Hurricane Rita Live Thread, Part VII

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

[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

[STARWISE]

Thanks much for the info .. I'm going to get the specific language and "enlighten" him.

[GodBlessUSA]

Excellent.

I sometimes get tired of Fox but I just love Neil Cavuto.(and Britt):)

[Amelia]

My cynical son is telling me that owners of SUV's get tax breaks ... do you know if that's true?

Please ask your son how to file for those, because I could use one. :-)

[texsean]

I don't really understand Judge Eckels role in this but perhaps NO needs to get a similar position!

*****

He's the county judge for Harris County. Bill White is the mayor of Houston. That's how it works in Texas.

[budwiesest]

It took forever for people to get anywhere but most were safe in shelters before the storm hit.

Thanks Dixie. Earlier pics that I saw showed lots of cars stranded, either out of gas or broken down. Fourteen hours of driving to go two hundred miles is tough on cars. My wife's sister and family made it from Port Aurthor(sp?) to Tulsa, Oklahoma before finding a place to stay.

[laz]

Yes, the models are showing a possibility Rita may do an Ivan. But it's more probable she'll simply stall.

Truth be told, I can't decide which would be worse. If she looped around and back into the gulf, she probably wouldn't intensify past tropical storm strength, and if the high moved out of the way by then, she'd go through faster the second time, perhaps dumping less rain overall than if she stalled.

[RummyChick]

That doesn't EXPLAIN his position. NO has Judges too.

[devane617]

I believe certain SUV's get tax breaks. I believe the Ford Excursion, Hummer, Chevy Surburban, and others in that class get breaks. Or, they use to..

[Lessismore]

that owners of SUV's get tax breaks ...

On SUVs with a weight of more than 6000 pounds, a business owner could take up to $100,000 of depreciation off their taxable income in the first year. It made those big luxury SUVs very attractive to doctors, lawyers, real estate agents, and so on. Toyota made a mistake one year with a new model of their large SUV that came in at just under 6000 pounds...

The loophole seems to be closing, and it is complicated, so consult your accountant before buying one.

[cajungirl]

thanks, we are fine.

[kenth]

Augh, trying to wake up...


Did you just hear Neal saying that earlier they (Neal & co.) were predicting Katrina to be a 10-15 billion dollar storm, then looking like it is going to be ten times that? Heck, I remember some here before the storm hit, correctly estimating the 100-200 billion dollar range.

[SE Mom]

EXCELLENT!

[STARWISE]

The looters were out.. 22 reports .. 16 arrested .. homes, Target store, check cashing stores .... HANG the vermin that do this to the diaster afflicted!

[GodBlessUSA]

What an obvious contrast to Louisiana. I don't like that a hurricane occurred. However, it sure makes it apparent that the politicians in LA, can't use those excuses about, NO evacuation. This disproves the excuses they attempt to come up with.

Prayers for all in Rita's path. I hope there isn't too much damage.

[No Blue States]

Port Arthur reporter by phone:

Many trees down blocking roads. Dont come back yet.
Consideraable damage.

No fatalities reported for TX or La, yet. :)

[CindyDawg]

My MIL is in Brookshire(?) by Jasper. We haven't been able to get in touch with her either.

[ncountylee]

Aaron is a puke. Using a poor old lady's death like that is beneath contempt!

[SE Mom]

I do remember the president talking about tax breaks for small business owners with SUV's.

[RummyChick]

Nah, THey will just claim it was done differently this time due to Feds realizing they screwed up in NO.

[texsean]

http://www.judgeeckels.org/

"County Judge Robert Eckels
Harris County, Texas


Judge Eckels is the presiding officer of Harris County Commissioners Court. He is the only member of the five member Court that is elected countywide. His position involves executive, judicial, and legislative functions. As County Judge, he is the director of Harris County’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Management. Judge Eckels is also the chairman of the county’s Juvenile Justice programs. He represents the county on numerous boards and committees, and regional councils of government.

Harris County, with a population of 3.6 million, is the third most populous county in the United States. There are 34 municipalities within the county, including the City of Houston, which is the fourth largest city in the country. Over 1.2 million people live in unincorporated Harris County and rely on the county to be the primary provider of basic government services."