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

[Colorado Doug]

helicopter rescue cage thingy(what ARE those called?)

I think those are called "HRCTs"

[LikeLight]

"Tornadic" type damage expected with eye-wall, but much broader than a tornado (per Weather Service interview live on KPLC now)...

[WoodstockCat]

steve,

at one time this was a 5, doesn't that water under that pressure have to go somewhere regardless of the what the wind speeds are now?

[glock rocks]

Uh oh... Shep lost another hat.

Everybody drink.

[sfimom]

Here we go again. You here for the night?

[blu]

Hey, I know this is really series and hugh, but I really must get my shower in before landfall (no, I'm not in the zone, but don't want to miss..) so ya'll ping me if Shep gets blown away! (OMG, a RED hat! Is he freeping?)

[Colorado Doug]

HRCT stands for "helicopter rescue cage thingy" but just sounds more military.

[AliVeritas]

trop. low, outta play... correct me if i'm wrong anyone.

[topher]

931mb storm... 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. It's got some nasty company based on pressure alone.

It is in shallow water now... Where it is now, I worked about 200 miles offshore, and it was only 200 feet deep (this was back in the 1970s).

Also, the storm recently (this afternoon) went through an eyewall replacement cycle. Takes time after (if I understand correctly) to intensify.

But I always thought shallow water was bad for hurricanes.

Where Katrina came in was very deep water -- the mouth of the Mississippi.

[HoHoeHeaux]

I think so too. I am getting a sick feeling now.

[RummyChick]

facade of a building has collapsed..Shep is going to be lucky to survive this mess.

[mware]

I wonder if the siren Shep heard was a tornado warnings???

[ladyjane]

House fires? They must not have hurricane insurance.

[Mo1]

Thanks for the info

[mtbopfuyn]

The bozo is wandering over to a concrete building that fell down.

[Professional Engineer]

Forcasted to stall - 4 days of torrential rains over East TX / All of LA

Durn

[steveegg]

Quickie update based on the 10 pm CDT slew of advisories/discussions: -

- Position 29.1 north, 93.2 west, 50 miles southeast of Sabine Pass (Texas/Louisiana line).
- Motion to the northwest at 12 mph, with the motion expected to hold until landfall. That puts landfall at roughly between 2 am and 3 am just east of Sabine Pass. Also, the eyewall is about to hit the Lake Charles area.
- Maximum sustained winds are about 120 mph, and the pressure is estimated at 931 mb (another hurricane hunter is headed in shortly).

[nwctwx]

If we didn't have Katrina to compare it with, it would be hard to downplay. It didn't end up as strong as possible at landfall, but there will be lots of damage. I suspect there will be early reports that it was 'nothing' as well. ;-)

[mtbopfuyn]

Hey, he's got a new sign!