Posted on 09/24/2005 9:58:36 AM PDT by Howlin
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:
Hurricane Rita Freeper CHECK IN THREAD
FReeper Sign In Thread (LOCKED) 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 VII
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
That's true. However, it's a little hard to paint from a boat after you've been drinking beer and eating bacon. ;)
"So, they have bacon, and they evidently have beer"
At first glance it also appears that they also have applied for the EPA impact statement to light their BBQ grill. And if you look real close, you can see the permit to process hogs. Even though the USDA GOOD rubberstamp fell off'n the porch :)
I never knew you were over there. One thing this storm has done is to introduce me to a whole bunch more of our Houston area FReepers.
You're so right; they all deserve at least a week of vacation, in my opinion :)
Reminds me of the Kriegers, behind the house I lived in a few years ago. They kept a cow in the basement.
Well, y'all are welcome back anytime!
Your posts on these threads have made you a lot of FRiends down here.
I have $600.00 a month summer power bills that proves it doesn't get hot in Texas!
Take that back!
; < )
Absolutely! When Katrina hit, we got frantic phone calls from friends and relatives in New Jersey, New York, Massachusetts, Hawaii and Vermont who were worried about us. Aside from some lake effect winds after landfall, Katrina has only had an adverse financial impact on us (in the form of being forced to compete against thousands of newly-arrived evacuees in my area for work).
By contrast, when Rita hit, all we got were calls from two friends who lived in different parts of my town and one Yahoo IM from a former co-worker in Massachusetts, but not a single call from any relatives -- including the ones in the next town over from us. With Rita, however, there was indeed considerable damage to my town, loss of power, plus the money I spent for emergency supplies which were actually used this time around. And not only are a substantial percentage of the original Katrina evacuees still in my area, now they have been joined by those displaced by Rita. Our schools are closed tomorrow because some are being still used for shelters. While many Texans will be able to return to unscathed homes, we may have the Lake Charles families with us for a while. What a difference a storm makes!
It really hurt my feelings that no one in our family has checked in on us all weekend. When our power went out, I called my friend in Massachusetts back and asked her to read information to me from her computer screen -- at least she wasn't too "hurricaned-out" to see if she could do anything for us!
So thanks again to everyone on FR for the live threads and the ping lists and the FReeper check-in system. It's nice to know that not everyone was suffering "hurricane fatigue" this time around!
Just like my bills prove it doesn't get cold in Maine =;-O
Congratulations Eaker!
"I'm gonna ignore you because you either dont understand or you just want to argue."
I hope you didn't mean me in that quote. I'm the one who thought the evacuation should have occurred and I stand by that thought.
I posted the facts as they were at 10:00 PM on Wednesday, what other data besides the NHC forcast did you have at that time ???
Hindsight is always 20/20 ... even for fools
We stayed at American72's house in Spring Branch during the Hurricane. With other family members there it was a little crowded and hectic, especially with a baby and two toddlers still in diapers. But living less than a mile from Trinity Bay, we had to "get out of Dodge".
It would be interesting to know how many Freepers and Lurkers live in the greater Houston area. A bunch, I bet.
Don't get me started on Acadian Ambulance. They have a monopoly around here. I've been in two motor vehicle accidents where Acadian responded, and their bills were obscene.
LOL!!
I wouldn't be president of any chapter that would accept me as a member!!
Pinging Groucho Marx!
May I recommend the annual electric averaging thing. We have gas central heat/electric central air. This allows for cool breezes indoors, even when it is 110 outside. I have discovered that averaging frees up some monthly cashflow for the essentials, such as case tumblers, hardened dies that do not require case lube, and good reliable primer feeds :)
As well as the associated toys that make money go bang.
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