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

[glock rocks]

Red Hat's gone. LOL

Drink!

[AliVeritas]

For the love of Elvis, you're lying right Tx?

[ErnBatavia]

The trafficfest was no fun(took us 12 hours to get here from ~180 miles away).

I can really commiserate with the thousands of you folks that have had to endure....I thought I'd been through hell after our Northridge earthquake (I lived on the 'wrong side' of the collapsed freeway interchange). It's aggro beyond description until you've been there and done that.

Five hour commutes each way between home/office became common for a few weeks. People still wonder why I continue to carry an empty three pound coffee can in my trunk; I give 'em the standard 3 second physiology lesson in bladder capacity.

[Admin Moderator]

Hint: Knock it off now

[Fester Chugabrew]

Looks like they've got him on a short leash.

[Tennessee_Bob]

What do you have if you have 50 hurricane reporters at the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico?

A bull shark buffet?

[Flyer]

Thanks. I prepared for the worst, but we are not getting it.

[silentknight]

10:25 PM - Some unconfirmed reports to share...

* 50 to 55 mph winds in Stephensville (Lower St. Martin Parish)

* Storm surge of unknown depth hammering Pecan Island (Vermilion
Parish)

* An 18-wheeler flipped on I-10 at mile marker 29, near Westlake
(Calcasieu Parish) blocking both east and west-bound lanes

* Trees and power lines down all over Acadiana


NWS L.C.

[mware]

It looks like hail falling on Shep. He better get the hell out now

[ncountylee]

Think he and his pipe are in NO.

[RDTF]

so is it officially 5 or did he hate red?

[abner]

Oh, he is so amusing, how could you possibly turn him off?

[Republic]

Is that chain attached to Shep? This is getting a bit crazy.

[Howlin]

STOOOOOOOOPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP..........I can't take it!

[Jrabbit]

OMG

[mtbopfuyn]

It really irks me when folks pronounce pecan like pee-can. Pee-cans are for long car trips!

[RDTF]

he he I don't need a reason but I'll take it!

[steveegg]

New vortex data message, new plane (AF309) - 932 mb pressure, 117 knot max flight-level wind in the NE quad -

725 
URNT12 KNHC 240324
VORTEX DATA MESSAGE
A. 24/03:00:30Z
B. 29 deg 01 min N
  093 deg 19 min W
C. 700 mb 2524 m
D. NA  kt
E.     deg     nm
F. 138 deg 115 kt
G. 055 deg 031 nm
H.         932 mb
I.  12 C/ 3045 m
J.  18 C/ 3054 m
K.  14 C/ NA
L. OPEN NE
M. C25
N. 12345/ 7
O. 0.02 / 2  nm
P. AF309 2518A RITA         OB 02
MAX FL WIND 117 KT NE QUAD 02:50:20 Z
MAX FL TEMP 19 C, 81 / 6NM

Motion since the previous eyewall fix at 6:03 pm - almost 4 hours ago) - 33 minutes north, 25 minutes west (326 degrees, 45.5 miles/39.6 nm, 11.5 mph/10.0 knots)

[Soul Seeker]

Well, red hat's gone. I'm guessing it blew off between his segments. I think black hat is number 5, well, that we know of. Who knows if he's losing hats when not on air.

[Howlin]

Look at 304.........if he'll keep that hat on his face, I may stick around.