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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
It's got to be 164 mph, and those are the flight level winds from the last vortex advisory. If they're now saying that the ground-level winds are 140+ knots (160+ mph), then she's really bearing down.
}:-)4
This is getting really, really disconcerting.
I typed wrod for word what I heard on MSNBC.
164 mph MAX winds
He didn't say if that was sustained or gust.
I typed wrod for word what I heard on MSNBC.
164 mph MAX winds
He didn't say if that was sustained or gust.
http://www.txcn.com/
They must follow their evacuation route as listed. Going north to DFW or even OKC would be a good plan.
Anyone else seeing a slightly more NW heading as opposed to the original Western direction now?
http://www.cira.colostate.edu/ramm/rmsdsol/TROPICAL.html
(click pic on left)
In order for the NHC track to prove accurate Rita can not cross that line above but must meet at the next intersection of lines. If it moves north of that line before then, it seems that wouldnt be good news for Galveston. Thats my theory. A few more frames will shed more light on this.
ZCZC MIATCUAT3 ALL TTAA00 KNHC DDHHMM HURRICANE RITA TROPICAL CYCLONE UPDATE NWS TPC/NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER MIAMI FL 215 PM EDT WED SEP 21 2005 DATA FROM RECONNAISSANCE AIRCRAFT INDICATE THAT RITA HAS INTENSIFIED A LITTLE MORE AND WINDS HAVE REACHED 150 MPH WINDS WITH A MINIMUM PRESSURE OF 920 MB. THIS MAKES RITA A STRONG CATEGORY FOUR HURRICANE. FORECASTER AVILA $$ NNNN
Agreed- but OTOH- Katrina was a cat 5 for awhile too before it backed off to a 4- though it seems parts of MS may have been hit with Cat5 winds. We still have two days before landfall too..if there's an reforming of the eyewall it may waver for a minute:)
My friend in Spring, Tx is staying...he has a business with a lot of inventory. If I recall, that place had street flooding the two times I visited just from heavy rainstorms....Also, I was stuck on the Houston Freeways once when it flooded...the runoff channels overflowed and the water went down the onramps, stranding hundreds of people, etc.
ZCZC MIATCUAT3 ALL
TTAA00 KNHC DDHHMM
HURRICANE RITA TROPICAL CYCLONE UPDATE
NWS TPC/NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER MIAMI FL
215 PM EDT WED SEP 21 2005
DATA FROM RECONNAISSANCE AIRCRAFT INDICATE THAT RITA HAS INTENSIFIED
A LITTLE MORE AND WINDS HAVE REACHED 150 MPH WINDS WITH A MINIMUM
PRESSURE OF 920 MB. THIS MAKES RITA A STRONG CATEGORY FOUR
HURRICANE.
FORECASTER AVILA
$$
NNNN
Didn't know that. I thought all the I-10 damage was west of Slidell.
Anybody who hasn't left/planned to leave the Texas coastline, you might want to do so now. There will not be time to see if it dials down. Traffic will be a mess. Get out by tomorrow morning, and call it a 4 day vacation.
150 mph and 920 mb. Wow. If this thing doesn't start an ERC, she'll be a Cat 5 at 160+ by nightfall.
The Gulf's had a history of storms weakening miraculously before they hit landfall. Katrina broke that this year, let's hope Rita re-establishes the trend.
}:-)4
cost is less than cement block or stick home.
OOps.
What's a stadium effect?
thanks
Oh yes..oh yes......as soon as I saw your reply, I knew I was wrong......AGAin!
"This is what happens when partial info is posted. Disregard."
Partial info and msnbc...hmmm yep, now i get it. Wont happen again. LOL :)
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