Hurricane Rita Live Thread

NHC - NOAA ^ | 20 September 2005 | NHC - NOAA

[NautiNurse]

Hurricane Rita is in the Florida Straits, impacting the Florida Keys and South Florida Peninsula. Hurricane watches and warnings are in effect for numerous portions of South Florida. Check local weather statements for updates.

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 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
Extra Large Miami Radar Broadband only
Extra Large Key West Radar Broadband 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)

WTVJ-TV/DT Miami (NBC6)
WFOR-TV/DT Miami (CBS 4)
WSVN-TV/DT Miami (Fox)

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

Previous Threads:
Tropical Storm Rita
Tropical Depression 18

[Fawn]

Is that what causes the rotation?

[Fawn]

I just saw the warning for Broward county----do you know where they were spotted??

[laz]

Is that Broward County?

Yes. Tornado moving toward Davie.

[numberonepal]

Rita couldn't have split the uprights through the Straights any cleaner.

[Michael Goldsberry]

"ribbit."

[MamaB]

That is the one that I have been posting about. Saw it on Fox but no details.

[Sally'sConcerns]

I have nothing against the King Ranch. There just aren't many people and not much that can be damaged unlike more inhabited areas of the Texas coastline.

[samantha]

Fort Laud, Dania Beach, Hollywood, Pompano Beach,Sunrise,Plantation,Pembroke pines, Miramar, Lighthouse Point, Hallandale,Coopercity, Weston,Coral Springs,Oakland Park,wilton Manors. I guess that should help some.

[John W]

Severe Weather Warnings Page---

http://kamala.cod.edu/svr/

[Howlin]

What is that?

[MamaB]

Thanks.

[deport]

Texas declared a disaster area ahead of time

By POLLY ROSS HUGHES
Copyright 2005 Houston Chronicle

AUSTIN - Gov. Rick Perry declared the state a disaster area today in anticipation of Hurricane Rita hitting Texas and personally asked President Bush to approve federal aid to affected counties.

A FEMA official is already at the State Operations Center, which went on full alert status today with 34 state agencies on site around the clock, said Perry spokeswoman Kathy Walt.

"FEMA has already been part of this. They have offered whatever support we need,'' Walt said. "Texas is not Louisiana. You won't see that breakdown occurring here.''

Walt said that Texas National Guard troops returning from Louisiana at Perry's request will be staged along evacuation routes when officials better determine the most likely landfall for the storm.

"That's so they're positioned and ready to move when they need to whether it's rescue or whatever assistance they need to provide,'' she said, adding the troops might help keep traffic moving along evacuation routes.

---

Evacuation of Galveston begins

By KEVIN MORAN 
Copyright 2005 Houston Chronicle

GALVESTON - Galveston may no longer be the most likely target for Hurricane Rita, but the island remains well within the danger zone and the city has begun a voluntary evacuation, with a mandatory evacuation likely on Wednesday.

City officials said today they anticipate calling Galveston's first mandatory evacuation ever at 5 p.m. Wednesday. Evacuation buses are to begin rolling out of town Wednesday morning with hundreds or even thousands of people on board as shelters open to Galveston evacuees in Huntsville. 

"You may and should begin to leave the island now," Galveston Mayor Lyda Ann Thomas said this morning.

To give families time to evacuate, the Galveston Independent School District has called off classes for the rest of the week, as have the Pasadena, Deer Park, Alvin and Brazosport districts.

---

[samantha]

Where in Davie? It is a pretty large community now.

[dirtboy]

Is that what causes the rotation?

Coriolis effect does that - the Earth's rotation deflects straight winds into an arc - that's why you don't get hurricanes between 10 North latitude and 10 South - little spin is imparted to winds that close to the Equator, even though there is lots of heat present in the oceans.

What causes the "suction" is the release of heat from condensing water vapor. Water vapor contains a considerable amount of heat that was abosorbed by the water to convert liquid into a gas. Once it condenses, it releases that heat. Heat rises. As it rises, it pulls in air from elsewhere.

You might have heard that hurricanes need high pressure aloft to intensify. High pressure transports the volumes of air being pulled into the storm away from the circulation and outwards at high altitude - that's where the term "outflow" comes from.

[Xenalyte]

Sings "Hello My Baby" in a straw boater hat? I know that frog!

[texianyankee]

You are probably right about the VA hospital roof being torn off...but there was another tornado - or the same tornado - tore off part of the roof of an apartment complex, too.
I was staying only a mile or two from that apartment complex on the northwest side of town.

[buickmackane]

KALB predicts the Alexandria, LA area could see some tornados from Rita.

Thanks again for your effort on these threads -- your Katrina threads were an excellent source of info!

[laz]

When Katrina hit Miami, a frog came into my house, and my cats chased him around. I captured him and tossed him back outside.

[samantha]

MamaB wanted to know the names of cities in Broward County. I named three fourths of them.

[NTegraT]

"Ya wanna go to Lubbock"

Ummm, you got room for one more? All I need is an electric plug.