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Locked on 09/22/2005 3:40:46 AM PDT by Jim Robinson, reason:
New thread: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/1489163/posts |
Posted on 09/21/2005 4:19:11 PM PDT by 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
They're still working on putting together the discussion for Rita. Neither the NHC nor Weather Underground has the 10 pm up yet.
Thanks! That's a tad more into Louisiana than the last one I saw and, if accurate, clobbers Houston to Beaumont. What do these things do... naturally gravitate to the most populated areas?
I wonder how many people will run out of gas on the highway while trying to evacuate.
He was wild-eyed, boisterous and in-your-face revolting about W. I cannot stand what he's turned into .. as if W could've turned on a dime on Saturday night and gotten a state of insurrection declared to allow in the Feds in time to evacuate the helpless. He's gone around the bend.
Watching KPRC, they're talking about contraflow, and saying that it will NOT be used in this case. I can't believe it...
Hey, we can go for bits/bytes/bps, Cisco, Cat5(5e, 6), DTE/DCE....subnet....
Hey, who you callin' a weeny? (I'm female...I don't have one...grin.)
The swiss cake rolls, of course. They were $1.09 a box for like the last 20 years.....went up to $1.19 just recently.
Two different measures of strength :-)
That's not a good sign...
These things need warm water and an exhaust. They are basically heat engines.
Katrina weakened because it moved too slowly, eating up the energy in its vicinity and clogging up its exhaust pipe with its own fumes.
If Rita keeps moving along, it will not weaken.
Two of them were 2 hours old or more. The wind went up to 40 on one then nothing, the other I saw was less than that.
Thanks (blush), Lorraine! Still, I'm not nearly as creative these new parents, including some recent arrivals from the New Orleans area:
Alexandria Town Talk Birth Announcements
Hurricane namers take note!
He showed them in a hallway...and one was in a hospital bed....they all had sheets on them....but it was a shock to see.
We can only hope the extra day of evacuation was enough to get everyone out.
That would stop the flow of buses and trucks heading down to get people out.
We still have around 48 hours before this thing hits - they'll go contraflow soon.
OMG
He's right, Laz. I was out to Walmart a few hours ago and you just would not believe the traffic. We didn't even bother going to church, which is just down the road. It would have taken at least an hour to get there.
No, we'll have to be all prepared to leave, and then if it turns towards us and IF my folks change their mind and agree to leave, we'll leave and drag 'em along behind us.
Dang! We need that giant sucking sound from Mexico to kick in about now.
Ya know what - they are all good, but the price is the best part
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