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Posted on 09/21/2005 1:36:24 AM PDT by NautiNurse
Category 3 Hurricane Rita became the fifth major hurricane of the 2005 season during the night. Hurricane Rita threaded the needle through the Florida Straits and moved into the Gulf of Mexico. Storm damage in the Florida Keys and South Florida Peninsula was light, with scattered power outages, scattered tornados, and mild to moderate flooding.
Mandatory evacuations are in effect for Galveston County TX and New Orleans. Additional evacuation orders in the Greater Houston Metropolitan Area are anticipated throughout the day.
Crude oil prices reacted as oil producers shut down and evacuated workers from platforms in the Gulf of Mexico.
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 Eastern Gulf of Mexico
Buoy Data Western Gulf of Mexico
Current Weather Warnings and Watches for Texas
Images:
Storm Floater IR Loop
GOM WV Loop
GOM IR Still Image
Visible Storm Floater Still (only visible during daylight hours)
Color Enhanced Atlantic Loop
Key West Long Range Radar Still Image
Streaming Video: (coverage may be intermittent)
KHOU-TV/DT Houston: mms://beloint.wm.llnwd.net/beloint_khou
WWLTV NOLA
Additional Resources:
Coastal TX Evacuation Maps
KHOU Houston
KTRK ABC News Houston
Hurricane City
Wxnation Houston
| 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 I
Tropical Storm Rita
Tropical Depression 18
The pics today from the storm have been beautiful...warm water and no shear from here to TX...what a monster it's going to be at landfall...
technically CAT 5 is 156..i wonder if the NHC will just keep it at the strongest CAT 4 at 155..the scary thing is not done strengthing yet...another 12 hors or so until it maxes out, based on past bombings and it going over the warm deep loop current
I need access to some of the "secret" info since I can't get in the forums that nwctwx runs while at work. Or, could it be because you're a Galaxy Girl?
http://www.txcn.com/
They have a link to the evac zones. Yes, you have to register. Hotel reservations should *not* be a factor in leaving. Each county will be coordinating. Collin county would be a good bet.
Just got off the phone with our friends who live on Rockport Bay. She's said that the HEB (grocery store) and all city offices will close at 3pm. She is buying supplies and they are staying. She says she has never left, and I asked her what about a cat 5? She said no, but it'll depend on where it goes. She claims she has time to decide, can drag the boats out to the ranch or to the lake house. I made her promise to not wait too long and that our home in Dallas was open to her or anyone needing a place to stay since the motels/hotels are booking fast. She said everyone was acting panic-stricken at the stores.
Mostly for any and all to read...but I wouldn't be surprised if this storm goes annular at least for a time...
Yes, he does.
The point he's missing is that all the pre-storm work in Texas has been done *by* Texas with no help from the Feds (who are still busy in NO/LA, MS, and AL). Pre-event, it's all a state show.
And we just had a "practice run" two weeks ago.
Assuming a hit by Rita where currently indicated and at current strength, what would the expected impact be in the Corpus Christi area?
Winds, rain, surge, etc.? Anybody have thoughts?
Freepmail.
I've called for my parents as far west as Ft. Stockton and Midland, as well as Abilene and San Angelo. A few rooms available Thursday night, nothing for the weekend.
You might look for a Thursday night room for a place to crash en route further out - there have been a few of those available. Otherwise, the nearest rooms I've heard of are Oklahoma, the TX panhandle and New Mexico.
I'm really more worried that she would strengthen significantly after an ERC.
Nothing within 100 miles of Greenville. Kaufman, Terrell, Mesquite....nothing. I guess I'll start west of Ft. Worth.
Where is that hotel?
To convert from knots to mph:
multiply knots by 1.16
You must mean "Babboon Blanco".
Category strengths are out of date...but track looks good. This baby's going to push a LOT of water with it...even if to got down to a 3 before going in...but I am expecting it to go in a four...
She needs to realize that today is the last day she has to "dither". She should also remember that it was "only" a Cat4 that levelled Biloxi two-three weeks ago.
For give the stupid question but what do you mean by annular hurricanes versus spiral hurricanes ? Does that indicate some kind of huge eyewall as the hurricane opens into an annulus ?
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