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
Sorry, haven't had much sleep in the last five days. Really pissed about what has happened here in Houston the last week. When the real story comes out,people are gonna be shocked. I am in one of the flood zone areas and was " ordered " to evacuate but refused to do so because I knew by wed. where the storm was going and realized I was in no actual danger. Our Mayor, Bill White, is a f**king Bolshevik who likes to impose his will on the citizenry. This latest programme of his will get worse as the next 3 or 4 days play out and more people die on the road trying to get home.
Please tell me that ship is photo shopped
Cause that baby could take out a whole lot of houses
If somebody living within reach of a Cat-5 storm doesn't have enough money to endure a three day road trip they're living in denial.
Near misses are a part of living on the coast, just like avalanches are a part of living in the mountains and tornadoes are a part of living on the plains.
That's simple reality.
A choice to live in a given reality, accompanied accompanied by a belief in any other reality than that which actually exists, leads directly to a rude awakening.
That's simple math.
If blowigngoff steam after a rough couple of days helps out somehow, fine, knock yourself out.
If you're looking for some kind of accountability tough, the mirror is the place to start.
Nobody used you. I told people to leave because the storm was pointed right down your throats. I spent three or four days sweating the fate of a huge American city because it really was that close. Don't take my word for it, go back and look up the posts. The phrase your are looking for is "balanced on a razor's edge". It's here, more than once.
It was the smart move. I have nothing to gain or lose, whether you stay or go, really whether you live or die. Getting out was the smart move.
it will be the next time too.
And when the next time comes, you and your fellow residents will either have learned from this time around, and have the money saved up to cover a...rainy day...or we'll see you standing by the flooded Astrodome, shooting at the rescue choppers because you haven't had any water in three days.
Your call.
Make it and live with it.
Mother Nature may be trying to do just that. At least the rats have been flushed out into the open for everyone to see. But there aren't enough hurricanes to do a complete job.
KCAL... Is Pat Harvey still there?
Probably about half that, when all is said and done.
I was only in Covington a couple years. It flooded in Baton Rouge in the 80s and again fairly recently.
No problem. Just give Blank-o, say, a few gazillion dollars and she'll fix it. Probably leave the ship right there and turn it into a casino.
Some are, yes. But when you say "the people in Texas", you make it sound as if you think it's all of them.
And I'm not about to second-guess the ones who have, because I was close to being one of them (we finally chose instead to stay). If I were to return home ahead of the Governor's schedule, it would have been because I had good reason to. Not everyone's situation is the same, and some people will have a pressing need to return earlier than the Governor's personal timetable.
I suppose they will go back and then whine because they have no power, wate, etc?
I suppose you have a reason to presume the worst of Texans? Why not instead suppose they will go back and accept the consequences of their early return, knowing that the power may not be back on yet? Why do you not suppose that they've checked with neighbors and already know the status of the basic services in their neighborhood, as my own evacuated neighbors have done?
What is the world coming to.
What is the world coming to when some Freepers insulting presume that Texans will act like helpless liberals?
One more and she's out. Can Nagin hit a homer? Will he bunt? Stay tuned...
You may have a point.
I definitely remember a whole bunch of people out on the roads at one time, when they were supposed to be evacuating in waves, but I don't remember a whole lot of whining.
But this may also be a bigger issue than people who knowingly break the rules and accept the consequences themselves.
You know the border's wide open right?
I'm guessing you see evidence of it most every time you step out of your house.
If we can't protect a 3,000 mile border, what are the chances we can protect tens of thousands of miles of electrical grid?
Think about it. The difference between the carnage we saw at the New Orleans Superdome, and a normal day for thirty thousand people is as simple as what happens, or does not happen when you flip a switch.
Refrigerators, TV's cell phones, lights, water faucets, when they work, we do ok. When they don't, most people can't deal with it. A day maybe, a couple maybe, but after three or four....things start smelling pretty sour.
So what's going to happen when Osama finally wakes up and sees that victory for his band of idiots is no further away than sliding 20 guys across the border with a case of grenades and directions telling them which transmission towers to blow up?
Can we Americans function as a society, as a unit? Can we suck up a little hardship in view of the greater good of our country? Can we follow simple directions well enough to function effectively when things don't go perfectly our way?
I can.
Texas might be able to.
Some Freepers.
A few backpackers and survival nuts.
That's about it.
The rest of the country is going to be in a bad way.
WE aren't ready.
Not even close.
We're going to pay for it, too.
When we do, then maybe each of will learn how to say "I want.....but that's too bad, because WE NEED...."
Too bad we don't seem to be able to do that now.
Ok.
I can live with that.
This is 25.5 hours straight for me.
You have the con.
I'm out.
Hope I didn't stir up a hornets nest for ya.
Would you tell me how you knew by Wednesday how a hurricane that hit on late Friday or early Saturday would miss Houston? I have a cousin on the Houston police force. They could have used that information.
Very funny ............ just a comment, certainly no need to reply.
Your sense of humor is priceless.
****
"even when roughing it, there are some depths to which we will not descend" --- beautiful.
Ray, my boy, Dems and the MSM have been in the spin cycle since this whole thing began. I haven't seen so much spinning since the Klintoon Era. Not even a tropical cyclone spins that fast.
QUOTE " Problem number 1, people dont listen."
You really dont know what you are talking about. These people who " evacuated" were forced outa their homes by a very slick and organized media blitz that focused on their fears and ignorance. The mantra here in Houston for 4 days prior to landfall was " get outa town or you'll die." Well, 1.8 million did just that and many more died on the road than did here in Houston. As a matter of fact, I haven't heard yet that any ones' death has been blamed on the storm. Most of them are very angry because they now know that they were duped and used in a political shell game called " cover your ass."
You bet they are coming home and mad as hell. They are outa patience and outa money. Let's see if they get a FEMA card worth 2k.though I seriously doubt it, most of them are white."
Give me a break. They don't deserve a FEMA Card. If they don't have damage. They left because a POWERFUL hurricane WAS forecast to hit their location. That track path changed the day of or right before the day of the strike. It was a gamble - it was a forecast not a promise that a hurricane would hit them. That is the nature of the beast. HAD Rita hit Galvestion and Houston as a Cat 3 or 4 hurricane then many people would have died. Had the government not asked people to leave then you would be complaining about that.
They were ASKED To leave and they were NOT forced to leave. Your argument assumes that people can't think for themselves. That doesn't sound much like a freeper but more like well the others.
The government doesn't owe these people anything.
You obviously don't understand the nature of disasters. People die. Forecasts for wrong. You take shelter when you believe you need to take shelter. Things don't always work out the way they are predicted.
Geesh
FoxNews had on President of New Iberia (?) Parish just before 7:00 a.m. EDT . . . live by telephone . . . he describes "worst case scenario" for his area . . . hundreds of homes "under water" . . . 200 rescues yesterday, but had to be suspended due to winds . . . many still "out there" . . . thought they could ride it out, but "you can't ride this out" . . .
And, of course, Fox now back to covering useless traffic situation in Texas! Ignoring the life and death drama unfolding along the LA coast!!!
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