Hurricane Rita Live Thread, Part VI

NHC - NOAA ^ | 23 September 2005 | NHC - NOAA

[NautiNurse]

Dangerous Hurricane Rita is expected to make landfall in the northeast Gulf of Mexico within 24 hours. Tornados have spawned in Louisiana. Water is filling the Ninth Ward of New Orleans again. A bus carrying elderly evacuees was gutted by fire this morning outside Dallas, with multiple fatalities. Television crews have positioned their hurricane reporters throughout the region to attain maximum drama effects. Whoooooa.

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
Jefferson Co TX NWS Weather
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:

Lake Charles Long Range Radar Still image, with loop link
Houston/Galveston Long Range Radar Still image, with loop link
Lake Charles Experimental Radar Outages and Delays May Occur

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)

KHOU-TV/DT Houston
KPRC-TV/DT Houston
KTRK-TV/DT Houston
KTRH-AM Houston
KPLC-TV/DT Lake Charles/Lafayette
KSLA-TV/DT Shreveport

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
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 V
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

[RedBloodedAmerican]

Michigan people are strange anyhow. Plus they claim to know a little about football. :)

[shield]

I consider CARLA the powerful hurricane EVER...why? We all had to feel the affects of her for 44 yrs. CARLA gave us DANNY RATHER... ;o(

[NautiNurse]

She struggling, and weakening. She may be a Cat 3 now, per Ed Rappaport.

Good news!

[ARealMothersSonForever]

Spot on. People on the sidelines criticise, and have no earthly idea what it takes to move a few million people in 33 hours.

[kassie]

well fed and have been pissed since Clinton was first elected!

Very true.

Getting a little breezy here. Off and on. Everyone ready??

[The KG9 Kid]

"See, I can't get past that bleach thing. They say to add bleach to the water and that just freaks me out."

Make lemonade with the water you plan to drink. You'll never know about the Chlorine.

[texianyankee]

"Where is Steve Herrigan?"

Good question....I have no clue.

[Moose4]

Forget Cantore. Where's Stephanie Abrams, and is she wearing her usual tight T-shirt and baseball cap?

(Yeah. I'm bad. Trying to inject some frat-house humor into a bad situation here...)

}:-)4

[steveegg]

Forget drama queen Shep. Where's Cantore?

Cantore set up shop in Houston after being frustrated in his attempt to get to Port Arthur.

[freema]

For real?!

[cgk]

I seriously have never seen a President so disrespected, ever. They are SO rude to him, blatantly, about anything and everything.

I AM surprised not ONE of them said "Going back to Texas... on VACATION?" They are scum, all of them.

My old tagline: We'll have to deal w/ the networks. One way to do that is to drain the swamp they live in - Rumsfeld

[BurbankKarl]

The people are mostly out...how can that not be a success?

[Revel]

Of course the levees are breached. You could see it from the video on fox. It was obvious that is was not just over topping. Besides how long can an earthen dam be over topped before it falls apart. NOT LONG.

[talleyman]

Wonder how many "Ratherisms" he was able to squeeze in before they let him go.

I don't know, but I bet they went over like a Satan burger with a side of Hell fries at a so-strict-they-think-heaven's-sinful Southern Fried Baptist Bible Revival and Gospel turkey shoot...

[Ryan Spock]

There's ZERO breeze where I am, on the southwest edge of Memorial. The leaves aren't moving one bit. You'd never suspect there was a hurricane coming!

Sounds like the proverbial Calm Before the Storm. Hope you folks all stay safe out there.

[steveegg]

Where's Stephanie Abrams, and is she wearing her usual tight T-shirt and baseball cap?

Galveston, and at last check yes.

[NautiNurse]

Hang in there. Godspeed

[janetjanet998]

eye has clouded over on satlelite, sign of weakening...alos a huge north movement almost a NNW movement past 90 min

[ARealMothersSonForever]

I-45 is moving at posted speed limits. Contraflow is no longer in place.

[rit]

12:15 P.M. - Meteorologist Brad Panovich: Homes in the Lower Ninth Ward and St. Bernard Parish can expect 8-9 feet of water from the levee breach.
12:08 P.M. - An Army Corps of Engineers official is blaming today's flooding in New Orleans on an earlier-than-expected storm surge from Hurricane Rita. Brigadier General Robert Crear says contractors are being brought into the city to repair breaches in a patched levee with rocks and sandbags.
11:55 A.M. - St. Bernard Parish Sheriff Jack Stephens says water is coming into the parish quickly and the only way out of the parish will soon by by boat.
11:53 A.M. - WWL-TV Northshore Bureau Chief Mike Ross says water is already beginning to get on the Mandeville Lakefront area. link