Hurricane Rita Live Thread, Part VIII

www.freerepublic.com | September 24, 2005

[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

[SouthTexas]

Guess so! Wasn't too thrilled about dropping in yesterday afternoon though. ;)

[johnb838]

Why I wonder, is she giving speeches?

[jacquej]

What a long list of "gimmes"!

If it is list time, maybe I can make up one for the taxpayers to send my way... think I will call my congress-critter tomorrow.

[LadyBuzz]

Is 200B not enough for Blanco - just what is she talking about?

[tarheelswamprat]

Well in my neighborhhod here after the first storm, we were all out, chain saws in hand, cleaning up, makig neat piles of tree limbs. After a day or so the neighborhood looked great. Then they came and got the limbs and trees and everyone went out again, sweeping and blowing the streets clean and raking up the leftovers.

Understood. I hope you caught that I made it a point to acknowledge that New Orleans is a special case - it does not accurately represent the rest of Louisiana.

[LadyBuzz]

Trying to get back in to good graces with the pres & constituants is all I can figure & keep in mind many in LA don't have power and the pres is NOT paying any attention - I think she's talking to herself

[laz]

She's making quite a fuss over the president. How grateful she is..how important he's been.

She's kissing his butt to get what she wants. It won't work.

[annie laurie]

Thank you for the welcome!

He's a native Houstonian, actually lives in your neck of the woods, in fact (SW Houston). Of course he's very proud (and rightly so) of the way the evacuation was handled, from the well-organized response of the state/local officals to the helpful, can-do attitude of "ordinary" Houstonians.

[Cboldt]

Try the food and the music!

Plenty of zydeco around here. We're an "odd" Yankee family. Breakfasts are southern for sure. Grits, sausage gravey and biscuit. Fried food is cajun spiced.

But for some reason, coonass stories just make me laugh, every time. So does Tim Sample - Maine humor.

[annie laurie]

Thank you for the welcome and your kind words; much appreciated :)

All the best,
a.l.

[Flyer]

Plenty of zydeco around here. We're an "odd" Yankee family. Breakfasts are southern for sure. Grits, sausage gravey and biscuit. Fried food is cajun spiced.

Heck, you may as well pack up and move on down!

[BurbankKarl]

Bacon!

[MAWG]

The storm track was MOVING eastward and continued to move eastward. This TREND was caused by the 2 High Pressure Systems over Texas and LA. By mid day thurs., the track was moving beyond Galveston Bay. I dont fault anyone for deciding to evacuate BUT, it was clear at least to me that this storm was moving east because of SOUND METEOROLOGICAL DATA that should have been put out by our local stations.Here in Clear Lake, we got 45 to 50 MPH winds and less than an inch of rain.

What part of those nasty little facts dont YOU understand? Got it?

[laz]

Have you seen this thread?

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1490933/posts

Looks like the surge wasn't quite as gentle as we ultimately believed.

[Cboldt]

Heck, you may as well pack up and move on down!

Y'all can just consider me and mine as your northern outpost. The heat bugs me, and so do the bugs.

[Elizabeta]

Lurker coming out of hiding to say thank you to those who have been posting information during both Katrina and Rita. My Husband's sisters live in LA (Crowley & Slidell) and I found this site a great source for information. We rarely heard anything about Slidell and appreciated what we did find here. Thanks!

[Spktyr]

So, they have bacon, and they evidently have beer.

They also have a boat with which to leave the area if it gets worse. :)

[ncountylee]

So, they have bacon, and they evidently have beer.

They also have a boat with which to leave the area if it gets worse. :)

If they had paint, they would have something to do.

[BnBlFlag]

The reason Sheila Jackson Lee is in Congress is that she represents a heavily minority district. No puzzeler at all.

BnBlFlag signing back on in (West)Chambers County, Texas. (On coast between Houston and Beaumont) Our only damage was two very large beautiful Cedar trees down in our front yard. The power is back on and everything is fine. Wish I could say the same for my Kinfolks over in my hometown of Beaumont. The damage in S.E. Texas has been enormous including the eastern sections of our own County.
We're now preparing for refugee Kin from Beaumont here now that we're no longer refugees ourselves.

[LizardQueen]

Take away the boat and the water, and add a few more pigs and a lot of garbage on the lawn, and it would look just like the house across the street from mine....
::sigh:::

LQ