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

[Gabz]

Someone else just posted that it appears Phillipe is dying out.

[Moose4]

I can't even contemplate what would happen if they tried to evacuate hundreds of thousands of people out of Tidewater with a major hurricane bearing down. There's exactly ONE Interstate highway coming out of there (I-64) and in order to get to it from anywhere east or southeast of Newport News/Hampton, you have to cross at least one bridge-tunnel, either the Hampton Roads or the Monitor-Merrimac. It would be a nightmare.

}:-)4

[Dog Gone]

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

It's raised about three feet about the ground about six inches from a bay window. Normally Canna plants grow there, and it has to be raised or it wouldn't provide enough coverage for the bed.

It's pvc pipe and flexible enough to repeatedly batter the glass in the winds I'm expecting.

After trying the first solution, DUCT TAPE!, I decided that wasn't going to work. I didn't want to cut the sprinkler off, so I braced a very heavy concrete bench seat between it and the window. I'm good to go on that now. It's better than a plywood solution which is good since I have none, lol.

[dirtboy]

The 5 day tracking chart has it heading back to the east coast. Read a article recently that a hurricane coming into the Norfolk/Hampton Roads area on a perpendicular track is the worst possible scenario for flooding.

Which chart? I see nothing of the sort on the NHC forecast page or on Wunderground. Forecasts call for it to either be torn apart or to become extratropical.

[steveegg]

The 11 am discussion for Philippe has it absorbed and dissipated into a larger non-tropical cyclonic circulation in the next 24 hours. Good news for the US, not so good for Bermuda, which has a tropical storm warning up.

[dirtboy]

NO CHANGES ON TRACK. LANDFALL NEAR GLS, THEN SLOW MOVE UP I-45 CORRIDOR.

NHC has the landfall closer to the TX/LA border. Bastardi just won't let go of his landfall call, despite the mounting evidence to the contrary.

[sarasota]

Stay safe, LA Woman3!

[dirtboy]

noticed the beer was reduced in prices!

File that under "silver lining."

[Dog Gone]

I think I solved it before I read your solution, dirtboy, but I think I will add that to the mix. After I finish filling bathtubs, etc., I'm going to run out of further preps to do, so I might as well make the current ones even better.

[kx9088]

Phillipe jealous of all the attention that Rita is getting?

http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/refresh/graphics_at2+shtml/144629.shtml?5day

[cgk]

I wish they'd get it straight. First it's a breach, then it's not a breach because a breach is a break, then it's a breach again. Foxnews.com quote: "The Army Corps of Engineers not characterizing this as a breach, however, since that means a there's a hole in the wall and structural failure.".
I guess they found the hole?

And here's some FINE FINE advice from Blanco:

As for those who refuse to leave, Gov. Kathleen Blanco advised: "Perhaps they should write their Social Security numbers on their arms with indelible ink."

[60 Miles North]

Buwahahaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

[Deguello]

"HEB still has bottled water"

I have never understood the fascination with bottle water. All us old Boy Scouts know to fill up 5 gallon jugs with good ole chlorinated water.

[LikeLight]

Plenty of live coverage on Fox now of water GUSHING over the Industrial Canal levee/wall break - refilling the 9th Ward with water. Let's call a breach a breach. What else can you call it?

[milagro]

Have been praying very hard these past few days--there was a tornado warning for Shoreview Minnesota a few days ago (the night the Jet Blue plane made its spectacular landing). Prayed for angels to guide that plane down safely, then started praying for angels to tackle the tornado--I grew up in Shoreview and remembered how destructive tornados can be! There were some very powerful and VERY busy angels at work that night and no harm was done!

THANKS BE TO GOD--literally! Am also praying very hard to God to send MIGHTY angels to keep the fury of this storm away from Galveston and Houston! And to keep all the Freepers in the path of the storm "safe and secure from all alarms".

[Dog Gone]

That's a good suggestion. I know, because I had already done it! ;-)

But I don't want the foam to batter the window for the 10 hours of wind we're going to get.

Don't worry. We'll get that sucker where he won't even consider moving!

[IamConservative]

Electric garage doors all have a quick release that will disengage the door from the drive mechanism. Should be a rope with a red handle hanging down where the door attaches to the drive. Give it a tug and it should disengage. The door will then operate independent of the drive. You can do this after the power is out. When your power comes back on, you can reengage the drive.

[cgk]

Found the update, sounds bad!

New Orleans 9th: "We have three significant breaches in the levee and the water is rising rapidly," he said. "At daybreak I found substantial breaks and they've grown larger."

[johnb838]

>

FNC showing levees breaching in new orleans.

It's not fay-uh! We're not getting the attention we deserve!