Hurricane Rita Live Thread

NHC - NOAA ^ | 20 September 2005 | NHC - NOAA

[NautiNurse]

Hurricane Rita is in the Florida Straits, impacting the Florida Keys and South Florida Peninsula. Hurricane watches and warnings are in effect for numerous portions of South Florida. Check local weather statements for updates.

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 SE Florida
Current Weather Warnings and Watches for Florida

Images:

Storm Floater IR Loop
Visible Storm Floater Still (only visible during daylight hours)
Color Enhanced Atlantic Loop
Florida Radar/Sat Loop Caution: Broadband users only
Extra Large Miami Radar Broadband only
Extra Large Key West Radar Broadband only
Miami Long Range Radar Loop
Key West Long Range Radar Loop
Miami Experimental Radar Still Image
Key West Experimental Radar Still Image

Streaming Video: (coverage may be intermittent)

WTVJ-TV/DT Miami (NBC6)
WFOR-TV/DT Miami (CBS 4)
WSVN-TV/DT Miami (Fox)

Other Resources:

Florida East Coast Surf Reports Lots of great info here, including surf cams
Central Florida Hurricane Center
Hurricane City

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:
Tropical Storm Rita
Tropical Depression 18

[Howlin]

LOL!

[Txsleuth]

I used to be a manager at the Wyatt's Cafeteria in Pasadena...

[NautiNurse]

Jasper/Sabine/Newton Office of Emergency Management

[seahawk]

Get plylox - they work great, but get them early cause they sell out quick!

[onyx]

YES! I join y'all... I am sick to death of hearing about NO. They had it bad, but it hit MS straight on.

Apparently, this one is heading for Texas, so why the stuff about NO? I am praying for Texas and for people in Rita's path.

[groanup]

I learned how to water ski on Lake Summerville (sp?) near Burton.

[Figment]

"Bastardi has the best info"


The guy is good. He called Alicia for AccuWeather in 83 dead on. NWS was saying Freeport, he never wavered from his call for a Galveston landfall

[SE Mom]

Amazing to me that I've lived through 5 hurricanes, numerous northeasters (when I lived up north) on the coast- and a few blizzards. It never once dawned on me (or anyone else I knew) to expect anything from anyone except to hope the power company would be able to get us switched on "pretty soon". We went anywhere from a day to 3 weeks without power and never saw or expected a governement official.

I mention this because it's striking how our society has changed.

[Howlin]

Text messaging will work?

[Txsleuth]

They ought to be grateful that the will get FREE transportation to N. Mexico or Arkansas...OUT OF HARM'S WAY!

[Sam Cree]

They didn't say anything about Jeb's brother, I think some reporters just like making snide comments. But to tell you the truth, here in FL, I think Jeb is a pretty well liked governor.

The day before Rita blew by here, Jeb was on the radio giving some advice, one thing he said was "here in Florida, we hope for the best, but prepare for the worst." The he spoke about the forecast, evacuations, etc. He was matter of fact, no grandstanding or politicking. Then he did the whole thing in Spanish, which he apparently is fluent in. My station cut most of that out, but of course, there are lots of Spanish speaking stations here that would have run it.

Can't remember if I mentioned it, but I got the CO monitor, wife picked it up at Costco.

[NautiNurse]

If possible, give them your FR access codes and have them contact us here on FR. I use my son in Los Angeles. He is a FReeper and reported in for me when I lost power and telephone for days during/after Katrina.

Great idea. We were all very relieved to know you were safe immediately following the storm.

[Txsleuth]

No worries about "D" cell batteries..

I will just raid my granddaughter's toys...every single one of them require a couple of "D" batteries...lol

[Gabz]

We do need more "intelligent" people in radio.

I'll take that as a compliment :)

I think TV is a lost cause

That was originally where my goal was.......but got sidetracked with politics and now 20 years later, I can't be bothered with how I "look" for the camera and so radio would be a more naatural choice - no one can see me!!!

Today's "journalists" have no clue about the necessity of the immediacy of broadcast news because they have so much time to fill because of the 24/7 news cycle. It's as if local news no longer exists. Sad - and dangerous, IMO.

[Prolifeconservative]

you and all Texans are in our prayers...stay safe!

[Miss Marple]

My niece in Houston is going with her fiancee to visit his sister in Dallas. It's probably not far enough away, but better than being in Houston. I called her father (my brother) this evening just to make sure they were heading north.

[Howlin]

You just reminded me:

If you can find one:

Battery-operated TV (they have them on Amazon and will DELIVER........LOL.)

And BUG SPRAY.

[Dog Gone]

Tape is laughable, except you won't be laughing if the windows don't break and you can't get the goo off EVER. You're far better off getting plastic sheeting to cover furniture, etc. if the windows break during the storm.

And they will break. Imagine a Nolan Ryan fastball directly into your window. Tape or no tape, it's coming through.

[raygun]

Those winds they talk about are not surface winds, those are at about 10,000'. Max surface winds from Katrina were 80KTs sustained, with max gusts to about 115 KTs (130MPH) in the eyewall. That's not what did all the damage, it was the 26' storm surge, and the 50' waves on top of that, that came ashore precisely when Biloxi had 2.54' high tide.

Galveston 1.80' high tide is at 1:57 A.M. 24th, and 0.19' low tide @ 4:07 P.M. 24th.

[onyx]

Yes, Howlin had detailed instructions for me and I am grateful I followed ALL of them I possibly could.

Fill up your gas tanks, get a generator and a 5 gallon can of gasoline.

Also, find a radio that receives more than NPR...lol.