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Locked on 09/24/2005 10:02:57 AM PDT by Admin Moderator, reason:
Thread VIII: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1490587/posts |
Posted on 09/23/2005 8:01:35 PM PDT by NautiNurse
Hurricane Rita landfall is anticipated within the next few hours. Strong winds and heavy rains are battering southern Louisiana and southeastern Texas.
MSM news crews are shouting over the howling winds as they foolishly describe blowing rain, swaying trees, and crashing waves through rain splattered camera lenses. It's a hurricane. We know these things already.
An 18 wheeler rig reportedly overturned on an I-10 bridge. The fate of the truck driver is unknown at this time. Reports of widespread power outages in Lake Charles. KPLC-TV Lake Charles local news has remarkably improvised their reporting from a remote location. They are taking calls from residents, NWS, and public utility representatives, and alerting residents to local conditions.
On the flip side, CNN announced to the world that law enforcement officers had evacuated from Port Arthur TX with the rest of the population. Engraved looter invitations would have been more elegant.
Godspeed to all those in the path of this storm.
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 VI
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
Gee! Why? :)
A&W and Dairy Queen drive-ins .. burgies and fries.. Ohhh Yeaaaahh!!
I do think they will find out it's a different world across the Texas border.
The greatest danger is the politicians getting into a bidding war over who's going to be the most compassionate with our money. With respect to the damage, we've been taking and recovering from these things for eons, this is essentially just multiple itterations of those prior recovery efforts. Most states and cities have large reserve funds built into their budgets for precisely this purpose, and the private insurance sector provides a massive amount of help. State Farm's disaster team, for just one example, is larger than the entire staff of FEMA. So if the politicians can just control themselves, we'll be fine. Sadly, that's a pretty low probability 'if.'
Mother nature on steroids. :)
I am a big fan of free beer. As long as it is purchased, and given for free. Looted beer deserves an @sskickin'.
Fly, Jerry, fly!
I was a skeptic for a long time, but I believe in them. I don't know what they are...but I believe they exist in some places.
It is quite fascinating.
If you get the SCI FI network, watch GHOST HUNTERS on Wednesday nights at 9pm. They go and investigate hauntings in houses, old buildings and museums.
Sometimes they find things too..
They are the looters.
No, it was Brad's Gramma.
However, I've been playing for hours. The beer is gone. I just found a bottle of Blanton's single malt whiskey on the shelf. I don't know if that's a good omen or not.
Well, I said I liked Geraldo, never said I thought he was a genius ~LOL~
I think most in the media failed to realize that our roads were SIMPLY NOT DESIGNED TO GET EVERYONE OUT OF TOWN AT THE SAME TIME! They can barely handle everyone going different directions during rush hour.
All right, already. You've rung that bell three times.
Why don't you write a position paper on it and get back to the rest of us in the morning?
---
Oh Please Lord, (teeheehee)
saw him earlier, looked like a drowning rat.
Shep Saturday afternoon - "As my cameraman as my witness, I thought Jerry could fly".
Thanks.
"I'm coming to get my men."
I just found a bottle of Blanton's single malt whiskey on the shelf. I don't know if that's a good omen or not.
---
Bad juju, mon,, bad bad juju.. ;0
They are already telling people not to come back tomorrow! They are trying to tell that to all the Houston channels....
No Gas!
I'm pretty burned out on pondering the long term consequences of disasters - we'll be dealing with it soon enough, whether we want to or not.
Why? I'm just curious what would persuade a skeptic.
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