Hurricane Katrina Live Thread, Part III

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

To: numberonepal

There's a big black swath that leads up to NO... Maybe the water temps aren't as warm there.

921 posted on 08/27/2005 2:40:40 PM PDT by Termite_Commander (Warning: Cynical Right-winger Ahead)

This is beginning to sound like a bad movie..where people refuse to leave a potential disaster area as we sit in our seats cringing. Very scary.

922 posted on 08/27/2005 2:43:04 PM PDT by spectre (Spectre's wife)

I had the scary part, just as you described. A couple houses down the block did not fare as well as mine. I think a tornado hit them.

I spent two full days with a chain saw cleaning up the limbs in my back yard. By "limbs" I mean "huge trunks of trees big enough to be trees all by themselves."

The one blessing is that I never lost power for more than 10 minutes. That would have been a nightmare.

923 posted on 08/27/2005 2:45:01 PM PDT by Dog Gone

And they'll need to evacuate the Nursing Homes as well. Poor elderly people :(

924 posted on 08/27/2005 2:45:24 PM PDT by spectre (Spectre's wife)

once it is picked up by the atmosphere, the slowing down should come to an end.

925 posted on 08/27/2005 2:48:07 PM PDT by rwfromkansas (http://www.xanga.com/home.aspx?user=rwfromkansas)

Well, that's no surprise that nobody's aware of the situation. We've got FOX covering the Holloway case, MSNBC talking about the new 3 disc version of the movie Gladiator and CNN running a program about unicycles (I kid you not).

926 posted on 08/27/2005 2:48:10 PM PDT by Termite_Commander (Warning: Cynical Right-winger Ahead)

Saturday, August 27, 2005

Hurricane watch issued as evacuation begins
Nagin calls for voluntary evacuation : 'This is not a test'

As evacuations - mandatory and voluntary - began in parts of the greater New Orleans area Saturday morning, the National Hurricane Center issued a hurricane watch from Morgan City to the Pearl River, including metro New Orleans and Lake Pontchartrain.

Across the area, residents were holding their breath under the cloud of an ominous projection that shows the path of Hurricane Katrina crossing directly over the metro area. Katrina is currently a major Category 3 hurricane, and is expected to continue strengthening, perhaps even reaching Category 5 before landfall.

"This is not a test," New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin said at a midday news conference. Later in the afternoon, he called for voluntary evacuation, and said the Superdome could be pressed into use as a shelter of last resort for people who do not have cars.

Louisiana and Mississippi were making all lanes northbound on Interstates 55 and 59 beginning Saturday afternoon for evacuees.

Plaqumines Parish President Benny Rousselle has issued a Phase I mandatory evacuation for all of Plaquemines Parish.

St. Bernard Parish has issued a "recommended" evacuation for its residents while St. Charles Parish, like Plaquemines has called for a mandatory pullout.

Officials in low-lying parishes told people to leave. Some shops shut down so workers could go home, pack up and board up houses. Overloaded cell phone bands gave spurious busy signals or out-of-contact messages. A cruise ship moved its departure up an hour.

"Ladies and gentlemen, this is not a test. This is the real deal," Mayor C. Ray Nagin said at a news conference. "I don't want to panic you, but I want to make sure you understand there's a major hurricane in Gulf of Mexico and most of the meteoroligists are predicting it will hit somewhare around New Orleans.

"Board up your homes, make sure you have enough medicine, make sure the car has enough gas. Do all things you normally do for a hurricane but treat this one differently because it is pointed towards New Orleans."

He said he would probably ask people to leave Saturday afternoon or at daybreak Sunday. "We want to coordinate with the state ... to make sure you have as many evacuation routes as possible," he said.

Because the storm is so big, Nagin said, the Superdome may be used as a shelter of last resort for people who have no cars, with city bus pick-up points around New Orleans.

The latest forecast track for Hurricane Katrina has the strengthening storm crossing lower Plaquemines, then north on a line directly across the New Orleans metro area.

The storm has intensified and is now a Category 3, with sustained winds of 115 mph and higher gusts. Some major models have it strengthening to a Category 4, or even Category 5 by landfall Monday evening. It is moving to the west near 7 mph and is approximately 430 miles southeast on the mouth of the Mississippi River. A gradual turn to the west-northwest is expected during the next 24 hours.

Gov. Kathleen Blanco declared a state of emergency late Friday, making it easier to implement emergency procedures, including evacuations, if necessary.

Katrina, the 11th named storm of a busy season, was upgraded to Category 3 as it moved deeper into the Gulf of Mexico, after crossing Florida yesterday. Homes were flooded, fallen trees blocked roads and utility crews scrambled to restore power to more than 1 million homes and businesses Friday as South Floridians coped with Hurricane Katrina's messy aftermath.

Seven deaths were blamed on the storm as it crossed Florida. Much of the seven hours Katrina spent over land Thursday was over the moist Florida Everglades, allowing for only slight weakening.

"We were looking at it going up the East Coast two days ago and now it's looking like it will hit the central Gulf Coast," said Larry Ingargiola, director of the St. Bernard Parish Emergency Preparedness. "Like we always say, the only one who knows where a storm will go is the man upstairs."

More worrisome was that experts with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration warned that the hurricane's track could move even further west, Ingargiola said.

"We just hope our people are prepared," he said. "It's kind of late in the year to be making disaster plans."

http://www.nola.com

927 posted on 08/27/2005 2:48:47 PM PDT by Ellesu (www.thedeadpelican.com)

To: Termite_Commander

Ah, and Headline News is busy bashing FOX news.

928 posted on 08/27/2005 2:49:39 PM PDT by Termite_Commander (Warning: Cynical Right-winger Ahead)

To: Termite_Commander

Well, that's no surprise that nobody's aware of the situation.

I don't know much about this school teacher governor but it seems she could be complicit in making this a larger catastrophe than it would otherwise be if there is a direct hit.

929 posted on 08/27/2005 2:50:20 PM PDT by Types_with_Fist (I'm on FReep so often that when I read an article at another site I scroll down for the comments.)

To: Termite_Commander

There's a big black swath that leads up to NO... Maybe the water temps aren't as warm there.

Gulf Water Temps

Navy Website so click Yes when it asks. Warmest waters in the Gulf of Mexico lay between Katrina and Louisiana.

930 posted on 08/27/2005 2:51:08 PM PDT by simon says what

To: Types_with_Fist

What was it she said? Something like, "This will be a positive experience for us all."?

What a dingbat.

931 posted on 08/27/2005 2:52:13 PM PDT by Termite_Commander (Warning: Cynical Right-winger Ahead)

To: Types_with_Fist

Click on the link for local TV station WDSU's coverage. Looks pretty thorough. Causeway cam is interesting, too.

932 posted on 08/27/2005 2:52:23 PM PDT by mewzilla (Property must be secured or liberty cannot exist. John Adams)

Being trapped in the Super Dome isn't a pleasant thought.

Just watch, there will be plenty of people who decide to ride it out and party, party, party!

933 posted on 08/27/2005 2:53:17 PM PDT by spectre (Spectre's wife)

...said the Superdome could be pressed into use as a shelter of last resort for people who do not have cars.

If Katrina comes into NO as a cat 4 or higher, they'll have to use houseboats in the Superdome, cause it will be filled with water up to the second level.

934 posted on 08/27/2005 2:53:18 PM PDT by IndyTiger

935 posted on 08/27/2005 2:53:59 PM PDT by nwctwx (Everything I need to know, I learned on the Threat Matrix)

That XTRP model doesn't really do much, does it? =P

936 posted on 08/27/2005 2:54:55 PM PDT by Termite_Commander (Warning: Cynical Right-winger Ahead)

This makes me wish John Hope was still alive. His Weather Channel coverage of hurricanes was legendary. Supposedly Camille was named after his daughter or vice versa.

937 posted on 08/27/2005 2:55:09 PM PDT by Tuxedo (This space for rent.)

938 posted on 08/27/2005 2:56:15 PM PDT by Ellesu (www.thedeadpelican.com)

"The one blessing is that I never lost power for more than 10 minutes. That would have been a nightmare."

Lucky you! The longest we've gone was 5 days. Five days of August/Sept. Louisiana heat! You couldn't escape it, you even couldn't sleep at night it was so hot. Oh, and I forgot to mention the mosquitoes! And last but not least, add kids who are having withdrawals from air conditioning and Nintendo - I was about ready to kill myself! (That's not true, I was really thinking about killing the kids - figuratively speaking of course).

939 posted on 08/27/2005 2:56:39 PM PDT by LibSnubber (liberal democrats are domestic terrorists)

Thanks for the update. Maybe in New Orleans many feel everyday is Mardi Gras, have a party until the TV is floating out the door and the rain is filling up what remains of the house, since the roof blew away an hour ago.

The White House on Saturday asked residents along Louisiana's southeastern coast to heed authorities' advice to evacuate as Hurricane Katrina headed for landfall.

940 posted on 08/27/2005 2:57:09 PM PDT by M. Espinola (Freedom is never free)

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