Hurricane Rita Live Thread, Part V

NHC - NOAA ^ | 22 September 2005 | NHC - NOAA

[NautiNurse]

Extremely dangerous Category Four Hurricane Rita continues to move toward landfall along the northwest Gulf of Mexico shoreline. Mandatory and voluntary evacuations continue across Texas and Louisiana coastal areas. Lake Charles LA is providing evacuations by bus for residents who have no transportation.

Traffic gridlock in the greater Houston area was compounded by gasoline stations without fuel, long lines at those stations still carrying fuel, and record breaking temperatures on the first day of autumn.

Offshore drilling platforms and rigs, as well as oil refineries, petrochemical and natural gas plants are in the path of the storm. Wave heights recorded by buoy have exceeded 38 feet. The refineries threatened by Hurricane Rita are on higher ground than those affected by flooding from Katrina. As a result, speculation abounds regarding future prices for winter heating fuel and gasoline.

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
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:

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)

KPRC-TV/DT Houston - KPRC-TV/DT Houston - http://mfile.akamai.com/12944/live/reflector:38616.asx
KPLC-TV Lake Charles KPLC Streaming
KHOU-TV/DT Houston: mms://beloint.wm.llnwd.net/beloint_khou
WWLTV NOLA

Additional Resources:

FReeper Sign In Thread 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
Coastal TX Evacuation Maps
Beaumont TX evac Routes
Lake Charles/Southwest LA Evacuation Map
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 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

[Wneighbor]

A part sounds great to me!

Me too. But, main thing is ya'll keeping safe and in the clear as much as possible right now. Pasadena oughtta be pretty safe. Just be careful!

[bonfire]

I'm just gonna ignore that. lalalala

[dirtboy]

Just checked wunderground and I couldn't belive it! It took a very sharp left hand turn, now heading almost due west. Three out of five computer models have it heading SOUTHWEST. Those are in very close agreement. Good grief!!!!

Once again, the NHC expects it to either dissapate or become extratropical within 24 hours. I wouldn't worry about Philipe.

[Krodg]

I finally found the in-laws zip...77388. Candleway Dr. Is that area likely to flood?

[babaloo]

When DSM, Iowa flooded in 93 we lost our water plant for 2 weeks. What saved us is that it continued to rain and we caught water from the downspouts in plastic trash cans and used that water to flush the toilets and for cleaning up. I poured a little bleach in the trash cans every day. My husband actually figured out a camp-type shower for us.

[meanie monster]

strange days

[bwteim]

National Weather Service Experimental Long Range Radar Loop

http://www.srh.noaa.gov/ridge/lix_N0Z_lp.shtml

[steveegg]

Time to grab some lunch. BBL

[KC Burke]

Go to this link, which takes a long time to load if you are on dial up and it gives you a big zip code map showing class four and five storm surge areas as well as 100 and 200 year flash flood areas:
http://www.houstontx.gov/category5.jpg

[queenkathy]

See, I can't get past that bleach thing. They say to add bleach to the water and that just freaks me out.

[Wneighbor]

Karl Rove is toying with the liberals. He's showing off what his weather machine can do. Watch Rita spiral off and hit Venezuela now. :p

OH please!!! A direct hit on Caracas would be nice!

[nicolezmomma]

I have so much exposed glass on that side of the house that couldn't be protected, that I went to a whole bunch of trouble to save one pane.

We have 67 windows in our 80 year old house. We didn't have enough plywood to board up that many windows before Charley last year, so my husband cut the few pieces we had into the right size to fit different windows. His thinking was that he would board up as they broke. Of course that's assuming you could stop them from being missiles and you could get to the window in the first place.....

[Rebelbase]

#2678, Rut Roh.

OTOH, TC might get the rain she's been wanting.

[metmom]

It WOULD be nice but.... it's heading into warmer water that way and it wouldn't be the first hurricane to almost fall apart and come back with a vengence. I'll keep an eye on it anyway.

[conservativewasp]

1 drop per quart, 2 if it's visably dirty. Let it sit sealed and then open the cap for a while, the chlorine will vent off some and it should end up tasting like tap water.

[nbtex]

That area is just north of Cypresswood Dr., with Cypress Creek just to the south of Cypresswood Dr. That is a pretty good spot to gather some water, my friend. BUT, the really good news is if someone has a boat, the hospital is just real close!!!

[Dog Gone]

I don't think that anyone could argue that there's a different attitude in Texas than in New Orleans, and it's reflected in any number of things. None of my neighbors are going to become looters. If anything, they'll shoot any outsiders who attempt it.

We're going to be fine, and if anyone needs help, we'll gladly give it. We want things to get back to normal as soon as possible.

[meanie monster]

Bleach purifies the water. Tap water becomes stagnant after awhile. Just a few drops per gallon.

[Rebelbase]

#2679..Ooops.