Hurricane Rita Live Thread, Part VII

NHC - NOAA ^ | 23 September 2005 | NHC - NOAA

[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

[not_apathetic_anymore]

Nah, THey will just claim it was done differently this time due to Feds realizing they screwed up in NO.

Yep, nevermind that looking at one's own plan, working out the bugs based on someone elses recent performance, and instituting major changes is gonna be darn near impossible in 3 weeks.

Sure, minor points can be tweaked pretty quickly, but the majority of the (TX) plan had to be in place before Katrina for it to run the way it did. Don't wait for teh MSM to report it this way though.

[dixie sass]

It took Judy's son 29 hours to get from Houston to Austin.

[Right_Handed_Writer]

"Can someone assure me that Rita is not turning around and coming back this way right now?

There's never really an assurance, but in all likelihood you aren't going to get any wind damage if you are back in the Houston/Galveston area. Rain on the other hand will be the story the next few days. And will she slide back south again? Could be.

This is just one model run but it shows Rita going up with a right hand loop back down and back into Texas as a rainmaker. But also note the east Florida coast at the end of this loop.

Will we see Hurricane Alpha this year?

GFS Model

[RummyChick]

Neil's show talking about how during an election in LA they had bumper stickers saying Vote for the Crook Not the Nazi.

[STARWISE]

FYI: SUV info:

Tax Breaks for SUVs

The Latest on the SUV Tax Deduction

Thank you, snows.

[Zacs Mom]

thx - that's good to know!

[texianyankee]

I stayed in Huntsville for 4 weeks in the Spring of 2000. Very nice city. During my stay, we had some good rains.

If you average 56 inches in Huntsville, then that is very similar to what the average is for Liberty, Texas.

However one year, I believe it was around 1980 (coulda been 1983 when we got Alicia) we got 72 inches for the year.
That was way too much for someone from the hill country.

[Spktyr]

Here's why:

http://www.photolib.noaa.gov/historic/nws/images/wea00589.jpg

Galveston 1900.

[spectre]

We have 70.000 NO evacuees here in Arkansas, and most of them want to stay put. They are being fed, housed, clothed and cared for. Half of them don't give a damn if they EVER go home. Why should they?

Meanwhile, we have had total destruction of OTHER areas along the forgotten Gulf Coast, with more to come.

I'm sick of hearing about NO.

They were stuck on stupid not strengthen and reinforce the levy, since Katrina actually left most of NO homes intact, while Biloxi, etc, had houses and businesses completely annihilated thru no fault of their own.

sw

[Zacs Mom]

I got to spend some time roaming around Huntsville this past summer and really enjoyed it! Pretty country, nice folks!

[cajungirl]

If that is what you wish to believe about everyone in NO, be my guest.

The overwhelming majority of people here are giving, of themselves, their homes, their money, their shelter. And the people who left NO cry with gratitude and ask how they can ever pay you back.

If you want to believe everyone is buying LV bags, just go right ahead. I am telling you that is not the story, that is not even 1 percent of the story. That is miniscule compared to what I am seeing daily.

I have never in my life seen such decency, such generosity, such pure goodness as I am seeing from people all around me. It is breathtaking.

[MoefromMs]

I won't speak to what Fema did in LA, or what it is doing in Texas and La now, but I can tell you that Fema didn't set up in George county,(which is just north of Jackson County MS) until last week. Last week at Stennis Space Center in south Ms, there were up to 2000 tractor trailer rigs parked there loaded with food, ice, and water that had been there a week. Truck drivers were being paid around $50 an hour 24 hrs. a day to sit there because once they got to the space center (they were contracted by FEMA) there were no Fema officials there to tell them where to deliver it to, and they could not get in touch with anyone working for FEMA. The local news media also had been trying to contact FEMA and they would not return there calls.

I do hope that FEMA does do a better job for the folks in Texas and LA this time around.

[Zacs Mom]

BINGO!

[norton]

"that owners of SUV's get tax breaks ... "

As I remember it, "SUV" was originally deemed part of the off road &/or utility (hence the name) collection and import duties were less than for sedan/streeters.
The initial boom came in Japanese imports and US manufacturers jumped on the bandwagon.

I also note that out here in utterly non-rural Los Angeles county the vast majority of SUV's (all two wheel drive) are driven by women. I am certainly not aware of any tax break to the buyer as I grudgingly pay off a 2004 Explorer.
Must add that I made the lady buy a V-8, knowing the fuel costs, because every six I drove was a risk in freeway traffic where acceleration is often safer than breaking.

[Right_Handed_Writer]

"Battered, but still kicking in Nederland.

Glad you made it Greene! You took a DIRECT hit.

[No Blue States]

Beaumont: Police stopping and checking all people looking for looters.
2 arrests...no good place to house them.

Beaumont LEO: "widespread looting"...reporter wonders how accurate the statement...doesnt see anything.

Police are out in full force and catching thugs who do loot.

Khou live feed.

[laz]

What is getting to me is the way they keep saying with regard to Bush, or FEMA, "because they came under heavy criticism, they are now.....blah-blah-blah" The MSM created this so called heavy criticism ~ dammit! They made it point to only and always air as much criticism as possible!

Regarding Katrina, the MSM has created a lie, a monumental lie, out of thin air, and have created many smaller lies just to buttress it and keep it afloat. The whole thing is like a giant house of cards, and remarkably, it continues to stand, because they put so much effort into it 24/7. But it is still a lie, and can be recognized as such by anyone who has any capacity to distinguish lie from truth.

They lie blatantly, with professed authority, like someone staking out a claim and defying anyone to cross over the line. Unfortunately, not many dare to cross that line, and so the MSM continues to dominate the discussion. They need to be confronted head-on, in their faces, repeatedly, until they dissolve into the babbling and pathological fools they are and throw temper tantrums and discredit themselves.

[Lijahsbubbe]

The looters were out.. 22 reports .. 16 arrested .. homes, Target store, check cashing stores ....

Just let them touch those things for once...(celine dionne)

[pageonetoo]

This is not a 'Smugly Post Your Three Favorite Pages of the Bible' thread.

...nothing smug about it. I was responding to a post blaming God for the storm. I posted Scripture (God's promises) that says otherwise. Paul told Timothy that (2 Tim 3:16) "All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work"... ..

Having seen a plague or two, I'd charge Him with indifference, if He actually gave a damn. -tomkat

Job 41,42:various:

41: 31 He makes the depths churn like a boiling caldron

and stirs up the sea like a pot of ointment.

32 Behind him he leaves a glistening wake;

one would think the deep had white hair.

33 Nothing on earth is his equal—

a creature without fear.

34 He looks down on all that are haughty;

42:1ff- He is king over all that are proud."

Then Job replied to the LORD :

2 "I know that you can do all things;

no plan of yours can be thwarted.

3 You asked, 'Who is this that obscures my counsel without knowledge?'

Surely I spoke of things I did not understand,

things too wonderful for me to know.

4 "You said, 'Listen now, and I will speak;

I will question you,

and you shall answer me.'

5 My ears had heard of you

but now my eyes have seen you.

6 Therefore I despise myself

and repent in dust and ashes."

Epilogue

7 After the LORD had said these things to Job, he said to Eliphaz the Temanite, "I am angry with you and your two friends, because you have not spoken of me what is right, as my servant Job has. 8 So now take seven bulls and seven rams and go to my servant Job and sacrifice a burnt offering for yourselves. My servant Job will pray for you, and I will accept his prayer and not deal with you according to your folly. You have not spoken of me what is right, as my servant Job has." 9 So Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite did what the LORD told them; and the LORD accepted Job's prayer.

10 After Job had prayed for his friends, the LORD made him prosperous again and gave him twice as much as he had before. 11 All his brothers and sisters and everyone who had known him before came and ate with him in his house. They comforted and consoled him over all the trouble the LORD had brought upon him, and each one gave him a piece of silver [a] and a gold ring...

[Mr. Jeeves]

And for those who say God did this to punish evil in NO, I say as loud as I can Go to Hell.

They are nuts. They are the same people who think all 30 million Californians should die in a major earthquake just because 30,000 gays in San Francisco decide to dress up like idiots once in a while.

We probably have more faux Christians here on FR than any other site on the web. The chance to gloat over disasters in detail and equate them to God's Judgment draws them here like flies to a corpse.