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

[Petronski]

Speaking as a northerner with no hands-on experience, I still gotta say, Howlin has good advice here:




You just reminded me:

If you can find one:

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

And BUG SPRAY.

[seeker41]

Nahh, not near any bayous or flood areas. I rode out Alicia in 83 close to downtown,no problems.

[SE Mom]

:)

[epaul]

a lot of the texas rest centers are wireless capable now, good luck

epaul

[hobson]

We're almost neighbors! Did he say why we should stay put? I'm am NOT looking forward to 100MPH winds and rain. It's like Chinese water torture.

[blam]

"There's over 2 million people in Houston. If we evacuate, we'll all die in some monumental traffic jam, heading to cities that cannot take this many people, along with everyone from Galveston, Texas City, etc."

There are more people in the Houston metroploitan area (5.5 million) than there are in my whole state.

[raygun]

You show me empirical evidence otherwise: either VORTEX message, Dopplar radar, or bouy data to the contrary.

[CindyDawg]

I'm sorry. I didn't understand that one.

[johnb838]

We have floods where we have to break out the john boats every couple years.

[Howlin]

It looked REALLY uncomfortable down there, didn't it?

[spycatcher]

Awesome & fierce view of mother nature at work!

You said it!

Also an interesting animation of wave projections

[Petronski]

I heard on the radio this morning that the Kuwaitis want to come to American and build a refinery....no answer by Wash.

I hope they meant "and build a dozen refineries..."

[seeker41]

He was saying that there would be wind, but they wanted the freeways clear for storm surge evac etc...

[CindyDawg]

amen

[Revel]

You know if you look on the Internet you can locate small solar battery chargers for very little money. Even a 5 watt(12v) charger insures that you will get some run time off from that battery each day even over a long period of time. I consider it a must have for the survival list.

[DrewsMum]

And BUG SPRAY



VINEGAR works better as bug spray,,,smell goes away quickly and bugs hate it for hours,,,and it's not as dangerous as the regular "deet" bug spray just FYI

[hobson]

Did you see this article? http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/metropolitan/3046592

[blam]

"Nahh, not near any bayous or flood areas. I rode out Alicia in 83 close to downtown,no problems."

I was in Richmond for that one.

[bonfire]

We always use dryer sheets. Didn't work in TX though. The mosquito's in TX are nasty buggers.

[samantha]

Everyone please do not forget to have a phone that will work without electric. Walkaround portables do not function with the power off, and you will not be able to summon help. Get a non Portable phone or Cell Phone that you keep charged as often as possible before the storm. Better yet, use your regular phone so you don't run the battery down. You may end up using your car battery to charge you cell phone with Cig lighter. After three canes last year where we were without power for days, and I had to get an old handset out of the attic to use, I bought a Uniden Combo portable and handset with answering machine for about $50, and I have used it a dozen times since. Just keep a flashlight near so you can dial the power company.