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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
From the Lake Charles American Press:
Saturday, September 24, 2005
American Press damaged; all inside safe
A group of 20 employees, family and visiting media is safe at the American Press building at 4900 U.S. 90 East as the hurricane continues. The newspaper has had metal canopies ripped off by the ongoing winds, the electrical and phones are down, and there is hole in the roof in an area next to the newsroom. Via cell phone and offsite Web hosting, however, the local newsgathering is unaffected, led by Night Editor Dennis Spears. Staff members north and east of the city are gathering and posting the relays from Lake Charles.
Brett Downer
Editor
posted by American Press at 3:45 AM 0 comments
Vinton police office in danger
Concerned that their building's roof is in danger, members of the Vinton Police Department are moving to the jail section of their police office, Calcasieu Parish Sheriff Tony Mancuso tells CNN.
Brett Downer
Editor
posted by American Press at 3:16 AM 0 comments
http://www.americanpress.blogspot.com/
Thank you Steveegg for all the reports. Sleep well.
Power outages reported on Houston Chronicle website (probably old but similar to numbers just read on KTRK TV):
500,000 CenterPoint Energy Houston region
28,000 East Texas/Louisiana
60,000 Galveston area
radar looks pretty clean right now...not seeing and shear (dark red spots next to dark green spots, like a shotgun)...maybe the tornadoes have let up
http://www.intellicast.com/Local/USLocalWide.asp?loc=khgx&seg=LocalWeather&prodgrp=RadarImagery&product=RadialVelocity&prodnav=none
Less gusty here than an hour and a half ago, but still noticeably windy. Temperature down a few degrees as well.
G'nite. Even though I got knocked offline for four hours, I'll be able to go back over this thread and see how Rita progressed thanks to your reports. Sleep well.
Not just Texas...NWS just put up a second flood warning here in Indiana, this time NE of me...the reach of this storm is incredible...I think I'm seeing a feeder band develop here.
You can see two towers going up in this image...well the long blowoff from the anvil anyway:
http://www.ssec.wisc.edu/data/east/latest_eastwv.jpg
There's work to be done, opprotunity is knock knock knocking on your door...lol. Be safe and good night all.
:D My family training taught to always read between the lines, that's usually where the bodies are.
Good deal....I'm glad we won't have to rebuild your city too...losing Houston on top of NO would have been a nightmare.
Glad to hear you all weathered the storm ok so far.
PS. It IS a feeder band here in Indiana, look:
http://www.crh.noaa.gov/radar/latest/DS.p20-r/si.kind.shtml
We're counting on you, Texas. Show the world how a Republican city/state handles a hurricane vs a Rat-run state.
So she is pulling humidity (moisture) even from the land now. I can think of a few funny comments there, but will wait until Rita leaves the room.
These storms are just a "weather event" here.
The LA 'rats just want headlines for themselves.
Lake Charles downtown runs 20 to 25 feet ASL by my map program, with lower spots SW of downtown and also up north by Goosport.
Wouldn't want to be in Westlake right ow though. It's 20 to 25 feet too but the winds are driving the Lake NW right into town.
They stole enough before the storm hit.
Anybody got pics of nagin's new family digs in Dallas yet?
Jeffers, aren't those feeder bands leftover from Katrina?
Must be thirsty, eh?
Actually, it is pulling moisture in from the Atlantic. You can see it here:
http://www.ssec.wisc.edu/data/east/latest_eastwv.jpg
The main feed is still out of the Gulf though, just west of Florida.
Two reasons I like the vapor satellite channel better than either visible or IR...one, it shows you where the water is moving, the fuel of any storm...two, it's good 24/7 unlike visible.
I suspect it'll go higher than that.
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