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

[TexasGunLover]

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.

Technically we need it more in north central Texas and east Texas. I just hope it's nice soaking rains and not flooding, which is looking more likely.

See the national drought monitor here:

http://www.drought.unl.edu/dm/monitor.html

[agrace]

And to think, just 24 hours ago she was still a 70mph TS.

Utterly amazing. Reminds me of Katrina, going from 3 to 5 overnight. Frightening.

[shield]

After what they saw in N.O.'s, people not leaving 'cause of their pets, all pets are allowed to go with them. They've got to have them in carriers...no problem taking pets.

[WestCoastGal]

Thanks Steve, at least it appears it will come through here during daylight which I prefer. Earthquakes in Cali always happened at night. When the electricity goes out during an emergency and it's dark it's just the pits!!

[OKSooner]

Yes, they're supposedly built to withstand a cat5 storm. The South Texas Project reactors are eight feet above sea level, IIRC. Stuck out in the middle of the gulf coast rice fields, and twelve-foot alligators with two heads living out in the cooling reservoir.

Let's hope they're shuttin' em down...

[Michael Goldsberry]

Looter season opens Saturday afternoon.

[kassie]

I did hear that last night.

[Strategerist]

Certainly possible. Depends on whether the storm in fact stalls and the precise location.

[Rte66]

Our local met showed a windfield projection (like the "cone of uncertainty") with tropical storm force winds being felt in Beaumont at the same time as Houston is getting the stronger winds. The zone forecast for Bmont just says "WINDY" for Fri night-Sat morning.

This storm is nearly as big as TX and that's saying something!

[epaul]

"Looter season opens Saturday afternoon."

What's the limit?? Or is this one of those clean the herd No limit hunts? ;)

[burzum]

If true, then she went from TS to Cat 5 in less than 24 hours. I'm speechless.

This seems to me to be an extraordinarily healthy storm. She looks to be about as large as Katrina (with a 25 NM eyewall) and was able to go to Cat 4 with an outflow channel entrained in Cuba. Now that it's free, she has a lot more power to develop. She is also just about to hit the Gulf loop, and a lot of energy will be gained. Considering that she is not going north right now, she is not hampered by the cold water that Katrina churned up.

Everyone knows that the Gulf can support a Cat 5 at this time. The wind shear was the only thing that was holding Rita off from impressive growth. That has now pretty much disappeared allowing her to power up.

[SouthTexas]

We do what we can.

Think I might miss the race this weekend. :(

[11th_VA]

Looter season opens Saturday afternoon.

Let's hope not ... I'm here in DC, something tells me Cindy Sheehan is not going to get much press this weekend with her protest march ...

[Rte66]

Thank you! I hope I'll still be around to enjoy a few more years as a shonuf posting FReeper.

[Rebelbase]

" Maybe she'll go for broke and reach Cat 5 before the 24-hour mark."

Isn't that what the 19something Galveston storm did, or close to it?

[Ron H.]

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. ....

Katrina is proving to be the wake up call we all needed I suspect. Too many people in our area had became just too complacent for their own good.

Personally I still have a good memory of Carla and especially of Alicia.

[Txsleuth]

bttt

[Lakeside]

Ahhh. The silver lining in all this...

[4everontheRight]

Believe me...they don't say "Don't Mess with Texas" for no reason. Looters are going to be pure target practice in Texas!!!

[OB1kNOb]

Very good info. Thanks much. - OB1