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
That's what they have asked for, and justify it based on the extent of the loss. They can't pay for it from locally generated funds, and insist that it's in the country's best interest to pay for 100% reconstruction.
They won't get all they are asking for, but there will be lots and lots of federal money siphoned into corrupt endeavors. Same stuff as usual, different black hole.
And your protests, and my protests, and the protests of 1 million like minded people? Well, those protests won't make any difference whatsoever. I protest because it makes me feel better, but I don't for a minute believe my opinions have any impact on Congress.
You just said that to make me feel better, didn't you???
/s
LOL. Sorry about that. Sometimes reality is just, uhhh, discouraging.
I'm reading some good stuff though, by Janice Rogers Brown. I can dream that President Bush will nominate her to The SCOTUS.
Thanks to all for excellent advice. My tractor batt. is dead, so I'll go charge it with car. One more question... I found 3 marine batteries but they're all dead. How long do I need to charge a marine battery with the car? About 15 minutes?
Will someone please ping the people who answered my invertor question? I would be forever grateful!!
Please send patches!!!
You're right!
The DHL "depot" in Alexandria is nothing but a large shed (I wouldnt even dignify it with the word "garage") and a small fleet of vans. It's located on a creepy backroad halfway out of town toward Alexandria International Airport where you would never want to venture after dark. One of the vans looked like it had been involved in a fatal collision and it was parked on the grass in back of the shed. I hope I never receive anything shipped via DHL again.
When I worked in New York City over 20 years ago, my employer used DHL for international deliveries. Back then, they were always referred to as "Dewey, Huey & Louie" -- I don't think much has changed since then.
Everything is good here - still can't believe that hurricane turned like that.......I shed a few tears of joy pulling into the driveway..................
Just got off the phone with a gentleman in Gloucester, Massachusetts who is coordinating a musical CD project to benefit people affected by Katrina. I told him my firsthand experiences, especially with Rita this past weekend, and he told me about the FEMA ice trucks parked up there.
Here is the link to the front-page story about the project from the Gloucester Daily Times:
http://www.ecnnews.com/cgi-bin/05/gtstory.pl?-sec-Pageone+fn-fn-gkatrinacd-20050926-+page_0
I lived in Gloucester for several years and I know quite a few of the musicians who will be contributing to the CD. It's definitely worth keeping an eye on this project!
I have been touting her since Sandra Day O'Connor turned in her resignation.
Chrissy Matthews on MSNBC has decided that there is a "no bid contract" scandal and is basing a whole show on it.
This is the first I have heard that the President has yet again gotten involved in a scandal...this time for no bid contracts...
SEE....he is making a hugh thing about this...but I guarantee if the contracts that come in the lowest and the BEST, if they were from OUT OF LA companies...Chrissy and Landrieu would find something sinister there also..
Peter King was on his show and basically said what I think...He asked Chrissy if he (Chris) wouldn't be angry the other way...if Pres. Bush PUSHED for contract bidding..
King said that Chris would then complain that the bidding process is keeping the poor people of NO out of their homes too long....
The new "talking point-buzzword" ---CRONYISM.
I have heard about 4 dems and several MSM use that word over the last few days...
My daughter and her husband just left to go home and will be affected by the rolling blackouts..We were getting the live traffic reports,etc., call in information,on the radio until this morning when regular area programming resumed. If you hear any updates on the situation ..I'd love to know..She has a chronic illness and the heat really gets her. Off and on A/C is better than off altogether.
Pretty much depends on the battery capacity (amps x hours) and the alternator capacity (amps). A charged battery has a certain number of electrons it can deliver, and a charger will deliver a certain number of electrons per hour.
Edmunds says that the battery/alternator "ratio" in most cars is such that a half hour of DRIVING (faster engine speed results in more electrons per hour) will charge the car battery. GIven the same alternator, but a battery with twice the capacity, it'd take an hour - but you'd store up twice as many electrons.
If you're out of power long enough, you'll find out that a certrain amount of time in the recharger (hooked up to the car) will give a certain amount of appliance run time - regardless of the battery's capacity, assuming you don't charge the battery until it is "all the way full" of electrons.
Happy for you. I was among the further east crowd all week long. Lake Charles was my western limit. With two more months of season left we need to start a pool.
Catch ya later. Gotta date with the little lady and the back porch.
The Chronicle picked it up.
Welcome back. It's good to be alive and still have our homes. It didn't look like that was going to be the case there for more than a day.
ROFLMAO....perfect!!
An analogy might help too. Think of the battery as a bucket for holding electrons, and the alternator as a source (faucet) for filling the bucket. As long as you don't fill the bucket to the top, any bucket will hold the same amount of water for the faucet being on a certain amount of time. Likewise, any battery will hold a certain amount of "juice" if it is given a certain number of electrons, assuming it is't filled to overflowing.
"Amps" describes how fast the water flows into (and out of) the bucket. Amps times hours is the total amount of available water (electron) flow. And a useless electrical tidbit, 1 amp is 1 coulomb (6.25 * 1018) of electrons per second.
Yes - it feels good.......... very thankful for us all
The problem with electricity is primarily the grid served by Entergy, which covers large portions of east Texas and Louisiana. It's not connected to the main Texas grid, so blackouts won't affect most Houstonians.
I'm assuming they're refiring the South Texas Project, the two nukes that provide power to a lot of south and central Texas, so the fact that it was 100 degrees here today shouldn't be a problem.
But I do feel bad for my northern neighbors. It's too darn hot to do without AC for even an hour.
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