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

[dirtboy]

Silly, me, this is TEXAS and Texan's know how to be prepared!

Nah, you need to follow the Louisiana Personal Disaster Planning Guide.

Since you don't have any land below sea level, parking all your buses in a floodplain will have to suffice.

Be sure to have at least one gallon of water for your household.

Cook a bunch of food and have it ready in the fridge in case the power goes out and the stove doesn't work - you can always use the microwave instead.

Make sure your stereo and TV are in good working order to get storm reports.

Have some canned food and a good-quality power can opener so you don't cramp your hand.

And have a flotation device for keeping your looted goods above water after the storm passes. A stout crowbar is a good idea as well.

[SE Mom]

Here we go- Jeb is on..."And we have a plan"...

Notice- only one small part of our huge state is affected and he's been on tv 3 times- REASSURING people, REMINDING people there's someone in charge- discussing the plans and actions being taken.

[TypeZoNegative]

249? What station? That's cheap!

[beltfed308]

We are getting pretty strong gusts and heavy rain in Key West. Have a few more hours of this crap.

[eastforker]

All Houston area Freepers. Generators for sale are near nonexistent in the greater Houston area. All the hardware stores, home depot, lowes, sams etc are sold out. Found a small one,3500 watts for $1200 at tractor dealership. Talking to salesman there are next to nothing in the state of Texas. Stores have them ordered and they may arrive by friday and will sell on first come first serve basis. Call or visit these stores when they open in AM cuz they get shipments in through the night.

[james_f_hall]

Oh, but the media will say, he wouldn't be acting like this if katrina hadn't happened. Of course, he has always acted this way, but we know the media spin will be.

If Katrina hadn't happened... blah blah blah.

Same will happen in Texas.

If Katrina hadn't happened, blah blah blah. Tus absolving Blanco and Nagin responsibility and at the same time taking away the effect of the response of our mayors and Governors. I guarantee you this will happen. Despite all the goodwill Texas has gained from the assist of Katrina victims.

[Ichneumon]

Can anyone give me any info, news, etc. about how folks in Conroe, Texas may be affected by Rita if it stays on its current projected path?. We have some friends that live there that are not experienced with hurricanes - at all. I see that Conroe is north of Houston, but I don't have a good idea of what level of wind and rain damage they may experience. Any info/thoughts would be appreciated. - OB1

It depends heavily on a lot of factors, of course -- like what category Rita is when it hits landfall, how close the path of its eye passes to Conroe, whether it moves slowly across the area or zips through within a few hours, whether it's a very "wet" storm (dropping lots of rain) or not, etc.

But the good news is that Conroe is far enough inland that a major fraction of the hurricane's power will have been expended already by the time it reaches there. And of course the storm surge (one of the most destructive parts of a hurricane) won't be a factor at all that far inland.

If Rita doesn't get much stronger than a category 2, folks in Conroe will likely not experience much worse than a heavy-duty Texas thunderstorm (lots of wind, wind gusts, and heavy rain).

Hurricane Alicia made a pretty much direct hit on Galvenston, Houston, and Conroe back in the 1980's (I swear, that hurricane followed I-45 all the way from the Gulf Coast to Dallas), you might want to look up what happened to Conroe back then to get a feel for what Rita might be like for that area if it follows a similar path.

And if it "misses", even 20 miles either way can make a *large* reduction in the effects of the storm. I've lived through a lot of "near misses" with hurricanes where you wouldn't even know a hurricane was around if you hadn't been watching the news -- sometimes it was like a regular rainstorm, other times it was blue sky.

[Sprite518]

I bet this sucker becomes another Cat 5. The way it jumped to a two kind of reminded me the way the Katrina jumped from a Cat 3 to 5. There is a a lot of warm water to where it is heading..

[MplsSteve]

SuperAmerica in Richfield.

Right off 66th Street - near Wood Lake Nature center.

[SE Mom]

President Bush on now..discussing briefings he's getting on Rita..another admiral being stationed in Texas -counterpart to Allen in LA.

[topher]

I have some interesting DVD's for a dollar at Wal-Mart -- just don't pay more than a few dollars, and get older films... The older films (30's/40's/50's) do not agitate people like movies like Rambo, Die Hard, etc.

I got Pot O' Gold for a buck... Maybe you can go find as best a deal as you can shopping -- see how little you can pay for the best quality film, and try to make it a fun project...

I lost it over this storm at about 3AM Sunday, just because I feel I have a sixth sense. I am more at peace over this now...

God bless!

[Prolifeconservative]

FWIW, a person does NOT want to be on the Northeast side of a hurricane because of it's counter-clockwise motion. The safe side, and that's a relative term, is West of the eye of circulation and obviously the further the better. I'd rather be 100 miles West of the eye than to be 150 miles Norhtheast of it......hope that helps!

[sheikdetailfeather]

Per Fox: The mayor of Galveston has ordered voluntary evacuation. Busses will be available. (DON'T MESS WITH TEXAS!)

[johnb838]

Or else it will be "Of course he knows what to do he's had what, like seven hurricanes in the past year. We haven't had a hurricane in a really long time, how are we supposed to know what to do? He didn't help us. He's a raciss."

[topher]

In about 1961 or so, we lost our swingset (when I was a kid) to a hurricane that hit Corpus Christi. We were living in Alice, TX, near the King ranch.

I can't say I have ever been to Victoria, but when I lived in Refugio, I always heard people talk about the big city Victoria.

[topher]

In about 1961 or so, we lost our swingset (when I was a kid) to a hurricane that hit Corpus Christi. We were living in Alice, TX, near the King ranch.

I can't say I have ever been to Victoria, but when I lived in Refugio, I always heard people talk about the big city Victoria.

[Palladin]

Stay indoors and stay safe. I'm glad the predicted storm surge did not materialize.

It's great that your computer is still working!

[conservative in nyc]

Speaking of hurricanes, it now looks like Hurricane Jova will skirt by Hawaii (which you can see in the left center of the graphic).



Larger image here

Current maximum sustained winds are 115MPH. According to the Central Pacific Hurricane Center forecast, Jova is likely to remain at that strength for the next 24 hours.

[GOP_Thug_Mom]

hilarious. (sad, too, of course.)

[james_f_hall]

There is one consistent thing throughout all these storms. The CoastGuard kicks arse!! They were the only smart organization before Katrina hit, even the AirForce didn't evac or position things outside the path.. I know a base commander who is gonna be relieved of duty soon!!


/me scowls at Keesler AFB.