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

[WFTR]

My husband works for the company that owns the last refinery that was built in this country....in 1976. Pathetic, isn't it?

Which refinery is that? I've heard that it's the one at Convent, but I'm not sure.

[Bahbah]

I just hope this isn't some sick person who signed up just to get people worried.

Copy that.

[onyx]

whose, not who's.

[geopyg]

---

"He mentioned several rivers......didn't even know where the Drama Queen was reporting from..."

---

The weather guy was talking about storm surge around the Lake Charles and Port Arthur area could be 20'. Shep said something like -"Well, I'm in the middle of Port Arthur at about 5-foot elevation, are you saying we could have another 15 feet of water above us?" (as he raised his hands and looked up!)

The weather guy said - "I'm not exactly sure where you are, and it will depend on where the eye comes ashore,..." etc.

I'm thinking old Shepdog was starting to rethink his plan though of "staying here during the storm".

[proud American in Canada]

Tomorrow I'm going to review this thread to learn how to clean my cache. :)

I'm going up to bed now--I woke up at 4 and went down to check CNN/FR to find out what was going on. I just couldn't get back to sleep.

And like most reading this thread, I'll say my prayers for all those in the storm's path...

[jslade]

Starting sitting on my lap, again, even.

My 90 lb. Dobie could't do that even if she would want to.

[Dog]

And dogs..

[glock rocks]

Was that Geraldo who's transmission to O'Reilly just broke-up?

Mercifully.

[JWojack]

Joe Bastardi says that the next major storm will start up big time next week, just south of Cuba. With such a location, that means it has a shot of hitting the Gulf again... The question is, how much heat did Rita suck up?

[Sender]

an electrician, a mental health counselor, and a priest

Well there you go. While the shrink and the priest argue over fate vs divine will, you'll have someone to quietly get the lights back on.

[RDTF]

It is sucking up Philippe

[MamaTexan]

I am worried that she's going to rest for quite a while once she makes landfall.

Yep. I was just checking the map, and a high pressure system is still over the panhandle. A cold weather front has moved east over Louisiana.

I got a bad feelin she's gonna ride the cup of the coast and come over the belly of Texas catching Houston, Austin, etc..... then squat there for a while :(

[monkfan]

Aye!

[60 Miles North]

Why do they need both Shep and whorealdo in Port Arthur???

[jacquej]

Hey, my two Belgian Malinois try to do it every once in awhile, but is just to play "kissy-face"...

[SE Mom]

The moment we've all waited for, eh?

[Howlin]

LOL!

[Dog]

Drama....pure drama.

[Jrabbit]

Chill. It wasn't my info. I didn't hear the caller. You asked where the info came from and I told you.

[mware]

Why do they need both Shep and whorealdo in Port Arthur???

Two birds with one stone?????