Update: Category 5 Hurricane Rita - Live Thread, Part II

NHC - NOAA ^ | 21 September 2005 | NHC - NOAA

[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

[Jrabbit]

For heavens sakes! The poster apologized already! Chill

[Rebelbase]

LOL, I didn't even read yours before posting mine!

[Howlin]

Do we have some links to Texas TV or radio stations?

[Mago]

What is a stadium effect?

[headsonpikes]

Just for the sake of clarity, are you trying to tell us that it's NOT Bush's fault?

;^) sorry.

[tuckrdout]

Thank you for the information.

I keep thinking man, there is someone God is trying to get the attention of!

And VooDoo don't pay!

[HapaxLegamenon]

It is amazing, the difference in the competency between New Orleans and Houston/Galveston. Then again as a former Gal County resident, I shouldn't be surprised.

[Rebelbase]

Vertical 50,000-60,000'+ tall eyewall clouds.

[floriduh voter]

No false alarm this time. RITA'S OUTER BANDS HAVE ARRIVED IN TAMPA BAY. This is rain and wind, thunder and lightning. I shouldn't be on line but wanted to update from my location. I do not have my freeper weathercaster outfit on or my backwards baseball cap on. Rita's whipping us on the most northern bands.

She's big and bad.

[BradtotheBone]

Howlin, here ya go:

http://www.ktrh.com Houston AM radio
http://www.950kprc.com Houston AM radio
http://www.kprc.com Houston TV
http://www.khou.com Houston TV
http://www.ktrk.com Houston TV

[PAR35]

I've never once sent a message to a mod my entire time on FR

I've hit the abuse button hundreds of times. The mods get tired of it at times, but if it is legitimate, they'll act on it.

[Warren_Piece]

I just noticed the title of this thread has been changed to reflect a Cat 5. Does that mean it's official now?

[ARealMothersSonForever]

Just goes to show Don't Mess With Texas. You really ought to start a thread of its own with that pic.

[Velveeta]

Prayers

[NautiNurse]

IIRC, there was an anxious push by the masses to get Katrina to Cat 5 too. Best to see that a storm will sustain the winds, and thus the category rather than jump the gun for a record or to satisfy a thrill. There is no landfall between now and two hours from now to make a difference.

[Letitring]

That sounds fascinating but I can't get the link to work. What am I doing wrong?

[cwiz24]

Here is the Yahoo! Directory link to some Houston area TV stations. Haven't checked them yet to see which ones have live feeds, but one of them is bound to...

Houston-area TV Stations

[Arizona Carolyn]

Wish Fox was showing this picture.

[Revel]

"George Bush Doesn't Care About The Texas Gulf Coast!"

George Bush Hates Texans!

[backhoe]

Not exactly what you asked for, but here are some Texas Weather Cams:

http://www.weatherimages.org/weathercams/usa.html#TX