Hurricane Rita Live Thread

NHC - NOAA ^ | 20 September 2005 | NHC - NOAA

[NautiNurse]

Hurricane Rita is in the Florida Straits, impacting the Florida Keys and South Florida Peninsula. Hurricane watches and warnings are in effect for numerous portions of South Florida. Check local weather statements for updates.

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 SE Florida
Current Weather Warnings and Watches for Florida

Images:

Storm Floater IR Loop
Visible Storm Floater Still (only visible during daylight hours)
Color Enhanced Atlantic Loop
Florida Radar/Sat Loop Caution: Broadband users only
Extra Large Miami Radar Broadband only
Extra Large Key West Radar Broadband only
Miami Long Range Radar Loop
Key West Long Range Radar Loop
Miami Experimental Radar Still Image
Key West Experimental Radar Still Image

Streaming Video: (coverage may be intermittent)

WTVJ-TV/DT Miami (NBC6)
WFOR-TV/DT Miami (CBS 4)
WSVN-TV/DT Miami (Fox)

Other Resources:

Florida East Coast Surf Reports Lots of great info here, including surf cams
Central Florida Hurricane Center
Hurricane City

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:
Tropical Storm Rita
Tropical Depression 18

[laz]

Rather, it keeps these things from ripping loose or falling over during the storm or quake.

Yes. Remember, the Katrina advisory just before landfall in LA warned about appliances flying through the air and killing people outside.

[thackney]

Why would you anchor water heaters, refrigerators, and heavy furniture to wall studs?

In Earthquake prone zones, it is almost always required by city codes to prevent them from shaking loose and falling. With gas heaters, they are capable of ripping loose the gas line. Not a big worry for Houston area.

[votelife]

Bush Offering a Hand Up, Not Handouts
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1487340/posts

go to post #9 to see an INCREDIBLE video/music of Katrina!

[onyx]

I'm stocked, but this one isn't nearly as vicious at Kat. I am worried for the gulfcoast getting smacked again.

[Arizona Carolyn]

Do you have a lot of frozen bottles of water, canned foods, portable radio, and batteries on hand...

Silly, me, this is TEXAS and Texan's know how to be prepared!

[kassie]

We were lucky, we drove right up and found a parking place right at the end of the row by the store. But driving in, the parking lot looked to be completely filled.

People were still being hospitable. Aisles were full of shoppers, but no one was rude- yet.

[OC_Steve]

Heh. The tub leaks. I always fill up the washer....and the water heater has a few gallons of water in it.

Bummer, I have one of those new fangled low volume washers. The dang tub does not fill up. I guess I could manually fill it.

[ncpatriot]

Makes sense now!

[CedarDave]

"At my age? I'd rather have a talking frog."

Good one! LOL

[CindyDawg]

I guess that is why I had not heard of it. I do community health education and had the fire department out for an inservice. They passed these out to the members. It's actually a neat little brochure. There is a lot of before, during and after disaster survival stuff.

[NTegraT]

"will the Astrodome be a "refuge of last resort?"

Naw, Mayor White says it a good refuge AFTER a storm but the whole ceiling is glass so it won't be used as a shelter during a hurricane.

[Tarpon]

You need about one gallon per day per person according to the local hurricane plan we get from the State. I use those 6 gallon jugs you buy at walmart for a few bucks -- one per person. When the hurricane is coming we fill them up.

We also have canned soda and canned foods that we use as emergency supplies. When the season is over, just eat the supplies.

[Chasaway]

Starting to look like glaring may help after all...

Keep it up even if it seems that the dog's the only one noticing.

[dirtboy]

Coriolis is the same all over the world

Not correct:

Typhoon Vamei: Born At The Equator

The Coriolis effect, produced by the Earth's rotation, is non-existent directly on the Equator and increases in magnitude as one travels toward the Poles.

So what caused Vamei's spin?

Analysis later revealed that a weak, quasi-stagnant disturbance off Borneo interacted with a strong, cold surge off Asia that set up a background rotation when it hit the island. When surge met disturbance, spin happened, and a typhoon rapidly emerged that had winds howling in both hemispheres.

And that is a very rare exception:

Such confluence of events has been estimated to occur once every 100 to 400 years.

[Strategerist]

BUT, he also said that 3 of the 5 maps that the military uses as predictors show Rita veering INTO the NO area...yikes!

I don't know whether you completely misunderstood what was said or Baier was horribly misinformed (par for the course with Fox) but that's absolute, complete nonsense.

1) The military doesn't do any predicting of Atlantic hurricanes at all. They rely completely on NHC.

2) I don't know what's meant by a "map" (an indication the statement is nonsense) but there are absolutely no reliable models with a landfall in Louisiana.

[kassie]

the only problem is the gallon and a half of Blue Bell

That is not a problem. More like a provision.

[No Blue States]

Here is a flight delay site may come in handy for someone.

http://www.fly.faa.gov/flyfaa/usmap.jsp

[Strategerist]

You're disputing my assertion that Coriolis is the same all over the world? ROFLMAO.

Vamei was an extreme case, but as I said formation of TCs in other basins in the vicinity of 5N or 5S is fairly routine, which is a clear indication that you need to look other than at Coriolis for a reason such formation is lacking in the Atlantic.

The Atlantic in many ways is the "oddball" tropical basin of the world. But it's not Coriolis preventing formation in the Atlantic from about 3N to 10N. (I believe the Atlantic record is 7.9N north.)

[james_f_hall]

Anyone know when the next flight is due into the storm?

[Strategerist]

Ah, just realized you must have misunderstood me.

I meant that Coriolis is the same at the SAME LATITUDE all over the world; that is, it's the same at 5N in the Western Pacific as it is at 5N in the Atlantic, at 5S in the Indian Ocean, etc.