Hurricane Rita Live Thread, Part V

NHC - NOAA ^ | 22 September 2005 | NHC - NOAA

[NautiNurse]

Extremely dangerous Category Four Hurricane Rita continues to move toward landfall along the northwest Gulf of Mexico shoreline. Mandatory and voluntary evacuations continue across Texas and Louisiana coastal areas. Lake Charles LA is providing evacuations by bus for residents who have no transportation.

Traffic gridlock in the greater Houston area was compounded by gasoline stations without fuel, long lines at those stations still carrying fuel, and record breaking temperatures on the first day of autumn.

Offshore drilling platforms and rigs, as well as oil refineries, petrochemical and natural gas plants are in the path of the storm. Wave heights recorded by buoy have exceeded 38 feet. The refineries threatened by Hurricane Rita are on higher ground than those affected by flooding from Katrina. As a result, speculation abounds regarding future prices for winter heating fuel and gasoline.

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
KPLC-TV Lake Charles KPLC Streaming
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 IV
Hurricane Rita Live Thread, Part III
Hurricane Rita Live Thread, Part II
Hurricane Rita Live Thread, Part I
Tropical Storm Rita
Tropical Depression 18

[Fiddlstix]

He's been BANNED! Don't say nuthin, glock!!!

Thanks Grammy..........
It gets harder to sneak in here all the time.......

[fatima]

(((Hugs)))Night

[Lemondropkid31]

"I tlak to myself and answer myself.I always get the right answers;)"

Me too!


I am smelling that rain again!!!

[jeffers]

Does smelling rain count?

(BTW, quit standing on the refresh button over at WU... the server's too busy to even return a ping...I know it's you, don't try to lie.)

[GUIDO]

And then there's Jim Adler. True story, recently we were involved in a slight car accident. When my little daughter found out, she got so excited because she thought Jim Adler was going to get us a lot of money.

Oh my gosh I thought that LOUDMOUTH was local, here in San Antonio. Don't yo hate his commercials??? They make you HATE trial lawyers (or ambulance chasers)more than normally!!

[Diddle E. Squat]

Am glad that your friend made it out of Galveston. At lunchtime the bridge out was already empty, everyone who wanted to get out was able to. Am not that worried for those in the Houston area who don't live in the storm surge zone, the odds of survival are quite good. Even 80% of those on Galveston Island in the 1900 hurricane survived. Amazing. Everyone currently on the road right now will either make it out, move into the shelters springing up on the north and west sides, or be picked up by last resort buses and taken to shelters. But it is pretty scary for those stuck in that after 16+ hours, or out of gas, or broke down, until they finally make it into a shelter, and only natural to be scared and pessimistic in such a situation. Despair temporarily changes persons, include some of our frightened posters. That's all I'm really saying.

[BurbankKarl]

Waller County Sheriff confirms death on I10 @ Brookshire(?)

[fatima]

How close are you to the gulf-might be winds.

[Spktyr]

That was only loaded pistols. You've been able to legally carry a loaded longarm in your vehicle (or on your person) since the beginning of Texas.

This was just a correction of badly worded state law to align it with reality and, as you say, the rights derived from God.

[Fiddlstix]

Hey! I ain't above stealing a good line........
Or a good graphic for that matter.......
LOL

[conservative in nyc]

This may all be academic come morning. The roads in Houston are clearing quite a bit. Contraflow is now in effect on I-45 from at least Conroe (officially - but I see contraflow on cameras in the Woodlands now) to Ennis, TX. Almost all the way up to Dallas:

[Rte66]

First death among Rita evacuees stranded in traffic. It was the grandmother of a driver. No more details right now.

[publana]

>>It should also be noted that our judges are *elected* by the people and serve defined terms.<<

I'm not so crazy about electing judges. They tend to favor the lawyers that donated to their campaigns.

[mrbillxx]

not dismissing the danger at all... never been in a hurricane (never care to be in one) and never been to Houton. Just figured it might be safer to batten down and stay put. People have lived through major hurricanes before..but it was mostly questioning what would be the best thing to do.

[Lemondropkid31]

It is totally calm outside. I am probably 3 or 4 hours from the gulf if you count the traffic.

[dfwgator]

I think Adler is based out of Houston, even funnier are his ads on the Spanish stations when he tries to speak Spanish.

[Spktyr]

It's Burbank standing on the button, not me. :)

Smelling rain, unfortunately, does not count.

[steveegg]

(BTW, quit standing on the refresh button over at WU... the server's too busy to even return a ping...I know it's you, don't try to lie.)

It's me, and I'm getting some good ping times off of them. What I am hoping to see soon is a fresh Vortex report (we're closing in on 2 hours from the last one).

[Lemondropkid31]

Haha well, you can steal that line if you want it LOL

[Brad’s Gramma]

No problem!

:)