Hurricane Rita Live Thread, Part VIII

www.freerepublic.com | September 24, 2005

[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

[BurbankKarl]

Evacuees Thomas Olivier, left, Ronald Perrin, second from left, Shannon Ola, third from left, and Donald Scioneaux holding Seth Ola, 3, along with other residents of lower Jean Lafitte, La. flee rising floodwaters Saturday. AP Photo/Ric Francis

[laz]

Not to downplay the destruction and woe Rita has caused, but it is much less IMO, than the media was playing up.

MSM was anticipating Category 5 destruction, and contemplating with glee the destruction of Houston. They got neither.

Gotta take a nap. I've been up since 11 PM last night. Prayers for all those affected by Rita, and those yet to be affected as this continues to play out.

[not_apathetic_anymore]

Think of the waste involved if this is a widespread occurrence

You know, we really can't win between corrupt politicians and inept bureaucracy....just m akes me shake my head.

[jeffers]

I'm confused too. Cboldt and Gpapa seem to have a line on it though...

[BurbankKarl]

Klyle Guidry paddles up a street in Laffite, La., to check on his house after surges from Hurricane Rita flooded the area, Saturday. Hurricane Rita swept ashore Saturday with a powerful surge of seawater that swamped coastal communities. AP Photo/Kevork Djansezian

[cajungirl]

The charm of NO is something you have to be there to understand. They may leave, I don't know. Some of them have very deep roots and businesses. We are talking about a place where when a girl is born, we know if she is gonna be Queen of Rex or Comus. That kind of people. Very unlike the rest of La. But I guess any old city with old families has the same thing.

The newcomers will leave more easily.

[jeffers]

"...coastal flooding GP to Biloxi..."

Any word on depth?

[jeffers]

"... long stretches where the rip rap(large boulders) is completely gone all the way to the top of the earthen dam..."


That means a wide wall of water smacked it good. That's how you unseat an earthen dam, or disturb the core block...yes, percolation is a major issue...the downstream face needs to be watched like a hawk for any wet spots.

[UCANSEE2]

But the impression I get from MSM is that this pales in comparison to Katrina.

It's not over with yet.

[jeffers]

k...see my last to Burbank Karl.

[benjaminjjones]

The charm of NO is something you have to be there to understand.

You're right about that, my Mom's whole family grew up there.

[txdoda]

I'm 30 miles or so South of Tyler, so far mostly just steady rain & some trees & power lines down.

Here are two Tyler TV stations you could also monitor.

http://www.nbc56.com/

http://www.kltv.com/

[jeffers]

military or civilian radar down at Polk?

[jeffers]

military or civilian radar down at Polk?

[jeffers]

military or civilian radar down at Polk?

[not_apathetic_anymore]

It's not over with yet.

But once the pretty radar pics showing the eye wall has passed, as far as the MSM is concerned the event is over.

I mean we dodged a bullet in NO with Katrina...

Now that Houston didn't take a direct hit, they're losing interest.

[Dane]

Get some sleep, I was up all night last night also, took a nap this afternoon.

Luckily it seems that based on history hurricane frequency goes down in October.

Below is a pretty good, informative, and non-politically biased article from Wikipedia.

Link

Also this picture of Ivan from the International Space station.

[jeffers]

Hmmmmm....downburst from Nacodoches to Lake Livingston? That would explain the isolated damage areas...saw where a T'storm downburst snapped off marble headstones in a cemetary...scary stuff.

[jeffers]

Hmmmmm....downburst from Nacodoches to Lake Livingston? That would explain the isolated damage areas...saw where a T'storm downburst snapped off marble headstones in a cemetary...scary stuff.

[jeffers]

That's the one.