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

[wxdawg]

KATC TV...Anyone who has a boat and is willing to assist with rescue efforts in Vermilion parish should report to the Abbeville Courthouse Annex...southern Vermilion parish is under water....heavy wind damage reported in Lake Charles.

[Humidston]

Nor could I!! I'd rather have a root canal!

[cajungirl]

Okay Rummy, we are approaching agreement.

Lets work on the percentages. Of the people in NO, the ones in the city, not Jefferson parish, what is your estimate of the percent who are looters, scam artists, ungrateful, folks?

We just need to break it down.

I say less than 3 percent.

[STARWISE]

Remember that the officials in Houston had a plan and implemented it for the handicapped, sick and disabled well before hand. They were air-evac-ed outta there, as they should've been. It's just another blot on Nagin's and Blank-O's incompetence to handle a disaster .. and in a place that's always been vulnerable to hurricanes.

[Conservababe]

Has anyone information about Breaux Bridge or Scott, La? I can't get through to family there by phone. It has been this way since Katrina as lines stay so busy.

[TheMom]

Did you receive any damage?

[SE Mom]

WOW! Great pics- thanks.

[ncountylee]

"I say less than 3 percent."

I would guess about 15%, including politicians.

[CedarDave]

Corps official on Fox saying not doing any pumping in NO. Missed reason for not doing so (suspect due to breeches/overtopping in levees so wouldn't do any good).

[truthandlife]

I just lost power. I am on my Edge Card. I hope this will not be days without power. We will see.

[Seattle Conservative]

""The damn press has created this division in the country, and the democrats are very adept at using it."

Yup and they seem to delight in doing it. They make me sick. Always some kind of spin to their coverage. "

Speaking of which.... while it's off topic for this thread, thought some of you may be interested....was just flipping to C-Spin as I read in a thread the other day that the Pro-Troop rally and supporters in DC this weekend were promised coverage (IIRC Kristinn confirmed with C-Spin). ANSWER pro-troop, anti-American, slime spitters are on now. We'll need to see if our side gets equal time ....I'm not holding my breath.

[Eaker]

I have no personal knowledge of that story.

I do know what I have seen and what my son has told me.

I would rather post what I know than speculate.

[Pete-R-Bilt]

Thank you.

Seriously I hope Shep gets the Pulitzer he's working so hard for.

and he doesn't collect it post-mortem

[laz]

Oh God, it is worse than slavery. Far, far worse. Slave owners had more respect for their slaves than the Democrat Party has for their voters. And it is utterly tragic, because the slaves knew they were slaves, and they had human dignity which made them aspire to be more than slaves. The Dems have sucked the dignity out of their voters to the point that the voters don't even realize they are slaves, willing slaves.

What has been going on between the Democrat Party and the Black community for the past several decades is one of the most disgusting chapters in this nation's history, far more heinous than the slavery the Civil War was fought to end. The Left has used Blacks for their own purposes and for nothing else. Under the pretense of taking care of them and redressing past grievances, they have segregated them into inner city ghettos and public housing projects, sapped them of all individual will and self-reliance, dumbed them down through public schooling and transformed them into people who react accordingly whenever the Left pushes their emotional buttons. Using Marx's handbook, they have created several generations of pets for the sole purpose of keeping them in power, and they provide them with just enough to keep them barely alive enough to vote.

But of course, anyone who dares to speak even a tiny bit of this truth is immediately branded a racist by the Left... and even by some on the Right. But the truth is the truth, no matter who it offends, and owes no one an apology.

[Abigail Adams]

What are they showing on CNN re Lake Charles? We don't have cable. Thanks!

[Jeff Head]

What ever shall I do?

Make you own decisions, live responsibly, and then be accountable for those decisions. The government is not going to make those choices for you...nor should it...and it is not going to make it better for you when it goes wrong. Chances are, it will only get worse unless you (and I am speaking in general here, not ytou personally) act for yourself.

Expecting or asking government to step in and make it right only compounds the problems we already have with government over stepping its boundaries...for whaterver reason. Be it social engineering of the left, or BUsh's "compassionate conservatism". Spending other people's money to try and remake people's lives who are downtrodden, out of lik, etc. will only exsasperate the issue IMHO. We need to help people come back to the once all-American qualities of independence, thrift, preparedness, hard work, and faith.

Anyhow, here arte my lessons from Katrina. Just my opinion.

[LaineyDee]

Oh MY GOSH..... I'm watching Bush give a news conference on Fox... and he looks BEAT (tired) Bless his heart!!

[Revel]

"Per NBC live, a carload of looters firing auto weapons at checkpoints in New Orleans."

A shoulder fired missle would have taken care of that.

[Rte66]

On our local TV news just now, a caller from Beaumont was expressing relief that things were not worse there than had been anticipated and they could get on to the clean-up and fix-up quickly ... then she added, "and at least we don't have to pump the city first."

[golas1964]

Mike Seidel on TWC interviewing Jerry Bradshaw now (oil rigs)