Posted on 09/24/2005 9:58:36 AM PDT by Howlin
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:
Hurricane Rita Freeper CHECK IN THREAD
FReeper Sign In Thread (LOCKED) 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 VII
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
MSNBC is doing a Hit piece on FEMA
Sorry, but FoxNews has jumped the shark, and I am just tired of listening to them.
I'd LOVE to see it.
Well, that's not too much of a surprise. I doubt that Geraldo would be able to grasp the significance of an oil & gas issue even if he weren't running his mouth. That is if such a state ever really happens to him.
I'll try to get to it tomorrow, maybe, when there's some good light. I need to do it if I ever want to id it...
The link posted by TheLion isn't showing right now, so look at this radical new map of TD Rita -- the loop is gone!
http://maps.wunderground.com/data/images/at200518.gif
A lot of my family is from the Stephenville area but we've lived all over the country. Happy to be back in Texas however!
What is this MSNBC you speak of?
Blanco is at it again? It must be hard for her.
Perry, Barbour, Riley, Jeb, FEMA, the President all getting praise...well, the press is doing all they can to deflect praise for the President but that's natural. And her levies are leaking again. All Rita is doing is pinpointing where blame really belonged. On LA politicians and some of the citizens.
silverware...knives and spoons and forks and such.
Right, and you should also have pics for insurance purposes.
Yup, and a nice, stiff north breeze to clean things out would be very, very refreshing--all that lovely water lapping up into the canals. Gack.
The information you have been giving has been _extremely_ valuable. Do NOT quit what you've been giving people.
You may find it well to write a standard "disclaimer" about some of the data being preliminary, or whatever makes you comfortable to say, but don't worry about getting early data reports and information extracted from that wrong.
My "China" is a set my mother bought me 25 years ago when Bullocks Wilshire went out of business. It has a blue edging, with some beveling in brown. Not really my cup of tea, but that is what Mom bought.
A couple of years ago, when I wanted to buy big plates (11.5 to 12 inch in diameter) for the desert house, I took one of the plates down to Home Expo to see if it would fit into the dishwasher down there (Expo had the same dishwasher on the floor in their Laguna Niguel branch). The salesman there said he had the same china. I said that is amazing. Where did you get it? It turned out HIS mother bought the same stuff for HIM at the same going out of business sale at Bullocks Wilshire, 25 years previous. No, I am NOT making this up. :)
Well, so much for Rita stalling...
One branch of my family migrated from AR about 1880, landed in Johnson County. Another branch comes through Denton to Johnson county and then to points south by way of TN via IL.
A third branch stops off from MS to Johnson County.
But they don't merge together until they go to OK.
Go figure.
This is true too....I know about losing stuff...had a fire once.
My eyes are wide open. I had a little 1500 CFS flood come through my property a couple of years ago. It snapped telephone poles like toothpicks, took out my bridge, 100 year old cottonwood trees and 700 feet of fence. I have never felt so helpless in my life. I will google the Grand Teton pics though. I'm sure it's amazing.
Can't wait to see the 11 pm EDT update!
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