Hurricane Rita Live Thread, Part VII

NHC - NOAA ^ | 23 September 2005 | NHC - NOAA

[NautiNurse]

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:

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
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 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

[Recovering_Democrat]

Fox News reporter in Houston (David Lee Miller, I think) just reported a few instances of robbery in Houston...no widespread looting in the city. Gee. I wonder why the nation's fourth-largest city had no looting, and the country's...30th (?) largest city, New Orleans, DID. Hmmm. What was the difference???

[jeffers]

Katrina is long gone...even out in the Atlantic....I suspect the east west flow is from some Tstorms that rolled through here about Tuesday....lost power due to some very hot lightning....got to see my first bead lightning too....from less than 2000 feet away...noisy.

[raygun]

Sleep well, dude, come back when you're refreshed...

jn 3:16

[laz]

Actually, it is pulling moisture in from the Atlantic.

Yup, she's still getting fuel from the Atlantic, even after she destroyed a lot of our fuel in the gulf.

[kenth]

Yeah, isn't that outrageous. All those wells stop at the Florida border. I'm sure the oil deposits don't just happen to stop there as well. Floridians have no right to carp about the price of oil.

[ChefKeith]

demoscum vs real people that live there and while Houston is demland when it comes to voting that is due to massive fraud and there are folks like Eaker/Flyer/Humblegunner and many others to counterbalance them and help the LEO's keep order by watching the local neighborhoods.

[bd476]

What is bead lightening?

Have they set off any real tornado warnings lately? Those loud "test" sirens every Friday were startling to hear when I was back there last year for several months.

[glock rocks]

Looks like our friends and family in Houston were spared. My prayers for those who met Rita's fury tonight.

Needs must sleep. G'nite all.

[laz]

Fox News reporter in Houston (David Lee Miller, I think) just reported a few instances of robbery in Houston

Yes, he's been reporting that for the past hour or so. Called them "opportunists". It was clear he'd like to refer to them by some other term.

[conservative in nyc]

It should. But by how much is critical. Lake Charles is at 10-20 feet above sea level in most places, according to my mapping program, and much less, according to Google Earth.

Here are some links, if someone wants to monitor the situation in Lake Charles. I'm off to bed.

Lake Charles area Gages:
http://tinyurl.com/agsjd

Lake Charles American Press Blog:
http://www.americanpress.blogspot.com/

[ChefKeith]

Yes The Lord was good to Texas.

Wait a minute!, didn't you sleep last week?

[bd476]

"...didn't you sleep last week?"

LOL, he needs his sleep. Sleep is good for you, too. yawnnnn

[Skylab]

Yes The Lord was good to Texas.

I predicted that: 09/22/2005 8:46:15 PM EDT

[bd476]

Thanks Raygun. That's a good plan. Sleep well too. :-)

[kenth]

I'm still up trying to figure out Jeff Goldblatt's drilled tooth analogy.

[DB]

Bad drugs...

[laz]

Can't believe it only has 120mph sustained. I have a feeling this will be one of those cases where it is upgraded after investigation

I have suspected, ever since she was a 4 going to a 5, that NHC has been underestimating her winds by 10 mph. I believe she made Cat 5 earlier than officially announced, and that she maxed at 185.

[snowsislander]

What that says to me, is that it's past time to start drilling off the coast of FL.

Yes, it says the same to me.

[bd476]

Kenth wrote: "I'm still up trying to figure out Jeff Goldblatt's drilled tooth analogy."

LOL, you may find an answer here or not.

Jeff Goldblatt is on the news?

[Timeout]

Not to mention drilling in California. Why should the largest gas consuming state get to set the agenda? I lived there for years. People commute 1 or 2 hrs each way, 5 days a week. Then they get in a tizzy if some pol even hints at oil/gas exploration, new power plant (especially nuclear), or a new refinery. I used to say to them: "What, it's OK to pollute Tulsa?".

In my book, "importer" states like Fla and Cal should pay a hefty premium per gallon, cubic foot, etc. The funds would go to REDUCE THE ENERGY/GAS BILLS of those in "exporter" states.

Fine with me if they want their pristine ocean views. But I'd like to find out how much they're willing to pay for it.