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

[A Citizen Reporter]

I have to tell you, that as many times as I've seen it, everytime you post that picture I LOL!

[TomGuy]

Alan Colmes is asking the dumbest questions.
'There aren't still hold outs, are they?'

Response from reporter -- Oh yes there are many.

[GummyIII]

Too funny!!!!!!!!!!!!

[MarMema]

I'm still trying to decide if she is incredibly stupid or just plain evil. I keep leaning toward the latter...

[ArmyBratsMom]

It is *not* a good smell. I've never smelled anything like that before - except for after the LA Riots when the burned out buildings started decaying, and then it was overlaid by a burned smell.

It's like a combination of rotting vegetation, stagnant water, and rotting meat.

Sounds like how they describe New Orleans. That would be my guess.

[antivenom]

Fire in downtown Houston area...

[battlegearboat]

I used to live at Lovett Square at Tuam and Bagby.

Hang in there!

[topher]

I lived in Lafayette one summer many years ago. Hubby was working offshore. We were newlyweds. Had a little garage apt. It was nice.

He probably flew out of Intracoastal City (which is South of Abbeville). But maybe not...

I lived in Lafayette through a hurricane or two, but Lafayette never had any major storm in that time..

1960s and 1970s are the timeframe that I lived in that area...

There was a convent where Acadiana Mall is today. I vaguely remember the convent with the nuns...

[CindyDawg]

Well, maybe until yall know what it is you should stay clear of it. It may be nothing but......

[johnb838]

Ungh. I've smelled (and seen) a lake turning over. It's gross.

[afnamvet]

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

Speaking from experience, kimchi is toxic.

[Jrabbit]

~snicker~

[WoodstockCat]

yeah..I didn't know that either..would be a nice tribute if every city in the U.S. had a small WTC steel as a reminder.

[Dolphy]

Your post was about how he did not have a US driver's license - and that is not cool to be driving a bus in the US. Seems they would have checked that.

No, it's not cool but I don't know of any state that requires mechanical or maintenance skills to pass their drivers license test. Meaning, it seems rather irrelevant to this horrible accident. The company that hired him, which is also responsible for the maintenance of its fleet, is another story.

[Types_with_Fist]

there are no local plants in that direction.

Okay. The ones smelling it are pretty adamant. It sure doesn't sound good.

[NautiNurse]

KPLC disputed the caller who reported LC under 10ft of water.

[conservative in nyc]

KPLC said the rumors aren't true - yet. Power's out, but Lake Charles isn't under water.

[TheMom]

Here we go again!

[Eaker]

So you fell for that!

Easiest 10k I ever made.

She scammed you good!

She is still driving the real Mercedes. That was a BWM that went off the cliff!

[Armedanddangerous]

The electric is still on in beaumont, as of 0015 EST.

The staff of the hotel where the CNN crew was staying there bugged out and left them there.