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
I just got home, driving by a $3.26/premium marquee on the way.
What part of Arkansas?
Storm surge...
She is a peach - no doubt about it.
10 was busy here in Seguin Don't know if that helps
There was a similar story in my local paper of a truckdriver with almost the same experience.
Think of the waste involved if this is a widespread occurrence!
There were a whole slew of the truck drivers here in Memphis that were on the radio and upset over trying to help, driving all over, ending up told to come to Memphis to leave the ice and having to wait in a bad section of town with no police protection.
ping to 787
KHOU live webcast showing copter flyover of area between Lake Livingston and Beaumont, TX. LOTS of damage to houses by fallen trees.
FEMA still has a long way to go to get their act together, after being run by "Brownie".
khou has live copter shots on now
Rita will be a category 3 or weaker by 3pm Friday, according to my friend at NOAA. He also said it wont come close to Galveston, but hit almost directly on Port Arthur. Stocks should have a huge rally on Friday.
866 posted on 09/22/2005 8:29:18 PM PDT by montag813 [ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies | Report Abuse ]
Montag, your friend at NOAA was basically correct and joe bastardi of Accu-Weather has egg on his face.
Not to downplay the destruction and woe Rita has caused, but it is much less IMO, than the media was playing up.
It's kinda of a tough job, to tell people there is danger on the way, but the media uber hypes it, and when the next one comes, people may not listen.
bttt
Amazing. Right through the limestone bedrock. Around where I live, we generally have to wait about 10,000 years for new gorges to be cut.
But it's at least 60 miles north of Lafayette...just strikes me as odd.
Ok I have it now, downstream is to flood, upstream looks ok for the moment...btw, neighbor stopped by, I'm behind a bit will catch up momentarily...
Onyx...I keep hearing about a lot of bad weather in ...are you okay???
Howlin, I just got to the thread...is onyx accounted for??
re Tyler:
Lookin pretty good. No tornados; storm tracked East; Rita kept moving.
Electricity out for about 15,000, still raining light, but much better than it looked Thur/Fri.
k, thx.
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