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

[laz]

You're right: For the benefit of some who have to ward off the libidiots, I'm going to repost what I said last thread's

Yes, this stuff is the ammunition to use against the global warming lie. It totally shreds that lie to pieces. As I said, the fanatics and enemies of truth will reject it... but there are a few people who have heard only the lies and are misinformed and might be enlightened.

The decades of the 1870's, 1880's, and 1940's had so much hurricane activity, our current decade may not exceed them.

[SE Mom]

Uh-oh..

[No Blue States]

I think the live feed showed it beached somewhere, there did not appear to be a bridge close by.

[McGavin999]

If you haven't checked in yet be sure to go to the Check In Thread. We're keeping track so we know when to send out the troops on a rescue mission.

Freeper Check In Thread

[GopherIt]

I'm reposting these pix by Granny Gopherit on this thread, for comparison purposes: PortArthur1915a PortArthur1915b PortArthur1915c

[silentknight]

Five Day Rainfall Forecast from NOAA

VERY impressive totals

http://www.hpc.ncep.noaa.gov/qpf/p120i12.gif


Looks like heavy rains all the way into Missouri and Kentucky.

Tornado threat will continue through tomorrow.

Storm Prediction Center Tornado Threat for Today and Tomorrow

Day 1 Outlook
http://kamala.cod.edu/SPC/day1.gif

Day 2 Outlook
http://kamala.cod.edu/SPC/day2.gif

[dixie sass]

That's what I get also.

[jeffers]

Du Lac and Lafite are both around 13 feet ASL.

[lonestar]

Trees! Which are not present where I live...

Tress are present where I live and many are on houses today. There is no electricity or water.

Glad I left!

[silentknight]

Tornado Watch for portions of the Southlands

http://kamala.cod.edu/offs/KWNS/0509241731.wwus20.html

THE NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF
SOUTHERN AND EASTERN ARKANSAS
MUCH OF LOUISIANA
MUCH OF MISSISSIPPI COASTAL WATERS

[LibFreeOrDie]

Try this:

http://www.khou.com/perl/common/video/yahooPlayer.pl

[Knitting A Conundrum]

Found this piece of news:
_____
A canal lock on the intracoastal waterway in Vermilion Parish was overwhelmed, sending water pouring through and raising fears that the water would be carried farther inland.

___
That's not in New Orleans. Or connected to Lake Ponchartrain and the river.

That's the only story I can find about a canal lock, that's not a complaint about them wanting to improve the one at the industrial canal.

[Daralundy]

Did they find the guy who ran his semi off that bridge?

[RDTF]

It's a nice one anyway. :-)

[Knitting A Conundrum]

They want to be the front of the NWS, but paid.

We need to stop this.

[silentknight]

Yeppers they do.


Numerous tornado warnings in Mississippi and Arkansas.

[silentknight]

Major flooding still in Port Arthur, Texas.

[jeffers]

Thanks. Last video I saw had water below the bottoms of 1st floor windows. Call it 2 feet. Gutters on one story houses ought to be about 9 feet. Commercial buildings run about ten feet per floor, with some first floors 20 to 24 feet.

[BurbankKarl]

God Bless America!

[Robert A Cook PE]

No. I don't think Bonnet Carre' Spillway is open at all. There was some talk of a lock or door between the river and Lake Pontcahrtrain being open, and a few of us are trying to pin that generic report down to a specific.

I 'm almost positive ole Jeffers had an overhead photo of several locks stuck open in his series of Lake P. photo's the other day.