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

[WhyisaTexasgirlinPA]

I am scared speecheless.

Me too

[Knitting A Conundrum]

The levees topped in east New Orleans...didn't break...the storm surge was too tall for them...for the central part of NO this is true...St. Bernard got damage from topped levees too, as did Kenner (both are suburban areas near NO) So the answer is yes and no...there would have been flooding and was flooding without the levee breaks, but the levee breaks made it worse and more widespread.

[Syntyr]

Mornin all!

Syntyr here checking in from the Galleria area of Houston. I am busily pushing backup data from our major systems to our off site facilities. You would think that a T3 line would feel faster :)

I am ready locked and loaded personally. Just got to get some last backup checkpoints done. Best of luck and God bless all the family and FRiends in the path. Be careful out there!

[Ron H.]

You and your trees sound like us and ours. We have huge oaks and pecan trees bordering the back of our house...one of those things we always talked about needing to take down but didn't want to. But now they are the primary reason we plan to leave tomorrow morning.

I have three chain saws, two of then in good working order. One is a 'professional' model with a 26" bar and I will be putting it to good use today and probably tomorrow as well and then I'm out of here too.

[Knitting A Conundrum]

I heard the eye was something like 28 miles across...very impressive...

[Hoodlum91]

"We have tens of thousands showing up for a pro troops weekend"

I wish I shared your optimism for the pro-troop turnout. Response on FR has been less than stellar (unless you are going to a different rally?)

Of course, since it is a pro-troop rally, MSM coverage would be limited anyway.

Now...back to Lovely Rita...

[pamlet]

Looks like I'll be livin' on this thread for the next few days huh?

We're north of San Antonio, so we're not too worried... but are doing the water, bottled gas thingy in case we lose water and/or power. Our water seems to go out if you sneeze... laugh.. so we're kind of used to that!

[queenkathy]

Ok as a Michigander and one who has never been to Texas...Does Texas have any levees? I knew I should have paid more attention to my geology class in high school.

[11th_VA]

Just an FYI to everyone in here's a Houston area storm surge map for those of you in that 100 year flood zone:

Link Houston Storm Surge Map

"information deemed reliable but not necessarily correct", "caveat empor", "let your conscience be your guide", etc ... (I'm not giving advice)

[jslade]

no problem taking pets.

I would have a problem since I own a 90 lb. Doberman. Luckily I also live in FL. We had our hurrican season last year (knocking of every piece of wood within reach).

[Dog]

Can someone tell me when they are going to get a recon plane back in the air and into this storm..

[numberonepal]

She's going annular. I predicted 120kt off the tip of Cuber a couple of days ago.

[IamConservative]

have they identified exactly what caused the levees to break?"

The Blank Panther moonbats believe the man blew the levees up to kill blacks.

[lexington minuteman 1775]

Yikes!

[Strategerist]

Looks like it won't be till 2PM Eastern.

[CajunConservative]

http://www.kplctv.com/Global/link.asp?L=159592&nav=menu66_3

[queenkathy]

My husband asked a question today and I don't know the answer. Is it possible for a plane of some kind to drop something in a hurricane when it's out in the ocean that would break it up before it turns into a dangerous hurricane? I think he's talking about some kind of weapon to drop down and go off in such a way as to scatter it.

[not-alone]

I am worried about the recovery time if another cat 5 hits.I am a long way from Texas, but would help a freeper family and sure many others fell the same way. I live alone in a four bedroom house in the Adirondacks with excellent school nearby. Remember us after if you need a place for your family while they recover.

[NautiNurse]

Welcome back to another hurricane thread.

[TexasGunLover]

Thus why I said, flooding, which is looking more likely. You can always hope for the best while planning for the worst.