Hurricane Rita Live Thread, Part VI

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

3,141 posted on 09/23/2005 7:51:07 PM PDT by Howlin (Yeah, I'm a BushBot.....so what?)

To: glock rocks; TheMom

Shep's tossing out free Fox News hats

I saw that. I can't watch these idiots any more. The wind was so strong that Greta was almost able to make a real smile. The botox kicked in and gave her back her "normal" face.

3,142 posted on 09/23/2005 7:51:11 PM PDT by Eaker (My Wife Rocks! - I will never take Dix off of my ping list as I have been asked to do.)

hehe I don't know about that, but when I see her show on Fox, her hair just looks greasy nasty....

kinda like a dirty hippie that hasn't really showered in a while....

3,143 posted on 09/23/2005 7:51:17 PM PDT by MikefromOhio (Hey Fox News, MORE MOLLY, LESS Greta)

To: Howlin; NautiNurse

For those worried about Phillipe, the NHC has stopped worrying about it as of the 11 pm EDT update cycle, saying that it is absorbed into a non-tropical low.

Rita updates coming next.

3,144 posted on 09/23/2005 7:51:21 PM PDT by steveegg ($3.00 a gallon is the price you pay for ANWR! Start drilling or stop whining! - HT Falcon4.0)

Chrnicle's "Rita Blog"

'Substantial deaths' in Port Arthur, Beaumont if levee breached

Jefferson County Judge Carl Griffin said there could be "substantial deaths" in the Beaumont-Port Arthur area if a 15-foot levee is breached by a storm surge that could top 25 feet.

Despite a smooth evacuation, Griffin said that 10 to 15 percent of residents in Beaumont, Port Arthur and elsewhere in the county have remained behind.

He said that in Port Arthur the U-shaped levee that protects the city would easily be topped by the upper end of a storm surge predicted to run between 15 and 25 feet. Beaumont would also be flooded by that surge, he said, adding, "There would be substantial deaths."

Max Mayfield, director of the National Hurricane Center, said Lake Charles and Port Arthur and Beaumont, Texas, would bear the brunt of the storm.

"That's where people are going to die," he said. "All these areas are just going to get absolutely clobbered by the storm surge. All those areas are at very great risk right now."

Beaumont Mayor Guy Goodson defended the decision by the county and local cities to place more than 250 pieces of emergency equipment --everything from dump trucks to ambulances and fire trucks -- on two military ships in the harbor.

"We have hundreds of pieces of equipment high and dry and ready to go as soon as the weather calms down," he said. "We're not talking just about (deterring) vandals. We're talking about saving the lives of people who did not have the good sense to leave our community."

Officials said they were told that the ships would fill their ballast tanks, acting like oversized anchors resting on the bottom, if the harbor waters becomes too agitated.

At 8 p.m., there were strong squalls but the winds had not yet reached the 50 mph limit beyond which Beaumont police said they would not venture out on emergency calls. At 7:30 p.m., Goodson said, they were still responding to 911 calls, including a major highway accident.

3,145 posted on 09/23/2005 7:51:24 PM PDT by Jalapeno

FIRES IN GALVESTON!!

3,146 posted on 09/23/2005 7:51:27 PM PDT by Extremely Extreme Extremist

To: daybreakcoming

Dear Lord that bridge in Lake Charles is one of the most scary bridges to travel on anywhere. I can't imagine trying to cross it with a hurricane pounding on the door. What a horrible way to die. =(

3,147 posted on 09/23/2005 7:51:44 PM PDT by Aggie Mama (Cypress, in NW Houston)

The 6:00 news from Corpus Christi showed the water up to the dunes on both beaches here. People were still out there.

3,148 posted on 09/23/2005 7:52:03 PM PDT by SouthTexas (Refugio County)

3,149 posted on 09/23/2005 7:52:03 PM PDT by Mo1

Damn, I just woke up from a three hour nap and a terrible nightmare, expecting that Rita had re-strengthened and was heading back toward Galveston. So I quickly logged on and found to my dismay something even more cataclysmic had happened: Shep got knocked down and his cap got blown away! Sheeesh! :)

3,150 posted on 09/23/2005 7:52:07 PM PDT by laz (They can bus 'em to the polls, but they can't bus 'em out of the path of a Cat 5 hurricane.)

I did not catch a lot about the bridge. But The guy on the boat I just posted about is on a 156ft crew boat.

Lived on the MS coast in the mid seventies. talked to a guy who rode out Camille in his new 26' boat. Biggest problem he had was keeping the boat off the top of telephone poles when the water went down.

3,151 posted on 09/23/2005 7:52:08 PM PDT by phatoldphart

To: Extremely Extreme Extremist

3,152 posted on 09/23/2005 7:52:13 PM PDT by RobFromGa (Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran-- what are we waiting for?)

3,153 posted on 09/23/2005 7:52:21 PM PDT by AliVeritas (Ignorance is a condition. Stupidity is a strategy.)

To: Howlin; NautiNurse

Hurricane Rita Advisory Number 26
Statement as of 10:00 PM CDT on September 23, 2005

 
...Eye of major Hurricane Rita just a few hours from landfall near
the Texas/Louisiana border...
...Strong winds and heavy rains battering southern Louisiana and
southeastern Texas...

A Hurricane Warning remains in effect from Sargent Texas to Morgan
City Louisiana.  A Hurricane Warning means that hurricane
conditions are expected within the warning area within the next 24
hours.  Preparations to protect life and property should have
already been completed.

 
A Tropical Storm Warning remains in effect for the southeastern
coast of Louisiana east of Morgan City to the mouth of the Pearl
River... including metropolitan New Orleans and Lake
Pontchartrain... and from south of Sargent Texas to Port Aransas
Texas.  A Tropical Storm Warning means that tropical storm
conditions are expected within the warning area within the next 24
hours.

 
For storm information specific to your area...including possible
inland watches and warnings...please monitor products issued
by your local weather office.

 
At 10 PM CDT...0300z...the center of Hurricane Rita was located near
latitude 29.1 north... longitude 93.2 west or about 55 miles... 90
km... southeast of Sabine Pass along the Gulf Coast at the
Texas/Louisiana border.

 
Rita is moving toward the northwest near 12 mph... 19 km/hr.  This
general motion is expected to continue until landfall.  A gradual
turn toward the north-northwest is expected on Saturday.

 
Maximum sustained winds are near 120 mph...195 km/hr...with higher
gusts.  Rita is a dangerous category three hurricane on the
Saffir-Simpson scale.  Little change in strength is expected prior
to landfall.  Gradual weakening is expected after Rita moves
inland.

 
Hurricane force winds extend outward up to  85 miles...140 km...
from the center...and tropical storm force winds extend outward up
to 205 miles...335 km.  A wind gust to 74 mph was recently reported
at Lake Charles Louisiana.

 
Estimated minimum central pressure is  931 mb...27.49 inches.

 
Coastal storm surge flooding of 15 feet above normal tide levels...
locally up to 20 feet at head of bays and nearby rivers...with
large and dangerous battering waves...can be expected near and to
the east of where the center makes landfall. Tides are currently
running about 2 feet above normal along the Louisiana...Mississippi
and Alabama coasts in the areas affected by Katrina.  Tides in those
areas will increase to 4 to 6 feet and be accompanied by large
waves... and residents there could experience coastal flooding.
Large swells generated by Rita will likely affect most portions of
the Gulf Coast.

 
Since Rita is expected to slow down during the next few days...
rainfall totals of 10 to 15 inches are expected over eastern Texas
and western Louisiana.  Maximum rainfall totals in excess of 25
inches could occur over localized areas.  Rainfall amounts of 3 to
5 inches with isolated heavier totals are possible over
southeastern Louisiana including metropolitan New Orleans.

 
Isolated tornadoes are possible tonight...Saturday...and Saturday
night over far eastern Texas...Louisiana...southern Arkansas...and
Mississippi.

 
Repeating the 10 PM CDT position...29.1 N... 93.2 W.  Movement
toward...northwest near 12 mph.  Maximum sustained
winds...120 mph.  Minimum central pressure... 931 mb.

 
Intermediate advisories will be issued by the National Hurricane
Center at midnight CDT and 2 am CDT followed by the next complete
advisory at 4 am CDT.

 
Forecaster Knabb

$$

3,154 posted on 09/23/2005 7:52:22 PM PDT by steveegg ($3.00 a gallon is the price you pay for ANWR! Start drilling or stop whining! - HT Falcon4.0)

LOL, venison marinated in an ice chest does not taste anything like Popeye's chicken! Unless you drink enough beforehand, of course. Then it does.

3,155 posted on 09/23/2005 7:52:27 PM PDT by Sender (Team Infidel USA)

I missed the whole Chandra Levy thing -

That was a hot story in the summer of 2001. 9-11 knocked it off the front page, IIRC.

3,156 posted on 09/23/2005 7:52:31 PM PDT by Ken H

CC Connelly is on. Time to check on Anderson's antics.

3,157 posted on 09/23/2005 7:52:32 PM PDT by freeperfromnj

Stay safe Dog Gone. Prayers up.

3,158 posted on 09/23/2005 7:52:37 PM PDT by glock rocks (Bring back dirndl !!!)

3,159 posted on 09/23/2005 7:52:40 PM PDT by mtbopfuyn (Legality does not dictate morality... Lavin)

To: 60 Miles North

Looks like there was a 5.8 quake about 20 hours ago SOUTH of the Yucatan Pennisula in the Caribbean off Honduras...

Maybe this is an aftershock related to that earthquake...

3,160 posted on 09/23/2005 7:52:43 PM PDT by topher (Please let Old-Fashioned moral values return to the United States!)

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