Tropical Storm Rita Live Thread

NHC - NOAA ^ | 18 September 2005 | NHC - NOAA

[NautiNurse]

Tropical Storm Rita has developed from TD 18 in the Atlantic Ocean. TS Rita is currently located north of Hispaniola, the eastern tip of Cuba, and ESE of Nassau, Bahamas. Hurricane watches and warnings are in effect for portions of Florida. Check for local weather statements.

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
Forecast Models
Buoy Data SE Florida
Current Weather Warnings and Watches for Florida

Images:

Storm Floater IR Loop
Visible Storm Floater Still (only visible during daylight hours)
Color Enhanced Atlantic Loop
Florida Radar/Sat Loop Caution: Broadband users only!
Miami Long Range Radar Loop
Key West Long Range Radar Loop
Miami Experimental Radar Still Image
Key West Experimental Radar Still Image

Streaming Video: (coverage may be intermittent)
WFOR-TV/DT Miami (WMP) - http://dayport.wm.llnwd.net/dayport_0025_live"
WSVN-TV/DT Miami (WMP) - mms://216.242.118.141/broadband

Other Resources:

Florida East Coast Surf Reports Lots of great info here, including surf cams
Central Florida Hurricane Center
Hurricane City

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

[LBelle]

The store staff should have been a bit more polite. Remember all the partiers in the FQ in NO that looked like fools in retrospect? A hurricane is a hurricane, and cat 1's can kill too. It just takes one tornado, ya know.

[N8VTXNinWV]

Educating Rita, ping... LOL! :o)

"Trish says what's the point of speaking beautiful literature with an ugla [ugly] voice?"

[shield]

I also like Dan Meador at KHOU...

[not2worry]

Hopefully the items you stocked up on are nonperishable items. After 9/11, I have a whole pantry of canned goods,water, matches, first aid kit. Don't buy fruit juices in those plastic bottles, tough...they go bad reasonably fast.

Also, got supplies for cocktail hour!

So as the Boy Scouts of America say : BE PREPARED!

[LikeLight]

Looking at the latest satellite, I think the center of circulation is AGAIN forming north of where they thought they had the fix. I think this storm is going to be quickly larger and farther north than expected. Florida will be very quickly under the gun.

[CajunConservative]

OH yes we are paying attention. The southwest part of the state is on the ball, we have competent leaders here who know how to use the evacuation plan. They do work when used. I bought my hurricane staples yesterday, and am getting things ready to visit family up north.

[shield]

people from Texas start evacuating east.

People will not evac east...we'll go north, west, northwest.

[CajunConservative]

Here's the local meteorologist's blog

As General Honore says, we're not all stuck on stupid here. Southwest Louisiana isn't NOLA. .

[shield]

As General Honore says, we're not all stuck on stupid here. Southwest Louisiana isn't NOLA. .

LOL...isn't that the truth. 3-star Honore' is a breath of fresh air. He sure says it like it is...He gets real not allowing all the crapola the MSM puts out there. I was told by the military, Honore' hit the ground cussing. He couldn't believe what he saw on the ground when he first arrived.

[sheikdetailfeather]

Indignant Baghdad Bob Nagin "There are no hurricanes throughout all of the gulf. The infadel Bush lies to keep our people from coming back to their homes."

[Dane]

Texas Gulf Coast Hurricanes since 1950
By The Associated Press

Oct. 15, 1989 Jerry, Galveston: 3 dead, $8.25 million damage, 100 mph winds.
Aug. 1, 1989 Chantal, Harris, Galveston, Brazoria Counties: 3 dead, $1.7 million damage, heavy rains and 80 mph winds
June 26, 1986 Bonnie, south of Port Arthur: 3 dead, $1.7 million damage, winds 85 mph
Aug. 28, 1983 Barry, south of Brownsville: center moved inland over northern Mexico
Aug. 18, 1983 Alicia, Galveston-Houston: 21 dead, $1.2 billion est. damage.
Aug. 9, 1980 Allen, lower coast: extreme intensity, 2 dead, $55 million damage, winds 185 mph.
Sept. 3-12, 1971 Fern, middle coast: 2 dead, $30.2 million damage.
Aug. 3, 1970 Celia, Corpus Christi: extreme intensity, 11 dead, $50 million damage, wind gusts to 160 mph.
Sept. 18-23, 1967 Beulah, Brownsville: extreme intensity, 13 dead, $150 million damage.
Sept. 16-20, 1963 Cindy, Port Arthur: no deaths, $11.6 million damage, 24 inches of rain in Jefferson, Orange and Newton counties.
Sept. 11-13, 1961 Carla, Port O'Connor: extreme intensity, 34 dead, $300 million damage, wind gusts estimated at 175 mph, storm tide 18.5 feet at Port Lavaca.
July 22-27, 1959 Debra, Galveston: $6 million damage.
June 27, 1957 Audrey, Sabine Pass: 10 dead, $8 million damage.
June 26-28, 1954 Alice, Rio Grande Valley: storm struck Mexico but heavy rainfall in Southwest Texas caused severe flooding on middle Rio Grande

[CajunConservative]

He does what Rummy did to the MSM with just a little more flavor to the words. The MSM is so dense they need the likes of Honore to 'splain things to them. I loved it when one of the nattering nabobs was whining that they could get into the area why couldn't the military? That spate of honesty was so refreshing. I don't know if there is a clip online or not but Honore let that reporter have it good. :D

[LA Woman3]

Current models predict landfall anywhere from southern Texas to Louisiana. I wonder how the LA residents are taking it?


Nagin is currently re-populating his city of New Orleans.....Thad Allen has disagreed with this move. Nagin is having a meeting with him this afternoon about it.

[Sally'sConcerns]

People will not evac east...we'll go north, west, northwest.

I remember living in San Antonio when either Alicia or Allison hit the Houston area.(can't remember now which one it was) Quite a number of people had evacuated to San Antonio. Whichever storm it was, San Antonio was in the path of some of the remnants. We had a tornado damage a small portion of the VA hospital there. Don't get many tornadoes in San Antonio.

[jsh3180]

Well...not to be alarmist or anything...My neighbor across the street has a brother in law that woprks at AccuWeather. He just called me and said their forecast which is about 15 minutes old hasd Rita doing an "explosive intensification" as it approaches the Florida Keys. Says a Cat 4 as it nears Key West.

Here I sit on Sugarloaf key, 17 ,iles north of Key West.

Take it with a grain of salt, but this could be the worst storm to hit the Keys in decades according to this guy at Accuweather.

Bye for now, got preparations to take care of.

Mandatory evac now up for the Keys. I'm going to hang in here, hopefully I'm not making a mistake.

[LikeLight]

That massive intensification thing jibes with what I'm seeing on the satellite as this morning unfolds. The 11:00 NHS update should be enlightening.

[sheikdetailfeather]

Jeb Bush on Fox now.

[LikeLight]

NHS = NHC

[numberonepal]

Git yer preps done, and git north ASAP. I think she's gonna bomb out west of the Keys, but you never know. It would be prudent to evacuate. It's gonna be nasty in the Keys regardless of whether she bombs before or after passing.

[CajunConservative]

Talk about light and day between him and BlanK0. It does matter who you elect. I've been rubbing that in to my lib dem sister. Bobby Jindal would have been like Jeb. Calm, reassuring and knows what the hell to do in a crisis.