Hurricane Rita Live Thread, Part III

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

[NautiNurse]

Extremely dangerous and large Category Five Hurricane Rita is churning westward across the Gulf of Mexico toward Texas. Air Force Reconnaissance indicated the central pressure has dropped to 904mb, making Rita the fifth most intense hurricane ever in the Atlantic Basin.

Hurricane and Tropical Storm Watches have been issued from Northern Mexico through the South Louisiana coastline. Galveston TX used school buses to evacuate residents. Mandatory and voluntary evacuations are in effect along the Texas coastline.

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 Western Gulf of Mexico
Current Weather Warnings and Watches for Texas
Current Weather Warnings and Watches for Louisiana

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

Streaming Video: (coverage may be intermittent)

KHOU-TV/DT Houston: mms://beloint.wm.llnwd.net/beloint_khou
WWLTV NOLA

Additional Resources:

FReeper Sign In Thread Check in to let us know whether you are staying, going, and when you get there
FReepers Offering Lodging To Rita Evacuees People and/or Pet Friendly FReepers Offering Shelter
Coastal TX Evacuation Maps
KHOU Houston
KTRK ABC News Houston
Hurricane City
Wxnation Houston
Galveston Webcams
Golden Triangle Weather Page Provides Galveston Weather, Warnings, Radar, etc.

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 II
Hurricane Rita Live Thread, Part I
Tropical Storm Rita
Tropical Depression 18

[AntiGuv]

I meant orange/green zone for Rita. The typo gremlin is really after me tonight!!

[TheMom]

Thanks BG! We have all the important stuff ready to load up & go.

None of us wants to be a hero or a survivalist.

[deport]

Isn't this thing coming your way?

---

From the other thread which is now locked...

Yes in some form or fashion it seems. The locals are still saying down the coast towards Matagorda Bay. But they still are hedging a bit because the high isn't for sure stable where it is. Thus if it begins to break and shift to the east then the pace it does that determines the northward shift which brings it closer to our area.

All said and done I'm packed basically except for a couple of windows I want to board up, load the vehicle and go get in the parking lot that is headed north. lol. We'll go to Dallas and spend the weekend with the kids and then depending upon damages we'll decide what to do.

Thanks for the concern. It is going to do some major damage where ever it does come ashore and will impact areas for some distance from the landfall location.

[Squantos]

Laz was gone ? (

mentally or physically ?

[NautiNurse]

He was going to try and get some sleep tonight.

[Mr Cobol]

Will do. This site is the greatest. Thanks.

[eastforker]

I concur with your analysis, Dickenson is no place to ride out this storm, get out now.

[onyx]

Thanks Diddle E. Just got off the telephone with my daughter in the Cayman's -- she sees it going toward Corpus. It's so damn huge --

[blam]

"14 evacuees unconscience on nursing bus due to carbon monoxide poisioning on 146 near Lufkin"

Leaky exhaust on the bus?

[BurbankKarl]

They were sending a crew I think....even though its past 11 there.

[NautiNurse]

I heard the report to. Details stil a bit sketchy.

[eastforker]

Moraly:>)

[Torie]

Well, the storm isn't going to hit land for 60 hours, and the red seems to be weakening as time goes by. Is that all due to the storm, and none of that matters.

[blam]

Good night all.

[Brad’s Gramma]

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1488924/posts?page=442#442

His last post today...

[steveegg]

Good night, blam.

[conservative in nyc]

Citizens of Seabrook Texas, ABANDON ALL HOPE!

Jim Cantore has set up a live remote near 146 and the boardwalk.

That's not good news. Seabrook is on Galveston Bay near the Johnson Space Center and Pasadena, TX.

I was hoping to see him closer to Matagorda, where fewer people live.

[Palladin]

Those poor folks! Prayers up for them.

[Brad’s Gramma]

Check your mail, kiddo.

[No Blue States]

HURRICANE LOCAL STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUSTON/GALVESTON TX
1100 PM CDT WED SEP 21 2005

Evacuation info and tides for Houston area:

http://iwin.nws.noaa.gov/iwin/tx/hurricane.html