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

[AntiGuv]

Yes, the models are now recentering over Galveston - especially the leading models. Here's GFDL. It is also showing a direct hit on Galveston/Houston.

[RGVTx]

Col Hunt was just on FNC talking about coordinating for disater relief. He was asked why the problems in NO. He said competence. I like Col Hunt! He made it clear why so many things are going right this time and why NO went so wrong.
I'm tired of hearing that Texas is getting it right because we learned from Katrina. Like Texas didn't have a clue til now!

That line of thinking gives Blanco and Nagin a bit of an out. Like we all learned a big lesson from how they screwed up with Katrina. And if Texans didn't have a clue until 'learning from Katrina' then we just can't put as much blame on Blanco and Nagin. Arrgh...

[Rebelbase]

"NN: Assume that landfall is at 5AM tomorrow morning. How does that mesh with the tide times?"

Eagle Point at Galveston Bay high tide is 5:51 am Sat.9/24.

[NautiNurse]

Sorry - see posts 1723 and 1728.

[Fresh Wind]

Speaking of links, here's one that I have been watching. Lots of stuff from various sources in one place, and additional links:

http://www.crownweather.com/tropical.html

[SE Mom]

That is not good timing for Galveston high tide.

[AFPhys]

Thanks, NN and Rebel.

This is sounding like we're not going to dodge a bullet simply because we're at low tide, anyway. Not good.

I've got to run - will be back later today.

[angkor]

Isn't that from 00 ZULU time (GMT)?

[NautiNurse]

Significant difference in times by location...

Eagle Point at Galveston Bay high tide is 5:51 am Sat.9/24

Pleasure Pier Galveston 12:13AM Sat. 9/24

[NautiNurse]

Of course, my times are in EDT, and yours are CDT...

[Royal Wulff]

It looks like Houston traffic jams have subsided.

Don't let the MSM get away with showing old footage of the traffic problems with the intent of smearing Bush.

Here is a link to live Houston traffic cams.

[Flyer]

I prefer KTRK myself.

FM TV!

[NautiNurse]

Ouch to the photos.

[mewzilla]

I heard on FNC this morning that some Galveston residents are actually calling to see if they can come back since it's only a cat 4 now and might not make a direct hit on the island. Sigh.

[Zacs Mom]

that almost instant and rampant mold growth in that area just makes my skin crawl!! Mold is my highest allergy trigger!

Check out this pic of a 'gang' of lootetrs caught in the act!!
http://forms.belointeractive.com/sharedcontent/datafiles/1127405763306_ORIGINAL_Hurricane_Katrina_266.jpg

Shameless!

[johnb838]

I don't know about that - people are still calling the local stations stuck on the side of the road asking for help and asking "what are we going to dooo?" Very upset. We saw some fuel trucks moving but there are still hundreds, even thousands of vehicles stranded. So don't let the pols blow sunshine either.

[Zacs Mom]

I think I might be the only one who thought that weather guy made it sound like almost an all clear for that area!

[johnb838]

Oh -- Inside Houston there's no traffic at all, the problems are outside traffic cam range now.

[mewzilla]

Well, no offense to anyone, but I wouldn't care what the weather guy or any branch of the bloody government had to say. Commone sense would still tell me, with Rita coming, to get the heck outta Dodge :) Sheesh.

[Fresh Wind]

LOL!