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Posted on 09/22/2005 3:25:57 AM PDT by NautiNurse
Extremely dangerous Category 5 Hurricane Rita continues to threaten the Greater Houston Metropolitan area. The forecast track has shifted slightly to the northeast, increasing the risk to Southwest Louisiana, and a significant portion of the oil and gas operations in the Gulf of Mexico. Texas Governor Perry is urging all coastal residents between Beaumont and Corpus Christi to evacuate as soon as possible.
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
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:
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)
KPRC-TV/DT Houston - KPRC-TV/DT Houston - http://mfile.akamai.com/12944/live/reflector:38616.asx
KHOU-TV/DT Houston: mms://beloint.wm.llnwd.net/beloint_khou
WWLTV NOLA
Additional Resources:
FReeper Sign In Thread 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
Coastal TX Evacuation Maps
Beaumont TX evac Routes
Lake Charles/Southwest LA Evacuation Map
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 III
Hurricane Rita Live Thread, Part II
Hurricane Rita Live Thread, Part I
Tropical Storm Rita
Tropical Depression 18
IMO, it is about his obvious *hero* complex. He wants badly to be the one to "rally the folks" in some sort of populist consumer strike action.
Louisiana always had bad N to S roads...but so does a lot of the country...we're oriented better E to W...
Thanks. A co-worker was saying how it is unbelievable to him why they didn't make texas roads all northbound earlier like they do here in florida. I told him he was full of it becuz it never happened here ......
To avoid the Houston traffic, I always went southwest first through Alvin, out 1462(360?,36?,90?) and made my way up towards Eagle Lake.
It sounds like all the major roads are parking lots.
RITA IS HEADING FOR NOLA.
Very interesting story. Probably best to have UMC - Lubbock on standby for post-storm casualties.
On Bill Bennett's AM show, Texas Highway 47 was clogged and traffic moving no where fast. 50 miles in (I think) some eight hours. Gasoline is very difficult to come by. There is supposed to be a post-dawn plan to change the highway to all lanes heading out of the storm's target area.
My Rosary and Mass with yours.
I just got back from a drive to our friendly HEB here in College Station.
The shelves are basically depleted - however, they had just got a shipment of drinking water that was still available.
The line at their gas pumps were long. Probably 10 cars or so waiting.
I noticed a couple of gas stations had run out of gas - however, for the majority, there was still gas available.
I didnt drive on the main thoroughfare - Texas Hwy 6 - so I couldnt give you any info on those stations.
I suspect they are crowded or out of gas, however.
We did that during David. It was weird.
Thanks for the local update.
And Donald Trump thinking he knows anything about running government, disasters, and the military is just ridiculous.
Both of them have jumped the shark.
Ping
The Donald is used to having people jump when he says "jump."
Bureaucrats don't jump for anyone.
How long before landfall does FL start contraflow? Rita is still many hours away from the TX coast.
"RITA IS HEADING FOR NOLA."
This is unbelievable. Like a biblical catastrophe - twice in a month.
Prayers for Louisiana.
My best friend, her husband, baby and dog are heading from the Rice U area to Austin. They left about 3 this am. Still wished they had hopped a plane to Philly to be with us!
Keep us posted when they get safely in. Godspeed to all trying to get out.
Thank you.
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