~!

[Blogger]

Mom just got excited in the other room. "Oh! There's Geraldo!!! Yayyyyy Geralo!" LOL!

[onyx]

Two's company and three's a crowd?

[Blennos]

We lost power about 1/2 ago. I stumbled outside in the dark and powered up the generator, ran the various extension cords, cursing under my breath, and when I was finished, after 20 minutes of work, the power came back on. It is flickering off/on every couple of minutes so I do not think it will last too long. < p>

All of you who are not electrically challenged -- be thankful.

[Howlin]

Last time, I said the talking heads needed to be medicated. I'm thinking this time, maybe WE need the drugs.......LOL.

[ValerieUSA]

today

[steveegg]

I am sooo thanful I do not have cable TeeVee - yet can rely on my FRiends to relay whatever info they have, w/p having to look at it.

How's this for a catch phrase for the Hurricane Threads - suffering through the alphabet soup; so you don't have to :-)

[proud American in Canada]

I checked my pings one last time before heading up. It's a compulsion, which I'm sure others can understand. :)

Tornadoes touching down all over La.

*shakes head in sadness*

Aside from all the other damage this storm will do in Texas, I think it's also made it clear that a major American city will never be the same, ever. Maybe almost wiped off the map.

You know, it just struck me: I cried when Katrina hit and it seemed the city was gone, all the history, etc. I know I wasn't alone. Then with the president's speech, it seemed things were looking up, that it was possible to rebuild. Now, with the levees broken again and another storm apparently headed into the Gulf, I'm not so sure.

The loss of life is horrible. But it's also true that it seems the U.S. is about to lose a major city.

So I looked up the Elisabeth Kubler-Ross's "Five Stages of Grief." It would be interesting to hear what people think fits in this situation:

· Denial
· Anger
· Bargaining
· Depression
· Acceptance

Does anyone have any thoughts on this?

Okay, I have to get to bed. Maybe this post is wildly off the mark, but I think, with time and perspective, it may not be.