Hurricane Rita Live Thread, Part VI

NHC - NOAA ^ | 23 September 2005 | NHC - NOAA

[NautiNurse]

Dangerous Hurricane Rita is expected to make landfall in the northeast Gulf of Mexico within 24 hours. Tornados have spawned in Louisiana. Water is filling the Ninth Ward of New Orleans again. A bus carrying elderly evacuees was gutted by fire this morning outside Dallas, with multiple fatalities. Television crews have positioned their hurricane reporters throughout the region to attain maximum drama effects. Whoooooa.

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
Jefferson Co TX NWS Weather
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:

Lake Charles Long Range Radar Still image, with loop link
Houston/Galveston Long Range Radar Still image, with loop link
Lake Charles Experimental Radar Outages and Delays May Occur

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)

KHOU-TV/DT Houston
KPRC-TV/DT Houston
KTRK-TV/DT Houston
KTRH-AM Houston
KPLC-TV/DT Lake Charles/Lafayette
KSLA-TV/DT Shreveport

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
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 V
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

[Revel]

She is a big one at that.

[Al B.]

Jersey Village is at 290 and Jones Rd. I may be wrong, but I don't think it's flood prone.

[Howlin]

WXNATION:

Houston:

http://www.wxnation.com/houston/

Lafayette, LA;

http://www.wxnation.com/lafayette/


TONS OF LINKS!

[Dog Gone]

Dr. Neil Frank, former director of the NHC and the weather dude on local Houston tv, is now projecting a landfall around 3 to 4 am.

[mware]

HI Jim, how are ya hon???

Looks like we will be getting a thunderstorm sometime tonight.

Hey I got a school teacher story for ya from todays classes.

We were talking about the theory of biogenesis and I asked the kids, "Where have you heard the word Genesis?

The answers I got, "It is an old rock and roll group." It is a video game." "It is a television show." Not one kids mentioned it is the first book in the Bible.

[Sender]

I'm going to take a drink every time a TV personality says 'we're expecting things to get a lot worse'. Duh.

[RummyChick]

Someone better tell them that Shep thought NO had dodged the bullet.

[proud American in Canada]

I want to see Shep put his hat on backwards.

LOL! I'd like to see that too, but I don't get Fox news.

[Eaker]

LOL!!

Heavens to Betsy you can read between the lines!!

Now I gotta dig'em all up!

LOL!!

[RummyChick]

Lamp post has already fallen over where Alicia Acuna is which is across the bridge from Galveston. Not sure where.

[SouthTexas]

We didn't get any hurricane in 2003

We got Claudette two years ago, a tad further south.

[johnb838]

I LIKE Harrigan. I've enjoyed his hurricane reporting because he seems relaxed and enjoying the "easy" duty. He doesn't get tense unless there are bullets whizzing past his ear. And he, unlike most of them, really goes where the bullets are whizzing. And he doesn't try to pretend he isn't scared sh!tless, but he hangs in there and does his job and doesn't come out and try to play "gotcha!" with some poor dogface trying to do HIS job and stay alive.

(I'm not knocking you, I don't think you're slamming him either)

[mware]

That is not fair, They got a woman out in the wind giving a report.

That ain't no way to treat a lady.

[hummingbird]

Same here...what a collection!

[Aggie Mama]

It's not to far down the road from me on 290. Parts of Jersey village were underwater during Allison, but I know they've done some MAJOR flood control work since then.

[thackney]

You beat me to it. I wonder if Tom was going to loan him money to talk to you.

[BurbankKarl]

Centerpoint Entergy reports 1000s out of power.....crews are pulled in til storm passes...KPRC

[oceanview]

OK, this storm is getting serious now - Shep Smith is showing a trash can blown into the street.

[mware]

Oh dear Shep is now watching a trash can as it travels down the street.

[Nita Nupress]

We're doing okay so far. Gusty wind and light rain, but you can tell it's getting a little worse. My cat is acting rather strange. I'd always heard that animals can tell something about the weather intuitively; now I believe it!