This thread has been locked, it will not receive new replies. |
Locked on 09/22/2005 5:50:00 PM PDT by Sidebar Moderator, reason:
New thread: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/1489655/posts |
Posted on 09/22/2005 3:25:57 AM PDT by NautiNurse
Extremely dangerous Category 5 Hurricane Rita continues to threaten the Greater Houston Metropolitan area. The forecast track has shifted slightly to the northeast, increasing the risk to Southwest Louisiana, and a significant portion of the oil and gas operations in the Gulf of Mexico. Texas Governor Perry is urging all coastal residents between Beaumont and Corpus Christi to evacuate as soon as possible.
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
Houston/Galveston/Beaumont/Lake Charles Wx Watches/Warnings
Current Weather Warnings and Watches for Texas
Current Weather Warnings and Watches for Louisiana
Hi Res Houston Flood Zone Map Slow load, great detail
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)
KPRC-TV/DT Houston - KPRC-TV/DT Houston - http://mfile.akamai.com/12944/live/reflector:38616.asx
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
Beaumont TX evac Routes
Lake Charles/Southwest LA Evacuation Map
KHOU Houston
KTRK ABC News Houston
KPLC Lake Charles Evac Routes, news
KFDM Beaumont/Port Arthur News, evac info
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 III
Hurricane Rita Live Thread, Part II
Hurricane Rita Live Thread, Part I
Tropical Storm Rita
Tropical Depression 18
No..he's full of it. He was saying that FLorida never waits that long to make all lanes go northbound...he was critizicing Texas waiting so long to do it. I told him it never happened ...YET.
He also ranted about how $3.00 gas would take $99 oil barrel prices, so he "knew" we were being gauged. Completely clueless about refinery shutdowns and gas shortages, or about the fact that once the shortage cleared up prices largely dropped back to around $2.60, which was about right for $66/barrel oil, given the gas taxes.
Way cool stuff on that NASA site. Nice SST graphic at the end of the page too.
If Rita hits Houston, do you have any idea the economic impact it will have on this country? NO is already pretty trashed, and Rita would have much less devasating effects if it hit NO and not Houston.
I'm not being insensitive...I'm being a realist. This storm is not going to go away...it is going to hit someone on the Gulf coast. Looking at the big picture, it would be better if it hit a city that is already evac'd, as opposed to a metropolis.
Good luck and patience!
See, them bullets was a good wedding gift after all!
Just heard a guy talking on a radio station from NO say that it took him 5 hours to go from Baytown(Tx) to Beaumont(Tx), normally about a one hour drive on I-10. He moved his family from Baytown to Beaumont.
We see this a lot in Atlanta because most people "ain't from around here." They move here as short term corporate transfers, and if the interstates back up they have no idea what to do. The radio stations try to help, but if you don't know the names of the back roads it isn't much help.
We usually take to the back roads when we're visiting family on big holidays and the interstates back up. It usually works pretty well.
That lasts about 20 minutes after the power goes out.
That was in NOLA - but along the Gulf Coast, the surge was higher than Camille's, and for a much longer stretch.
For those of you who are not familiar with HOUSTON. Their traffic is always bad.. this is just extra bad... but on 45 the contra is open at 1488- 125 miles to Buffalo TX
Dude! Awesome images. Thanks
For the detail oriented, Rita is 48.7 miles NE of yesterday's 1600 (4pm CDT) forecast track, with predicted landfall 109 miles NE of the 1600 track.
That's less than a third of the turn it would need to make to hit NOLA head on.
He better not bother unpacking.
Suggest you stop digging.
NOLA track from satellite shows west side shear wall and gradual NNW trend developing. Storms seek course of least resistance. Katrina greased NOLA and Rita may follow the grove. Purley deductive speculation from an interested observer.
Thanks for the link. Fascinating animations of the insides.
They've set up I-16 in GA for contraflow with gates at all the ramps. It seems to work pretty well.
Wind Direction (WDIR): | NNE ( 30 deg true ) |
Wind Speed (WSPD): | 46.6 kts |
Wind Gust (GST): | 60.2 kts |
Wave Height (WVHT): | 34.1 ft |
Dominant Wave Period (DPD): | 15 sec |
Average Period (APD): | 10.4 sec |
Mean Wave Direction (MWDIR): | E ( 97 deg true ) |
Atmospheric Pressure (PRES): | 29.36 in |
Air Temperature (ATMP): | 79.0 °F |
Water Temperature (WTMP): | 84.4 °F |
TIME (CDT) |
WDIR | WSPD |
---|---|---|
8:50 am | NNE ( 30 deg ) | 45.6 kts |
8:40 am | NNE ( 31 deg ) | 42.9 kts |
8:30 am | NNE ( 30 deg ) | 43.5 kts |
8:20 am | NNE ( 29 deg ) | 45.8 kts |
8:10 am | NNE ( 26 deg ) | 44.9 kts |
8:00 am | NNE ( 22 deg ) | 43.5 kts |
My niece in Tomball told me last night that she was filling and freezing zip-lock bags of water.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.