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

[jeffers]

That's what it looks like on the vapor channel.

[dixie sass]

She gave an interview earlier on Houston Channel 2. Actually was coherant and made sense.

[RummyChick]

Straight from a Everybody loves Raymond episode. They left Robert.

[JFC]

I did not mean to sound that way at all. It must have came out that I was sounding like a racist. I am not that at all.... and I love being a Republican, Texan and my fellow freepers. If I offened anyone, I apologize.

[BureaucratusMaximus]

Until you have spent hours holding displaced sick babies and moms and elderly, don't you DARE accuse me of being antoher Jesse Jackson. Your remarks are uncalled for and your just the type of person Micheal Moore and the likes think ALL of us Republicans are like. How DARE YOU!!!

This is a hurricane thread...we get enough of this in other threads and in other media. Take note and act accordingly.

[padfoot_lover]

White sure beats Brown by a mile, and is doing an okay job so far here, but like you I am very cautious about him since he's a clintonista.

Stay safe!

[kassie]

Oh my goodness.

[fishntex]

If you are talking about Stephanie Abrams on TWC, I think she is HOT!

http://blog.jayperkins.com/mt/jayblog/archives/sa091204z05.jpg

[alarm rider]

Dog,

Take care. Let us know what's up for as long as you can.
I think I can safely say that we are interested in your observations.

Regards,
AR

[AnAmericanMother]

Good! A dove hunter!

< off topic alert >

Do most people who hunt dove use dogs, or not? What breed?

I have a young Lab that has completed her first hunt test title and I'm thinking about taking her out for her first "real" hunt.

< /off topic >

[jeffers]

How does a sprinkler head get to your window? The ones I've seen only raise about an inch.

[Rebelbase]

NASA simulation of Rita flooding Galveston Bay.

http://www.nasa.gov/images/content/134306main_pia06674.gif

Nice, but what does this have to do with rockets and space?

[steveegg]

Okay; who wants to start a Stephanie Abrams fan club? ;-)

[RDTF]

Well at least he had his mom's cellphone number - they'll reconnect eventually

[bwteim]

Now on Fox. Corps was expecting seepage, now showing shots of water in 9th ward. Said Corps is on way to 17th street canal.

[Clara Lou]

We unloaded a busload of 47 elderly folk from a nursing home in Friendswood. It took them 27 hours to travel from near Houston to 100 miles north of Houston. The bus smelled like an outhouse, and 3 particularly ill of them died along the way. The ran out of oxygen 3 times and had to get help.
All of their oxygen was stored in the passenger compartment near those who needed it. I didn't see any oxygen pulled from the luggage compartment.

[NautiNurse]

It was the story about the snakes and turtles moving out en masse in one of the lower parishes. Told to WLLTV by a local resident.

That's the moment when I knew Katrina would be a catastrophic storm.

[dirtboy]

Gotta engineer a solution to prevent a raised sprinkler head from beating against my bedroom window.

Pull solution - think of guying a sapling. Do you have anything to use for stakes - lengths of rebar, tent stakes, etc, along with wire?

Push solution - wedge a piece of 2x4 between the head and the wall and then prop it up.

[Cincinatus]

Nice, but what does this have to do with rockets and space?

NASA has a billion dollars worth of infrastructure in the Johnson Space Center, that's what.

[jeffers]

The causeway is closed.

She can only back up so far, and as far as that goes, the seawall doesn't go all the way around the island. The back is open.

Is she wearing a lifejacket?