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Posted on 09/21/2005 1:36:24 AM PDT by NautiNurse
Category 3 Hurricane Rita became the fifth major hurricane of the 2005 season during the night. Hurricane Rita threaded the needle through the Florida Straits and moved into the Gulf of Mexico. Storm damage in the Florida Keys and South Florida Peninsula was light, with scattered power outages, scattered tornados, and mild to moderate flooding.
Mandatory evacuations are in effect for Galveston County TX and New Orleans. Additional evacuation orders in the Greater Houston Metropolitan Area are anticipated throughout the day.
Crude oil prices reacted as oil producers shut down and evacuated workers from platforms in the Gulf of Mexico.
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 Eastern Gulf of Mexico
Buoy Data Western Gulf of Mexico
Current Weather Warnings and Watches for Texas
Images:
Storm Floater IR Loop
GOM WV Loop
GOM IR Still Image
Visible Storm Floater Still (only visible during daylight hours)
Color Enhanced Atlantic Loop
Key West Long Range Radar Still Image
Streaming Video: (coverage may be intermittent)
KHOU-TV/DT Houston: mms://beloint.wm.llnwd.net/beloint_khou
WWLTV NOLA
Additional Resources:
Coastal TX Evacuation Maps
KHOU Houston
KTRK ABC News Houston
Hurricane City
Wxnation Houston
| 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:
Hurricane Rita Live Thread, Part I
Tropical Storm Rita
Tropical Depression 18
Clear Lake area, near Houston - Hotwire shows rooms available, $55 a night, Thursday - Monday. Still looking.
That's their excuse. They have a plan. The plant my brother works in is across the highway from the Gulf. They don't wait for the government to tell them to shut down but when the forecast meets their requirements to shut down. It's all about the bottom line. They shut down when it will cost more to keep running than to secure the plant and evacuate. This plant is in a community that was wiped out from Audrey and the workers will not stay on the job. Those workers leave and take care of their family first.
Rita is a Cat 4/5 72 hours before landfall. Katrina did not become a Cat 4 until less than 48 hours before landfall. I know that the local governments have screwed up but with Rita the truth is they actually do have more time to prepare and get out. I have heard that lower parishes did evacuate 99% of the population. Getting back into the plants to get them back online was a problem due to the plants being under water. Again, they found two dead cows on TOP of a 40ft. pipe rack not to mention structures that were supposed to withstand cat 4/5 winds crumpled and tossed about like paper. Katrina was a b*tch of a storm any way you look at it.
Send them to Hobbs, NM. Our racetrack with its casino is opening this weekend. Maybe they'll get lucky.
Seriously, I wish them the best.
I thought the nextr advisory was at 2:00 PM EDST?
Now I can't get through to her cell....grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr
I'm starting to panic. Calm down. Jaded is smart. I just wish there was more that I could do.
Tell the crackheads that you are taking FMLA leave, and go. It will take a week of paperwork for them to attempt to deny the leave of absence.
Oh, I'm near CC alright...I live on Padre Island, the barrier island SE of CC. We live on the water (on the back side of the island) and am trying to guess-timate the impact on my boathouse, etc.
We'll be leaving and going to New Braunfels once we've battened down what we can here.
Interestingly, there's not a lot of "panic" here, that I've seen. Yes, the Lowes and Home Depot are hopping and the water's gone at the HEB, but there's no talk of early closures at the stores I've gone to. The schools are talking about closing on Friday, the Nueces County offices are closing early today to allow employees to prepare, they're evacuating "high" vehicles from the island, etc., but no widespread evac, yet.
It is becoming increasingly clear that co-existing with Democrats is becoming nearly impossible.
Will someone tell this freak that local and state in Texas are simply doing what local and state are supposed to do, and what local and state in Louisiana refused to do?
I cant find anything for you in either Stephenville,Mineral Wells or Abilene.
I found a few few expensive rooms left in Wichita Falls.
same here. They kept saying with Katrina that after ERC the storm would widen its windfield.
Wow. And I thought decoding an aviation METAR was hard!
}:-)4
I'm almost there....but now I can't get through to her cell. Dang!
Clear Lake will flood if they get too much storm surge...right near Galveston Bay....
KLBJ-AM (590 Austin) is reporting that hotel/motel space for the Austin/San Antonio area is booked solid. Any still looking to flee might consider the Rio Grande Valley and praying the storm turns as expected.
I would tell them you are leaving now. You don't need to risk your life for a job. the key to evacuation is to do so EARLY or you cannot find a room for many states and highways are a mess.
Damn, but she's explosive. The pressure is racing to the 920 mb satellite estimate in a hurry.
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