Posted on 09/24/2005 9:58:36 AM PDT by Howlin
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:
Hurricane Rita Freeper CHECK IN THREAD
FReeper Sign In Thread (LOCKED) 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 VII
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
Oh well get over it. Accu Weather deserves no mercy. When Accu-Weather manages to bring down the NWS and the NHC as we know it today - then everyone will pay the price. I don't really give a crap if you think it is old or not. Joe Bastardi and Accu-Weather are a threat to the public. Everyone should know that.
Great minds think alike!
Water is just South of Houma . . . strong winds hampering efforts . . .
wdsu
So far, all major damage reported has been east of a line from Beaumont to Lufkin. I expect the shape of the damage swath to resemble a quarter circle stretching right and south from Nacodoches, or some point yet to be determined NW of there.
Reports from deep into Louisiana, well east of the Texas border, would help define the extent of that area.
Has anybody told Sheila Jackson Lee that the Princess Leia haircut went out of style 20 years ago?
The media is pathetic and sickening.. can't stand to even listen to them anymore.
I'm starting to understand what a big deal dove season is ... last month GWB's neighbor scared the Cindy supporters when he was "practicing for dove season". Now you're evaluating utility infrastructure as dove gathering points.
must be a TX thing:)
Yep. Accuweather wants to control access to the raw weather data, so we would have to pay to generate it with our tax dollars so we could pay accuweather for weather information...
"Governor Blanco Refused To Act"--http://www.impeachblanco.org/
Does this help?
Blanklook Blanco to speak soon.
A little obsessed are we? These threads are about the hurricane, not your vendettas.
Right and they are very close to achieving their goal. Silence will be a killer on this issue. They don't even want the NWS to be able to produce daily forecasts for us anymore. It is really sickening. Accu-Weather is a threat to all of our families. Imagine Accu-Weather being in charge of tornado warnings or hurricane forecasts? Scary thought.
"I predict Rita will not get to an 8th thread".
Interesting that you would predict that on thread VIII:)
Just ribbin' ya!
No good....that means 20 feet or more of surge + flooding...once again:
New graphics up, surge models for Beaumont, Lake Charles and Port Arthur.
Five images for each folder, normal sea level, sea level plus five feet surge, plus ten, plus fifteen and plus twenty.
The file names tell which is which once you're at the right folder.
Links:
Beaumont:
http://photobucket.com/albums/y138/jeffers_mz/Rita/Beaumont/
Lake Charles:
http://photobucket.com/albums/y138/jeffers_mz/Rita/Lake%20Charles/
Port Arthur:
http://photobucket.com/albums/y138/jeffers_mz/Rita/Port%20Arthur/
Talk to USGS about the missing roads in Port Arthur, give them some for me, they cost me hair with that screwup.
I was going to do Orange too, but the same problem exists for that area too, no roads, no points of reference.
Ayone know what became of that barge that was adrift in the Calcasieu Channel (Lake Charles) about the time of landfall? (According to Fox at the time, it was headed for the 210 Loop bridge, but might have run aground before reaching it...)
So drop it then. This thread is about hurricanes. Accu-Weather put out a forecast that a Cat 5 would hit Houston, Texas. They were wrong. It is all valid in this thread. Someone pointed out what Joe Bastardi predicted and I pointed out his past predictions. Don't think that is connected? Hmmm I see the connection as I am sure 90% of the people on here do.
You work for AccuWx? Or maybe you are not a fan of the 1st amendment?
lol! I should give up prophecy huh? ungghhh!
Hurricane Rita is no longer, we now have a TS Rita.
(live feed)
Looks like 9th ward is getting very close to equalizing water level with canal . . .
But it's you have to say! You posted it countless times. Over and over again.
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