If I had been my brother, who lives past 1960 off of Tomball Road, I'd have stayed, probably - unless I was in one of those places that flooded back in the 90s.
90 miles away at Port Arthur...:
Posted on 09/24/2005 9:58:36 AM PDT by Howlin
Hurricane Rita landfall is anticipated within the next few hours. Strong winds and heavy rains are battering southern Louisiana and southeastern Texas.
MSM news crews are shouting over the howling winds as they foolishly describe blowing rain, swaying trees, and crashing waves through rain splattered camera lenses. It's a hurricane. We know these things already.
An 18 wheeler rig reportedly overturned on an I-10 bridge. The fate of the truck driver is unknown at this time. Reports of widespread power outages in Lake Charles. KPLC-TV Lake Charles local news has remarkably improvised their reporting from a remote location. They are taking calls from residents, NWS, and public utility representatives, and alerting residents to local conditions.
On the flip side, CNN announced to the world that law enforcement officers had evacuated from Port Arthur TX with the rest of the population. Engraved looter invitations would have been more elegant.
Godspeed to all those in the path of this storm.
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:
Hurricane Rita Freeper CHECK IN THREAD
FReeper Sign In Thread (LOCKED) 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 VII
Hurricane Rita Live Thread, Part VI
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
Thank you, I appreciate that.
I know. This isn't a suprise to me. My questions were more rhetorical than anything else.
Nagin and Blanco don't care. The city's still flooding, but they're obsessed with getting all their evacuees back. It's still hurricane season, and it's conceivable another hurricane could form and impact the gulf, but they want their people back. They can't afford to lose a single one of those votes, no matter what it costs, including lives. Do these people have a conscience? Rhetorical question.
The thing is that very few people live in the Southwestern Louisiana coast. It struck hardest at the most lightly populated area on the gulf.
Say, when are Blank-O and Nawwwwgin up for re-election anyway?
Remember the expensive Caribbean party for John Breaux in Washington around the time of the dem convention I do believe, I am fuzzy on when. But it was a terribly expensive blow out.
Funded by Zuschlag. Now Acadian which is the biggest ambulance service, in the entire country, has tentacles everywhere. And Breaux and Zuschlag are tight. The new EMS school that Acadian set up at USL {where Blancos husband reigns} is named the John Breaux School or something.
Breaux has been instrumental in the emergence of Acadien as the premier ambu and ems service in the state and indeed in the country.
Acadien has exclusive contracts to transport people in Orleans, Placquemine, Jefferson and numerous other posts.
Know how they got started? medicare wrote regs on Ambulance services that effectively closed down every private service in this state. Breaux was the guy who did it.
And Robert Wood Foundation subsidized Acadien. And one of the big deals at Acadien ran for Gov on the dem ticket but lost in the primary.
Now acadien is into medical equipment, the kind Medicare pays money for, wheelchairs, etc.
They are everywhere, very successful, high profile. And owe their success to Breaux and others. Now they have a PAC and are all about, hobnobbing with the politicoes.
I may be tinfoilish on this but I wonder about this monopoly.
I guess 117+ mpg gusts can even move rip rap around (small boulders)...thats some wind.
Radio Feed:
Conroe traffic getting bad. Alternate: bail off I45 at new waverly take 1375, 149 south to 1774 to 249 south..arrive at Houston via Tomball.
FYI: Record highs today, those who come back to find no AC due to power being out will be sweating..
No electric or water in Port Arthur. May take up to a month.
Centerpoint customers 750k without power after storm..now down to 300k.
We've been ignoring the media and leading by example since 1835.
Why should we do anything different now?
Suddenly gas station attendants and grocery store workers are considered "essential or critical personal"
I bet they wish their pay checks would reflect that.
Centerpoint is probably going to be down to a couple thousand without power by the end of the day. They have a medium-sized army restoring power down there.
I should clarify ... not displaced by the hurricane, but displaced by Uncle Sam {:o)
And on the Texas side, pretty much everyone got out anyway, so Rita mostly trashed empty buildings.
Sorry Howlin, the attitude of "git 'er done" is not what caused the NO problem. Their attitude (some folks) of "why won't somebody else do it" is what hurt them. We will not stand around and cry because FEMA and Nat. Guard were maybe not pre-positioned in Jasper. We will move back in on FM roads, and help each other. It is just what we are taught to do. Instinct cannot be replaced or overridden by one speech from the governor. Odd that some conservatives that espouse free-market and self reliance would encourage Texans to jump on the government cheese bandwagon. Not dissin' you. Simply explaining a mindset.
Centerpoint brought back half of their customers power in one day. Thats impressive.
They cant make money if they deliver no power.
Everytime my electric goes off I am reminded its a bargain
at just about any price. Especially when its about 100 degrees outside.
I wonder how well the smaller provider Entergy is doing.
Houston city limits: Get stranded vehicle back at no charge.
713 884 3131.
I think they know or believe there was a downburst - local high wind. Sounds like the Trinity River Authority has the situation well in hand.
FR's KRISTINN Support the Troops rally now LIVE on C-SPAN
Can someone please explain what is going on in this microwave loop? What are those 5 symmetrical red flare ups to the left of the cane while it is out over the gulf. And then what is that huge line of red that also appears after it is on land.
Thanks:
http://cimss.ssec.wisc.edu/tropic/real-time/marti/2005_EIGHTEEN/webManager/basicGifDisplay48.html
That was embarrassing. And it was all the more embarrassing because she was aware she had nothing to do. I felt she was taking us on a little nature tour. "Oh, look here. What do we have here? A piece of broken glass from a lamp post. We see these sometimes during this time of year."
Now this FNC dope is talking about getting back to normal.
Most reporters, even the ones on FNC, have lost all sense of reality. Apparently, they think Bush can snap his fingers and make everything alright. They don't seem to understand this isn't a movie or tv show, and that recovery and rebuilding will take YEARS.
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