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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
"How refreshing to know that it was not the police who were doing the looting."
Texas ain't Louisiana. And Louisiana -- by and large -- ain't New Orleans.
Not to say that Texas cops won't rob banks. I have heard about that happening. But in those cases they robbed banks when they off duty, and picked a communities well away from those they had sworn to protect. And in a crisis -- like this -- the code says you look after people. Not the law -- the unwritten code that most Texas lawmen live by.
<<< Where is the outrage of people that CHOOSE to commute 30 miles everyday in a Honda for a government job >>>
A LARGE percentage of consumption is used for electric generation...
Utilities have added tens of thousands of Diesel "Peaker" plants, instead of fighting 3 decades of lawsuits to put up a nuke or coal-fired plant....
EDUCATION is what we need. And we need to pound home the message that the bill for 30+ years of Lib enviro policies that were put off for later generations to pay is NOW DUE!
(exiting stage right to the entry theme of The Twilight Zone..)
Can anyone recommend a good forecast link? I'm wondering if we'll even see a drop of rain here in Austin.
The forecast links I went to had old info.
I've never thought I'd say this before but I've been impressed with the low key professionalism of the local reporters through this event. They've been making the national correspondent's lool like complete and utter doofuses who are hopelessly stuck on stupid.
With the possible exception of Wayne Dolcefino.
How about people buying huge 4 bedroom homes etc etc with 2 or less kids . Cost energy to heat and AC
Them politicals in a lot of cases have TWO homes
Amen to that! The highway system in most large cities is woefully inadequate even for everyday traffic.
I wonder how many people drove both (or more) of their cars out of the cities rather than all piling in one car.
There are still things that could be improved. Maybe there could be one or more HOV lanes to encourage limitations the number of vehicles on the road. Maybe the evacuations could be done by areas rather than just a free for all.
Whether or not these things could be enforced is hard to say, but might be worth a try. Some people would just ignore the rules and do their own things, but most, I believe would stay with the program because they know that if they do, it will get them out of the city faster.
Wash it first! I hope you have a safe trip and loads of fun even if part of it is work.
Where is Stanly Kowalski when we need him?
Nobody is going to know who dodged what until that storm moves out of there. From what I hear Rita seem partial to that area and may just stick around awhile.
The evac was supposed to be staged by area, and non flood zone area weren't supposed to evac at all, but the media was so hysterical that a helluva lot of people in the non-surge zone bugged out anyway. The media should have been reminding people that the most people die from storm surge not wind, but no, they were screaming "GET OUT NOW! RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!!!!" Of course they will conveniently forget that. There were families with more than one car but from what I gathered it was more like me and my kids in one car and my sister and her kids in her car.
What a mess! I'm so glad to hear that everyone at your location is okay.
I got off easy. Power flickered a few times. Internet connection went out, but obviously seems to be working now. No structural damage, and one banana plant toppled.
It's still too windy here to walk the streets, but as bad as I was worried on Wednesday night when I thought I was dead meat, this feels like a miracle.
Stay safe, Nita, and check back when you can.
Probably hiding from the "gender preferred" Feminista Lawyers. But then again, I'll bet he's down there in Texas and Louisiana under cover of darkness, pulling folks to safety. :)
Earthquake?
EARTHQUAKE DATA
PRELIMINARY MAGNITUDE - 5.0
LOCATION - 18.2N 96.8W - 530 MILES S OF BROWNSVILLE-TX
810 MILES S OF HOUSTON-TX
TIME - 2114 EDT 09/23/2005
TO - TSUNAMI WARNING SYSTEM PARTICIPANTS ALONG
THE US ATLANTIC AND Gulf Of Mexico COASTS
No tsunami expected.
Do you think it was an instrument error from effect of hurricane?
Have a great trip, and thanks for all you do!
I agree with you whole-heartedly about local news people. Our people here in Charleston are always very calming. We had one weatherman here for years, Charlie Hall, who everyone tuned into when weather got bad.
When Hugo was approaching, they had to drag him out of the control room. He had never left us before and he was crying when they shut Channel Five down. They were downtown at that time and had to evacuate. Their wasn't a single Charlestonian or person in the low country that didn't love and respect that man.
Some of the younger reporters now feel that they have to go out into the storm so that they can get the ratings - sick.
Agree, we'll eventually find out one way or the other.
Don't be discouraged by all the trees destroyed, nature will come back it will just take time. I lost a third of my woods last year during Jeanne and they are already coming back. If I had thought about it I would have cut up the trees and sold it as firewood. When your entire neighborhood has lots of trees down, it would be worthwhile to get together and cut them down and store them til colder weather. I do not have a fireplace but those who do should take advantage of Mother Nature's offering and use the trees to help heat their homes this winter when the price of Natural Gas will be a lot higher. It is a waste not to use them if It could save anything. If you have trees that have their roots in the ground but the tree is down, you can get some strong men and winches,stakes,etc and put that tree back in the ground provided it is not too big. We saved a 16 foot Norfolk Island Pine like that and it looks statuesque and healthy today. Miracles can be made to happen, and you feel renewed.
Thank you for your report. I just woke up and read it. Its 9 am EDT . Since it has been awhile since you posted, just wondering if anything has changed- flooding, no electricity, etc. ?
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