[NautiNurse]

Please do not post graphics >50KB, or animated graphics. Post links instead. Many of the websites hosting the graphics are overloaded.

[abb]

can you believe these polyanna's on kplc? jeez!!!!!!

[handy]

Free Link to the Wall Street Journal Hurricane Blog

http://online.wsj.com/public/article/0,,SB112731385505947351-BJ0nkKk5ENd7mMG3PLMk1lEXK88_20060921,00.html?mod=blogs

[frankjr]

It is now down to a Cat 4 with 150mph winds. It will be a max Cat 3 when it hits land...maybe less. Trust me, I have been exposed to weather for over 40 years.

[DallasMike]

The Dallas Morning News is reporting that I-45 from Houston to Dallas is being switched to northbound-only over key areas of its route.

Traffic on Interstate 45 began piling up in Dallas on Thursday morning as thousands of cars streamed north from Houston. More than 1.3 million residents in Texas and Louisiana were under orders to get out to avoid a deadly repeat of Hurricane Katrina.

Highways leading inland out of Houston were gridlocked, with traffic bumper-to-bumper for up to 100 miles north of Houston. Meanwhile, the Texas Department of Transportation announced a contra-flow traffic plan on I-45 that was called the largest in the state's history.

As of midday, all lanes of I-45 were going to be turned northbound for an 80-mile stretch stretch between Houston and Buffalo, which is about midway between Dallas and Houston. Mike Cox, a spokesman for the Transportation Department, said setting up the turnaround was going slowly because of the safety issues involved in closing the southbound entrance ramps of an interstate that is eight lanes at some points.

 

 

[DallasMike]

Check out the current GOES Infrared Ch. 4 Dvorak Floater Loop. Rita has been jogging more westward for the past hour or so. The story is still out on exactly where Rita will make landfall.

 

 

[Web Offset]

Does anyone have a Google Earth KMZ file link for radar, etc. concerning Hurricane Rita like there was for Katrina?

[Broker]

Sean Hannity tickles his radio audience w/ lead in Katrina is bearing down on Galveston and Houston.

[handy]

FWIW - Brother-in-Law left Sugarland (Houston Metro) @ 4am this morning. Wife got him on the cell phone and this was his travel experience:

4am: Leave Sugarland with a full tank
6am: 35 miles of progress
6:01am: Get off I-45 and take back roads.
("non-interstate state highways is probably a better description").
2:15pm about 60 miles south of Dallas, all but the first 35 miles were non-interstate.

[truthandlife]

Leaving Houston? Good Luck (Houston Chronicle 9/21/05-- 2:17 Central Time)

[handy]

Geez, just caught that CNN Cafferty dude on the TV in the break room. He just as big an arse as you guys all say he is!

[TXBSAFH]

I am out of it for now we are about to leave the house to meet my folks to head out together. God Bless us all. TXBSAFH (Texas Bastard System Admin From Hell) Out.

[DallasMike]

Click on the image for a full-sized view.

 

 

 

 

[Revolting cat!]

"Is it blowing, Bob?!"

[DallasMike]

The 5-day forecast shows that Rita may stick around North Texas for a while:

 

 

 

 

 

[DallasMike]

Buoy 42001 will soon sustain a direct hit from Hurricane Rita. The interesting thing is what the following graphs show. Click on the graphs for full-sized images. Look how quickly the pressure dropped and how quickly the wind picked up. Fascinating.

 

 

[jeffers]

New graphic, based on the 1700 CDT data:

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y138/jeffers_mz/02J.jpg

[green pastures]

Can anyone tell me, based on the most recent projection for Rita, whether that will help or hurt Texas City? Or what is likely to happen there?

There is an animal sanctuary there (Whiskerville.org) and, for a variety of reasons, they did not evacuate in time. Now with the Houston gridlock, they aren't able to get transportation to/from Texas City. The last posting I saw was that Whiskerville.org says "It is now too late to move these 300 cats 7 dogs, we have looked and talked with many folks, including people who could possibly, send cargo aircraft to Houston, but the Airport roads are grid-locked."