Members of the Phoenix Fire Arizona Task Force One strategize on the hood of a pickup truck as they formulate search and rescue plans to assess damage from Hurricane Rita in Sulphur, LA, Sunday, Sept. 25, 2005.
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
Meant to include: MSM may not be covering because unless they bring their own gas in, they'll get stuck somewhere like many thousands of people are now.
Gotta run. I'll come back tomorrow and hopefully someone will have some info on inverters. Wish I could remember who the experts are in that dept.
I am going to bed soon. I almost feel like starting a thread with your question, but you'll get too many replies.
I am stealthly pinging people -- hoping one will know.
Hey Glock .. can ya help Nita Nupress with her question?
I'm still sending the link and question to men I see on line.
I don't know what you're planning on doing with the battery, but the only functional difference between a marine battery and a tractor battery is that you can run a marine battery *way* down without damaging it. A tractor battery will have problems after a deep discharge, and it's not a good idea to run it down past 30-50% charged.
In terms of charging them, there's no difference. Anything you hook up to them to draw power will never notice the difference.
The dam releasing water event brings back memories for me.
Water had to be realeased from Falcon Dam after hurricane Beulah. Much of the lower Rio Grande Valley was flooded. The Arroyo Colorado overflowed it's banks flooding homes up to their ceilings. The National Guard and local citizens built sandbag dams along the west end of Harlingen to prevent some areas of town from flooding. I was at a friend's home when the flooding began. First it was a couple of inches of water then within 3 or 4 hours it was over 3' deep.
Many people complained at the time. Seems the alternative would have been much worse which would be the dam giving way and out of control flooding with much deeper flood waters. Same applies now.
I just answered her - but a good female tech could have answered you too.
We men don't have an exclusive on mechanical and electrical knowledge, you know. :)
OH GOOD!
Heck, females know mechanical stuff too?
I sure don;t...lol.
Helicopters are not deterred by roads under several feet of water.
Nobody in the MSM thought to hire a chopper and fly over areas on the coast that anyone with half a brain knew must have been hit hard? Nobody in the MSM jumped at the chance to actively seek out images of destruction that could boost ratings?
The MSM didn't show us Cameron and Holly Beach because roads were blocked and they couldn't get there. They didn't show us Cameron and Holly Beach because they'd rather show us the 9th Ward.
I am amazed at the effort some are making to excuse the MSM's attempt to ignore the Louisiana coast the way they ignored the Mississippi coast.
The dam would have to be the first priority as bad as 80k cfs is, a breached earthen dam of that size would flow many times that volume. Perhaps even acre feet per second. There would be no evidence left to show that the bridge ever existed with such a flood.
I missed the picture in the thread but Googled up one that looked like maybe 5000-10,000 CFS. Still looked pretty impressive. I just can't imagine 80k.
Nita--Your tractor battery will run the inverter fine.
Be careful to check and look for the + (positive) on the battery and wire it to the + on the inverter, it is normally the tip.....the connection on the side of the inverter (if this is a cigarette lighter plug-in type) is normally negative.
Also, be sure the battery is full of distilled water, if it is a non-sealed type. In an emergency (like you are in!) you can use whatever water you have at hand. Just be careful, that's strong acid in the battery.....
Keep us posted.
Prayers UP!
(Thank God you're BOTH safe)
Blur
There was a pool chopper up yesterday late afternoon that fed footage to the Houston stations, and I suspect the cable networks...they were showing Lake Charles. It was my understanding that they were only up a short time since the window of wind and cloud activity only went below 50mph toward the end of the day...I am not sure about the coverage today.
I saw KCAL9 from Los Angeles had their satellite truck in Lake Charles and Port Arthur yesterday....they got stuck in the mud and needed help out.
I have seen photos from Erath, Hackberry, Cameron, Sulphery, Carlyss, so press is out there.
GOOD. You knew too. She needs help. Now she has it.
I can go to sleep now.
Bless you and spktyr!
An inverter converts a steady stream of electrons (direct current from a battery) into a "flow" where the electrons wiggle back and forth (alternating current, like what comes out of a wall socket).
First vital question:
Do the sockets on the inverter look exactly like the ones you would plug a lamp into?
If no, things get complicated.
If yes, then you are ok to plug the laptop's plug into the inverter, but don't do that yet.
Many inverters are designed for use in a car to create power for stuff normally used in your house, like lamps and laptops. Is this what you have? Something that came in a box that said something like, "use home applicances in your car"?
If no, things get complicated.
If yes, still not home yet. American cars use 12 volt batteries. Does the tractor battery say "12 volts" on it?
If no, things get complicated.
If yes, the connect the inverter to the battery and wait a few minutes just to be sure nothing gets hot and starts smoking.
Then plug in the laptop and you should be ok.
Now, the whole marine versus tractor versus car battery thing.
Marine batteries are often used to power trolling motors on fishing boats. They are charged at home, taken out on the boat, and run dry, or nearly dry, then taken home and recharged again. This is called "deep cycling".
Car and tractor batteries are made to deliver big power for a short while, long enough to start your car or tractor. If you repeatedly deep cycle a car or tractor battery, it won't last as long as a marine battery will, because it is not designed to be deep cycled.
It will last until you use up all the stored energy, and it will almost certainly allow you to recharge it, but it is not a long term solution.
How long will it last, how many times can you recharge it and keep powering your laptop?
I don't know. A fisherman who ignores manufacturer's recommendations on a regular basis might.
Key decisions, is it an automobile inverter and is it a twelve volt battery?
If yes and yes, and if you know which clip goes to the positive battery terminal and which goes to the negative terminal, hook it up, battery to inverter only, watch it for a minute or two, and if nothing smells funny, plug in the laptop and run with it.
Plan on maybe having to buy a new tractor battery next time you need to start the tractor. You might not need to but plan for worst and hope for the best.
Ooops. Just read the first post again.
Plug it up, check it two minutes for bad smells or glowing wires, and then run with it.
I've missed practically everything today and will have to spend tomorrow trying to catch up.
It would sure help is none of you all posted anything until I'm up to speed. :-)
Members of the Phoenix Fire Arizona Task Force One strategize on the hood of a pickup truck as they formulate search and rescue plans to assess damage from Hurricane Rita in Sulphur, LA, Sunday, Sept. 25, 2005.
Maybe the mods will temporarily lock the thread for you! :)
The area's primary utility, Entergy Corp., said 271 high-voltage transmission lines were down and 275 substations out o service, and there was no immediate timeline of when power would be restored. Residents of Beaumont have been told it could be as long as a month
Really? It squared with that? Is that why the posters on that thread were complaining about the destruction at Cameron and Holly Beach not being reported on TV? I think you merely skimmed that thread.
How you can sit there and claim this was being reported on TV since the hurricane hit is mindboggling, because it is a blatant and outright lie. Show me where this news was being reported on tv before today. Show me where it was being reported anywhere other than the internet. I'll be waiting. It'll be a long wait. FNC only started showing it last evening.
Your handle is quite fitting. You don't know squat, even though you entertain the notion that you know a lot. And your attitude is always arrogant and condescending and dismissive toward any fellow FReepers who don't see something quite the way you do.
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