CNN reporter is seeing daylight INSIDE the Dome. Estimates 8% of the roof has blown away ( a pie-shaped section about 1/12th of the entire span).
Morning folks, NN you need to get some sleep.
St. Bernard Parish spokesman Larry Ingargiola says the parish's two shelters at Chalmette High and St. Bernard High are suffering major damage. He said Chalmette High shelter is losing its roof, and St. Bernard High has plenty of broken windows and glass. He estimates 300-plus refugees at the two sites. Entergy says 317,000 customers were without power as of 6 a.m. Cleco reported 40,000 without power in St. Tammany Parish. Air conditioning out at Louisiana Superdome due to power outages. St. Bernard Parish officials say most of the parish has no power.
CNN Breaking News: "Massive" piece of the roof has blown away.
Don't know if this is new news, or an exaggeration of the older news.
CNN forecasts stormsurge at 28 feet, for what that's worth.
Holes Open Up in Louisiana Superdome Roof
Monday, August 29, 2005
Associated Press
NEW ORLEANS — Hurricane Katrina ripped away part of the roof on the Louisiana Superdome as thousands of storm refugees huddled inside Monday.
Strips of metal were peeled away, creating two holes that were visible from the floor of the huge arena. Water dripped in and people were moved away from about five sections of seats directly below.
Others watched as sheets of metal flapped visibly and noisily. From the floor, more than 19 stories below the dome, the openings appeared to be 6 feet long.
***
Rest of the story at:
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,167313,00.html
VORTEX DATA MESSAGE A. 29/13:54:20Z B. 29 deg 58 min N 089 deg 37 min W C. NA mb NA m D. NA kt E. NA deg nm F. 164 deg 121 kt G. 085 deg 026 nm H. 926 mb I. 14 C/ 2439 m J. 20 C/ 2442 m K. 18 C/ NA L. OPEN SW M. E180/35/25 N. 12345/NA O. 0.02 / 1 nm P. AF306 2112A KATRINA OB 25 MAX FL WIND 121 KT E QUAD 13:46:50 Z FLIGHT ALTITUDE 8000 FT
Not a bad way to learn on FR, just ask, and 4 people step up to the plate and deliver!And a fifth one who stepped up as I was already posting my thank-yous...
Yes, it's wonderful to get that kind of helpful response,
but I sure hope I'm not leaving anybody out when I express my gratitude,
This is a very fast moving thread, and my bifocals have a tough time keeping up with it all!!!
Any word on Port Sulphur? Is it still there?
Prayers for the safety of all in the path of this storm.
Here's the latest NSSL Hi-Res Reflectivity Radar overlayed on Google Earth. It shows a practically dry NO as a band of dry air got pulled into the vortex just as the eye passed NO to the East.
However, Gulfport, MS is directly in the worst part of the east eye wall right now and is getting hammered. Just as Mississippi is going to get hammered all the way throught he state as the projected storm paths show Katrina passing all the way from the bottom to the top of the state.
AP - New Orleans
Hurricane Katrina Rips La., Miss. Coasts
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/1472772/posts
From storm2k message board:
An amazing phone call just aired on The Weather Channel a few minutes ago from Jim Cantore's producer, Simon Temperton. The two of them are at the Armed Forces Retirement Home in Gulfport, Miss. (current conditions), where they have sought refuge from rapidly rising floodwaters on the second floor along with 300-400 residents of the home.
Here's some of what Simon reported in his phone call:
"We're going through some unbelievable conditions. Water is seeping into the building. I'd say we've had at least a 20-feet [of] storm surge. It has washed away all our rental cars, and everything else [in the parking lot]...
"Now water is seeping into the home and they are evacuating everyone to the second floor. I'm standing in 5 or 6 inches of water [on the second floor]. The power is out. There are a few emergency lights. It's a very daunting prospect right now....
"It's a very dangerous situation. I've been doing this for 15 years, and [I've] been Mr. Cantore's producer for many hurricanes, and I've never seen anything like this. This is probably the scariest situation we've ever been in -- just the sudden rise of water and how fast. They said we were good here for 27, 30 feet [of storm surge] -- they've never seen anything like it. They thought we were completely safe.
"We're not even shooting [video] anymore. We're basically in self-preservation [mode] right now. We're helping people put up boards and sandbags to keep the water from coming in. We've become part of the crew.
"In the time we've been talking, the water has risen, I'd say, another 3 inches. It's up to the top of my boots. The water keeps rising."
-- Posted by Laurel, Product Manager, The Weather Channel Interactive
URNT12 KNHC 291527 VORTEX DATA MESSAGE A. 29/15:16:50Z B. 30 deg 19 min N 089 deg 38 min W C. 700 mb 2497 m D. NA kt E. NA deg nm F. 178 deg 127 kt G. 90 deg 031 nm H. EXTRAP 932 mb I. 11 C/ 3049 m J. 17 C/ 3049 m K. 17 C/ NA L. OPEN SW M. C33 N. 12345/ 7 O. 0.02 / 1 nm P. AF300 2212A KATRINA OB 28 MAX FL WIND 127 KT E QUAD 15:06:20 Z SLP EXTRAP FROM 700 MB FIX MADE OVERLAND EYE RAGGED
This is a check in for blam. I am his son. I am writing on behalf of blam who asked me to report to you all. We have no power, trees down, high wind gusts, lotsa rain, but safe. Using laptop with limited power so will not be on again until later - maybe tomorrow.
Cheers.