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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
Winds are picking up in Lake Charles, La. for Leventhal now.
I felt guilty abut posting that; I think they (the Lake Charles TV people) are doing great for what they have. I hope win an Emmy Award.
No license needed for looter. No minimum looter size, either.
Get started early - the looter population is easily spooked and they disappear after a few of them get killed. Sometimes they don't even show up for looter season.
The official landfall is where the center of circulation ends up crossing the coast, and this eye is still quite big.
No license required, no bag limit. The emergency order is in effect once the cane has hit land.
The miracles of modern chemistry...
I'm thinking Valium.
Turn on Nightline. They are showing the latest - it looks like it's live. I'm without cable and am grateful for BurbankKarl's link:
http://www.weatherserver.net/ritavideoLouisiana2.htm
Other people leaving earlier clears the road for later people. If everyone leaves at the same time then traffic will be much worse. Please tell the mayor I'll be glad to explain it to him anytime.
Especially with the dumb blonde asking him what he expects the conditions will be like tonight.
"Rick: Gee Bimbo, I'm hoping it will calm down so I can get some fishing in."
Rick Reichmuth said this eyewall is about 35 miles wide.
When he was talking to those two guys they could barely stand and the camera was bobbing and weaving, too.
Dude, what is wrong with you tonight? I've gone over all of her posts and I can't find anything wrong with them... but I can find plenty wrong with yours. I'm trying to keep track of this freekin' hurricane, can you PLEASE back off the attacks?
You're not usually like this - what's wrong??
As for me, I am probably what might be termed a "super skeptic".. ;^) I have had at least four memorable events that others would've interpreted as 'ghosts' - one of which I seriously thought might be a ghost - but none of them persuaded me ultimately.
1) I had come home from work one day when I was in my early 20s, and fallen asleep on the couch. I'd just completed a 16+ hour shift. Anyhow, I was awakened by loud, extended banging at the door (it was roughly around one in the very bright, sunny afternoon). The way the house was built, you could see through a bay window if someone was standing at the door as you were walking from the couch to the door. It looked as if there were a silhouette at the door (beyond the drawn curtains). I looked through the peephole as I always did, and clear as day there was a man in some kind of uniform standing at the door. When I opened the door, there was nothing there. I get chills just remembering it. It's seared .. seared .. into my memory.
2) A couple months afterward, I was sleeping on the bed after another 16+ hour shift. It was around noon. I was right on the side of the bed, facing the direction of the bedroom door. I was half-awakened by the sound of the front door opening but was so dead tired that I couldn't move or open my eyes quite all the way. I saw rather clearly though someone walk through the door and stand at the side of the bed - right in front of me. I was trying to force my eyes all the way open, but I couldn't for what felt like the longest time. Finally, I came fully awake and my eyes opened completely and *flash* there was no one there..
3) Many years afterward, I was visiting the house where my grandfather died. I stayed there for about three months. I was doing renovations to parts of the house. Anyhow, one night I was looking over this one room, which was supposed to be a bedroom but which I wanted to convert into a TV room. The house was generally pretty spartan: no one had lived there for years, although much of the furniture was still there, and it had been kept neat by my grandmother, who dusted, etc. on a regular basis. In any case, I noticed that there was a photo on the wall, which hadn't drawn my attention since I'd been there, because I hardly ever went into that room (I stayed in another bedroom). The room was half-dark, because there was no lamp in there and no light fixture above. I was using the light in the hall to see by. So, I went to look at the photo, and it was my grandparents with me & my sister. Anyhow, as I was looking in this photo the glass front was reflecting me & and the room. All of a sudden, someone stepped into view and was standing right over my shoulder. I turned around and about had a heart attack when no one was there..
I attribute that one to all the hash that my uncle who was also there at the time would smoke, because although I never smoke it I'm very hyper-susceptible to pot and can't be around it in just about any way, shape, or form without it giving me a buzz (i.e., 'contact high').
4) Finally, in one of the houses I grew up in, I would frequently hear the sound of someone running up and down the stairs. Sometimes when I was walking by those stairs it would feel as if someone brushed by me from behind. There was never anyone there at the time. I would also on occasion think I heard my first name as if someone said it from behind right into my ear in a forceful whisper. That all went away when there were major renovations done to the house.
So, anyways, I'm not sure why I told these stories except that I'm bored. I guess that I am a 'hopeless' skeptic. Maybe if I opened the door and the ghost stuck around long enough to hold a conversation, I would believe. =) Perhaps I am beyond redemption..
Incidentally, there's a very intriguing book y'all might want to track down. The Power of Place. It's got a couple chapters dealing with how events that we perceive as paranormal might be attributable to the electromagnetic features of a given place. The entire book is a very interesting read.
I'm pinging Torie so he can remind me what a nutjob I am.
It's your scoop here. ;o)
DUH!!!! That's what I said.
So are they still thinking a right before-dawn landfall hit, as in the center of the eye hitting? I'm getting the impression from the news it's coming "any minute" so I'm a little lost. FNC also had a headline on-screen a hundred posts ago that said "150 mph winds." Gusts only?
Oh no worries about the humor, Heatseeker. They just said themselves that it's like doing a telethon (only worse), that humor is very important in the midst of this.
They probably will get some type of award for keeping on-air no matter what.
Best to leave a "TV Lick" out to attract the little buggers.
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