Update: Category 5 Hurricane Rita - Live Thread, Part II

NHC - NOAA ^ | 21 September 2005 | NHC - NOAA

[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

[Flyer]

Generators coming in between 6AM-7AM at Home Depot at Chimney Rock and West Bellfort

That is right across the street from me.

Ping if ya want a generator.

[Rebelbase]

http://gom.rigzone.com/rita.asp

[NautiNurse]

That is a very disturbing graphic.

[ArmyBratsMom]

Newbie here ... sort of. I've lurked on FR for years and have posted, very rarely, under a different screen name, so I feel like an old-timer.

Hubby and I are Texans. We don't live there now, complements of Uncle Sam, but my entire family and many of our dearest friends are there - mostly in NW Houston, Deer Park, Sugarland, and Galveston. Needless to say, I'm worried sick.

[Rebelbase]

If that track hold true the N.E. quad is going plow through the thickest part of the production field.

[NautiNurse]

That's the cause of the sick feeling...

[Rte66]

Thanks for that link ... also:

~~~~
[snip]

"Shell, BP, Chevron, Apache, Anadarko, Exxon Mobil, and ConocoPhilips all said they had taken steps to protect staff.
......
The US Minerals Management Service said Rita had so far caused 15 rigs to be evacuated, cutting daily output from the Gulf of Mexico by about 877,000 barrels of oil.

According to the Service almost 60% of crude oil production had been shut down on Tuesday, with about 35% of natural gas output also closed. ..."
~~~~~

[NautiNurse]

Welcome to FR.

[Miss Marple]

Good morning! Just checking the current situation, and I also wanted to thank you for the work you do on these threads.

[Bahbah]

Welcome to both of you. I am having a sense of disconnect listening to the Katrina recovery news and watching this bad girl barrel toward Texas. Rita is getting more attention as we go along.

[SE Mom]

Not good.

[NautiNurse]

Recon computer problems halted flight data. She is looking very strong this morning.

[ArmyBratsMom]

Thank you for the welcome, NautiNurse. And thank you especially for all the work you do to keep the hurricane threads going. The Katrina threads were amazing. Unfortunately, the Rita threads may rival them.

[shield]

Do you know, shield, if both units are online?

I don't know, I can ask my friend who lives close to the plant.

[ArmyBratsMom]

Thanks for the welcome :o)

[Michael Goldsberry]

Mornin' Nauti. Today is evacuation day for me.

[Rte66]

Thank you! It's been "head-spinning" for us, too--with all the Katrina evacuees here. I'm still trying to keep up with all of that saga, too.

[BureaucratusMaximus]

Am I ready? I may be leaving my house for the very last time. :-(

I'm not going to divulge into any of my personal details here...but...trust me...your life is more important than a bunch of bricks and mortar...one is replaceable, one is not.

Be safe.

[NautiNurse]

How much packing and prep do you have left?

[Rte66]

Take care! Amazing that it's Galveston's very first mandatory, ever.

Friendswood will start at noon today.