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

[cinives]

That idea doesn't work well with a front-loading machine ! ;)

[Steve_Seattle]

Perhaps one thing they could do in future evacuations is divide up the evacuation into smaller segments based on locale (neighborhood), first letter of last name, date of birth, or some such thing. That would obviously be an honor system that couldn't really be policed, and might require exceptions for special situations, but it might be better than telling 4 million people, "Just go!" Of course, the ACLU would immediately see the government for alphabet or birthday discrimination.

[Lemondropkid31]

They eye looks full of clouds

[ncountylee]

Odd even plates?

[laz]

Agreed. I think this thing is not weakening as indicated by NHC intensities. Pressure's been steady, and flight level winds are up a notch from this morning.

The forecaster who put out the 125 mph was Avila, wasn't it?

[truthandlife]

I went through Alicia in '94 and Allison in 2000. This is our 5th child. She has another month to go but the barametric pressure does some weird things even though there has been a few studies out there that say it is not clinically significant.

[Wneighbor]

Notice that in Texas, the looters *were* caught and arrested. We're takin' care of business on our end! :-)

[Flyer]

Take your cat if you can, then. Conroe WILL get nasty.

[AliVeritas]

I didn't see Zahn, I heard it somewhere else though. I think my friend had video, if I find it, will send.

[SouthTexas]

Isn't there an old joke about Texas men? Don't mess with my: 1) Truck 2) Gun 3) Wife in that order..

Order may vary, but you forgot the DOG!

[lainie]

Ugh. I hope there's no "Federal Office of Disaster Evacuation" cabinet post in our country's future.

[ARealMothersSonForever]

1) Truck
2) Gun
3) Dog
4) wife

You cannot go huntin' without any one of the first three.

[AliVeritas]

Thank you for saving my virgin eyes.

[Lemondropkid31]

Ok. I think I will leave at about 4 or 5, mabe six. It only takes me about 12 minutes to get to work, so it should be ok

[Spktyr]

By and large this operation has been a success. Sure, some things went wrong, but that happens with any plan. The bottom line is that we got millions and millions of people out of the strike zone and accomplished what the MSM said and continues to say is "impossible" - the evacuation of a major American city in less than a week.

We emptied two cities and most of a coastline in under 72 hours. Patrols are out now picking up stragglers.

[cbkaty]

Where'd you see the quote, anyway?

A local Beaumont commedian that goes by the name "Shirley Q." told me. She is reliable and well connected within the looter community. I do respect he recall when it comes to quotes & comedy.

[Lemondropkid31]

Ok, Frank says that in Conroe the wind is 21 moh. There is almost NO wind. What the heck?

[NautiNurse]

CNN reporting that Port Arthur is a ghost town. LEO have bugged out too. The only folks left in Port Arthur are the media wetheads. Hmmmm...

[TXBubba]

Just found this thread. Is anyone else here in Austin noticing the traffic and wind? I went to lunch and came out of the restaurant...thought I was in Dallas for a minute!

[WxMan2000]

He's not as bad as the (thank God) now retired Miles Lawrence, who'd write something like "the strong tropical wave approaching the Texas coast wll spread gusty showers westward during the next day or two...." :)