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

[Torie]

The TV station live stream in Lake Charles, KPLC, went off the air suddenly about 20 minutes ago.

[hole_n_one]

lol!

[SMcDonnell]

roger that

[samantha]

Shep is so Nelly, he thinks he is an expert on Hurricanes. He just told misinformation. He said that in Hurricane Andrew that many parts of Hollywood florida did not even lose power. He is so full of it, many parts of Broward did not lose power, but Hollywood did, I ought to know I had to spend both of my days off on duty at the Police dept that was on generator because the power was out there and all over the city. At home I never lost power, but South Broward was a mess of damage,telephone and electric power outages. He makes me ill.

[jbstrick]

KPLC back on line...

[PAR35]

My, point, PAR, is that I would trust someone with that many guns to be acutely aware of safety.

And my point is that the number of guns owned is no proof of safety - it's more proof of the size of one's wallet. And the photo depicted an inherently unsafe activity. (Yes, two of them had their index fingers straight, which shows they have at least had one safety lesson, but they obviously need a few more)

Ever been in a BB gun fight? Sure teaches you a lot, especially when you lose.

Ever had an 'unloaded' gun pointed at your gut? It'll teach you more about gun safety than you'll ever learn from owning a BB gun. And some of the things that it will teach you is that guns are not toys, guns and practical jokes don't mix, and that you can't really tell if a revolver is loaded or not when you are staring down the barrel.

If you want to play games, get a paintball gun and the related safety equipment, and have at it.

[Squantos]

I understand I had the same mixed emotions when my mother in law drove my new mercedes over a cliff......:o)

[momf]

Have you ever smelled a lake turning over? Or the water coming from it? Sounds something like what you're describing, with a faint "fishey" smell added.

[WoodstockCat]

KPLC stream back on..talking about using text messages on cell phones..very smart.

[Spktyr]

This smell is a lot different. I've been to LA in a convertible, all the way down to BR, and it did NOT smell like this. It's a little bit disturbing, IMHO.

[antivenom]

Market st and 19th, it is a Bond Company, boarding house and some other business...this is from Houston newsradio.

http://www.ktrh.com/audio.html#

[RDTF]

Oh now that's funny...

[battlegearboat]

Shep just caught a needle in his widdle face.

[Shqipo]

One of the better posts on the Katrina thread was some Freeper stating: "Things are really deteriorating in New Orleans; Shep has even run out of female hygiene supplies."

[ruoflaw]

Kimchi is Korean fermented cabbage and my husband says it stinks to high heaven and it smells absolutely toxic.

[Howlin]

She's earned every ounce of our disrespect.

[motohockey]

A perfect analogy. Thanks.

[Types_with_Fist]

I've been watching you guys talk about the smell. Wonder what the heck that might be. A damaged plant or something?

[antivenom]

woman was removed from the boarding house with 3rd degree burns in critical condition, other is a bond company...third I forget...at Market & 19th street

[battlegearboat]

You smelt it

You dealt it