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Locked on 09/24/2005 10:02:57 AM PDT by Admin Moderator, reason:
Thread VIII: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1490587/posts |
Posted on 09/23/2005 8:01:35 PM PDT by NautiNurse
Hurricane Rita landfall is anticipated within the next few hours. Strong winds and heavy rains are battering southern Louisiana and southeastern Texas.
MSM news crews are shouting over the howling winds as they foolishly describe blowing rain, swaying trees, and crashing waves through rain splattered camera lenses. It's a hurricane. We know these things already.
An 18 wheeler rig reportedly overturned on an I-10 bridge. The fate of the truck driver is unknown at this time. Reports of widespread power outages in Lake Charles. KPLC-TV Lake Charles local news has remarkably improvised their reporting from a remote location. They are taking calls from residents, NWS, and public utility representatives, and alerting residents to local conditions.
On the flip side, CNN announced to the world that law enforcement officers had evacuated from Port Arthur TX with the rest of the population. Engraved looter invitations would have been more elegant.
Godspeed to all those in the path of this storm.
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 VI
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
Well, since h-n-o keeps posting her picture, I've been sitting on MSNBC to try to catch one of her reports. But all I got was my most unfavorite David Shuster standing among trees that were barely blowing.
Scott Stevens is the guy on coast to coast. He was was saying that the Japanese and Russian mafia can alter the strength and direction of hurricanes. This guy is past liberal. He is a loon.
Check this guy out:
http://www.weatherwars.info/katrina.htm
See post #1201. He has been doing that all night!
Notice who did his hour and got out of town for the weekend?? The king of the network.
Report from someone on a boat in the pass? reporting gusts over 130mph.
Wow. This storm seems to have only slowly dropped in max wind speed from 145 to 130. Perhaps these large storms have another metric we should be worried about, momentum.
Can it granny and get the cider out!!
Weradrinkin'!
LikeLight is right... I was wrong - that boat was in "the channel".
Major equipment there...big time..our best.
This storm is monitored there.
Our President wants to learn. He wants to understand. He wants to be present as plans are made to cope with the aftermath this time. To be onsight, inline, aware, fully informed and to watch as it is all coordinated between all levels of government and the various agencies.
He was there but not hands on last time, and he was not happy with the results.
This is a man who knows how to learn from experience. The best sort imo. Because he intends to do something about it..and to be right there to make certain it happens.
He's a sissy
Let's Rita do the hard reporting
"Believe me, I am not dissing Freepers by posting this, but no one is thinking about the long term consequences of this total disaster yet..."
I am. I remember when Katrina came in weaker than expected and there was this idea for a little while that nothing much had happened. Shep summed it up. I think some bad things are happening tonight. We won't find out for a little while.
And there is just common sense that this is going to put us in a world of trouble energy wise. We will not forget Katrina, and we will not forget Rita.
Tornado Warning to hit Alexandria, LA approximately 1:30 am Central Time -- eeps, that's me! Please cross your fingers for me and the little one, I'm gonna stay online as long as I can!!!
I know. It's a sad thing to watch, isn't it?
Dude - You need to change the channel to HBO or summin'.
I am nodding at everything you say tonight!
I hope all FReepers stay safe tonight. I am dreading the aftermath. This looks awful.
Rita's Strongest Winds Batter Gulf Coast
By TIM WHITMIRE, Associated Press Writer
BEAUMONT, Texas - Hurricane Rita's strongest winds came ashore along the Texas-Louisiana early Saturday, battered the coast with stinging rain and pounding waves that threatened flooding across the low-lying region.
The eyewall — the ring of high wind surrounding the calm eye — lashed the coastal area between Sabine Pass, Texas, and Cameron, La., according to the National Hurricane Center.
The storm had already caused new flooding in New Orleans, and as many as 24 people were killed when a bus carrying nursing-home evacuees caught fire in a traffic jam.
Rita weakened during the day into a Category 3 hurricane after raging as a Category 5, 175-mph monster earlier in the week. But it was still a highly dangerous storm.
The hurricane's eye was expected to come ashore on a course that could spare Houston and Galveston but slam the oil refining towns of Beaumont and Port Arthur, Texas, and Lake Charles, La., with a 20-foot storm surge, towering waves and up to 25 inches of rain.
"That's where people are going to die," said Max Mayfield, director of the hurricane center. "All these areas are just going to get absolutely clobbered by the storm surge."
Anecdotal from someone on a boat. I heard it to. That strong would seem to have caused a ceasing of communication.
My guess is that the highest winds will be over the next couple hours with the inner eyewall coming ashore.
Never say never. I think there is places in the US and Europe where people are more likely to encounter them, but one can be encountered anywhere and time... when least expected.
Where's Sean Penn"?
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