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

[Lakeside]

Trinity is north of Houston on Lake Livingston.

[HoustonCurmudgeon]

I hope it never opens .... but if it does .....

[BoringGuy]

I'm abit concerned about the nuke reactors outside of Bay city, near Matagorda. Looks like possible landfall area.

That would be the South Texas Project. IIRC, the containment structures are built to withstand a Cat 5+ storm.

[Quilla]

I can attest to the fact that permanent markers last a long time on pets. When my son was four, he connected the dots on our dalmatian with a wide tipped permanent marker. Our neighbors laughed for weeks.

[steveegg]

Don't count on land features to keep tornadoes away. Historical evidence that they work is not, repeat not backed up by scientific evidence.

[OB1kNOb]

Can anyone offer an opinion on what Beaumont and Port Arthur, TX can expect if Rita continues in its current strength and projected path?

[TXBSAFH]

I am out of here as of 0500 Friday. Alpha Mike Foxtrot.

[WhyisaTexasgirlinPA]

I'm laughing at the weather channel - on the local weather (Sugar Land/Rosenberg) they are showing "heavy rain and wind" for Saturday

Ya think?

[TXBSAFH]

I am scared speecheless.

[Strategerist]

People in NE Texas really need to start thinking about catastrophic flooding; the one saving grace of Katrina is that it moved quickly once inland and never interacted with other features to cause much of anything in terms of inland flooding.

However based on the way the models are going you're potentially looking at catastrophic, 500-year-type flooding in the NE part of Texas as the storm gets stuck. Think North Carolina in Floyd.

[sweet_diane]

Thanks Rte. I feel better knowing that Trinity is a good bit inland. My sister has sat in Tx watching our mom and my family go thru so many storms (Alabama coast) and now we feel so helpless to help her! Her last email they were considering staying in League City, but that was when Rita was still a Cat 2.

Stay safe!

[Ron H.]

.... I'd like to know what my sis and her family are in for. They have a place in Trinity also and am not sure where that is.

Trinity should have little to worry about as for as the hurricane itself. I too have friends who live in the Trinity area and they don't seem to be too worried. Should have some rather strong breezes. Personally I'd keep my eyes wide open for tornadoes and straight line winds. I managed to survive 4 near miss tornadoes with Hurricane Alicia. My neighbor directly across the street from me wasn't so lucky though. Close call that time.

[SE Mom]

http://agfax2.com/articles.asp?article=35378

Interesting link to cotton damage and assorted farm losses.

[Rte66]

Thanks! Here's a little bit from IWIN, but I'm watching local news for more current items, too:

~~~~~~~
.EVACUATION INFORMATION...
FOR GALVESTON AND BRAZORIA COUNTIES...VOLUNTARY EVACUATION IS IN
PROGRESS. MANDATORY EVACUATION OF NURSING HOMES AND ASSISTED-LIVING
FACILITIES WILL BEGIN AT 6 AM THIS MORNING. ON GALVESTON
ISLAND... BUSES WILL BE AVAILABLE AT THE ISLAND COMMUNITY CENTER ON
BROADWAY THIS MORNING AFTER 10 AM FOR PERSONS WITH NO OTHER MEANS
OF TRANSPORTATION. IF THERE IS NO SIGNIFICANT CHANGE OF RITA'S TRACK
IN THE NEXT 24 HOURS...A MANDATORY EVACUATION OF GALVESTON AND
BRAZORIA COUNTIES IS EXPECTED TO BEGIN AT 6 PM TODAY.

VOLUNTARY EVACUATIONS ARE ALSO IN PROGRESS THIS EVENING FOR LOW LYING
AREAS OF CHAMBERS COUNTY... HARRIS COUNTY... AND THE CITIES OF
HOUSTON...SEABROOK AND BAYTOWN

DECISIONS CONCERNING EVACUATIONS FOR OTHER COUNTIES AND COMMUNITIES
WILL BE MADE TODAY.

.SCHOOL...GOVERNMENT...AND HOSPITAL FACILITY CLOSINGS...
MOST INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICTS IN GALVESTON...BRAZORIA...AND
SOUTHERN HARRIS COUNTIES WILL BE CLOSED BEGINNING TODAY. IN
ADDITION...ALL SCHOOLS IN THE SAN JACINTO COLLEGE DISTRICT AND
BRAZOSPORT COLLEGE WILL BE CLOSED BEGINNING TODAY. GALVESTON
COUNTY GOVERNMENT FACILITIES WILL ALSO BE CLOSED BEGINNING TODAY.

UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS MEDICAL BRANCH (UTMB) IN GALVESTON WILL BE
CLOSING ALL FACILITIES AT 8 AM THIS MORNING. NO MEDICAL CARE WILL BE
AVAILABLE AT UTMB HOSPITAL FROM THIS POINT FORWARD.
~~~~~~~

[WestCoastGal]

It was so hard to tell people that there were no rooms close or that matter far, I could hear the faint hint of panic in their voices.

Particularly the ones with pets needing a hotel that takes large pets!! Most don't. :(

[BJClinton]

Here's praying it scoots a little further south, stays south of San Antone after landfall and heads out to West Texas where it is needed.

[epaul]

I am in awe of the sheer competence of Texas planners. Hey NOLA watch and try to learn how real men and women act in an emergency!!!! I am nearly in tears of pride watching the evac go as PLANNED. I wonder how many Texas Freepers are involved in the planning and execution of the evac???

[SouthTexas]

Will do. We are on the inside of Copano Bay though and getting across may be a tad difficult. ;)

Do ping me back and remember, communication and power WILL be a problem. No news doesn't necessarily mean bad news.

[bwteim]

Welcome to FR!

[OB1kNOb]

People in NE Texas really need to start thinking about catastrophic flooding;

What's your thoughts on the magnitude of effect to Arkansas weather? Heavy flooding too?