Good luck to southern TX and, perhaps, New Orleans.
http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&ned=&q=hurricane+rita&btnG=Search+News
You can see the flight messages here:
http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/text/MIAREPNT2.shtml
Here is an explanation of the formatting:
http://www.hurricanehunters.com/vortex.htm
Live Webcam in Biscayne Bay in Miami, Florida:
http://www.opentopia.com/showcam.php?id=641&time=1127237952
Key West radar:
http://radar.weather.gov/radar/loop/DS.p19r0/si.kbyx.shtml
yesh, can't new orleans catch a break? I think they just tried to evacuate the city again. God must hate beads and the people that throw them.
http://www.srh.noaa.gov/wwamap/wwatxtget.php?cwa=hgx&wwa=hurricane%20local%20statement
HURRICANE LOCAL STATEMENT...CORRECTED TO INCLUDE GALVESTON COUNTY
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUSTON/GALVESTON TX
430 PM CST TUE SEP 20 2005
...RITA MOVING INTO GULF OF MEXICO AND INCREASING IN INTENSITY...
...THIS STATEMENT APPLIES TO THE RESIDENTS
OF...JACKSON...MATAGORDA...FORT BEND...WHARTON...HARRIS...
BRAZORIA...LIBERTY...CHAMBERS...AND GALVESTON COUNTIES...
...WATCHES/WARNINGS IN EFFECT...
NO WATCHES OR WARNINGS ARE IN EFFECT FOR THE UPPER TEXAS COAST.
...CURRENT STORM INFORMATION...
.LOCATION...
AT 4 PM CDT...THE CENTER OF HURRICANE RITA WAS LOCATED NEAR LATITUDE
24.0 NORTH...LONGITUDE 82.4 WEST...OR ABOUT 850 MILES SOUTHEAST OF
GALVESTON TEXAS.
.MOVEMENT...
HURRICANE RITA WAS MOVING WEST AT 15 MPH. MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS
WERE 100 MPH WITH HIGHER GUSTS. A GRADUAL INCREASE IN INTENSITY IS
FORECAST DURING THE NEXT 24 HOURS.
...PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
.EVACUATION INFORMATION...
FOR GALVESTON AND BRAZORIA COUNTIES...VOLUNTARY EVACUATION IS IN
PROGRESS. MANDATORY EVACUATION OF NURSING HOMES AND ASSISTED-LIVING
FACILITIES WILL BEGIN AT 6 AM WEDNESDAY MORNING. ON GALVESTON
ISLAND... BUSSES WILL BE AVAILABLE AT THE ISLAND COMMUNITY CENTER ON
BROADWAY WEDNESDAY MORNING AFTER 10 AM FOR PERSONS WITH NO OTHER
MEANS OF TRANSPORTATION. IF THERE IS NO SIGNIFICANT CHANGE OF RITA'S
TRACK IN THE NEXT 24 HOURS...A MANDATORY EVACUATION OF GALVESTON AND
BRAZORIA COUNTIES IS EXPECTED TO BEGIN AT 6 PM WEDNESDAY EVENING.
VOLUNTARY EVACUATIONS ARE ALSO IN PROGRESS THIS EVENING FOR LOW LYING
AREAS OF CHAMBERS COUNTY... HARRIS COUNTY... AND THE CITIES OF
HOUSTON...SEABROOK AND BAYTOWN
DECISIONS CONCERNING EVACUATIONS FOR OTHER COUNTIES AND COMMUNITIES
WILL BE MADE EITHER LATER THIS EVENING OR ON WEDNESDAY.
.SCHOOL AND GOVERNMENT FACILITY CLOSINGS...
CLEAR CREEK...GALVESTON...FRIENDSWOOD AND HIGH ISLAND ISD SCHOOLS
WILL BE CLOSED BEGINNING WEDNESDAY. GALVESTON COUNTY FACILITIES
WILL ALSO BE CLOSED BEGINNING WEDNESDAY.
Hm, just tried to reach a friend who lives in Baytown,
talked to her today earlier.
Now, the first try some recorded voice says all lines are busy or somesuch. The next try there was just a busy signal.
Hopefully people aren't stampeding down there.....
Local TX news channels with live streams
http://www.khou.com/perl/common/video/wmPlayer.pl?title=beloint_khou&props=live
http://www.wdsu.com/video/4926042/detail.html
If anyone can find me a CNN stream, that'd be rad.
The latest RECON reports confirm RITA is now a CATASTROPHIC CATEGORY 5 Hurricane.
http://www.wunderground.com/blog/SteveGregory/show.html
Western Gulf of Mexico Recent Marine Data
http://www.ndbc.noaa.gov/Maps/WestGulf.shtml
You can click on all of the bouys in the gulf and see what the winds do and how big those bigass waves are.
If a Katrina hits Texas
http://www.ndbc.noaa.gov/Maps/WestGulf.shtml
Hypothetical satelite photos what would happen to certain areas of Texas if Rita would be as bad as Katrina, don't know how credible this is.
corrected link for >>8
If a Katrina hits Texas
http://www.statesman.com/metrostate/content/metro/photos/091705_whatif/index.html
Hypothetical satelite photos what would happen to certain areas of Texas if Rita would be as bad as Katrina, don't know how credible this is.
http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=domesticNews&storyID=2005-09-23T151911Z_01_SPI353372_RTRUKOC_0_US-RITA-LEVEES.xml
Rita breaches levee in N. Orleans
"Fast-rising water spilled over a levee in New Orleans as the outer edge of Hurricane Rita dumped rain on the city, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said on Friday.
The water was waist-high in New Orleans' vulnerable ninth ward and rising fast, according to local CBS affiliate WWL-TV."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uslatest/story/0,1282,-5298366,00.html
Rita's Rains Breach Two New Orleans Levees
"Hurricane Rita's wind and rain breached a pair of New Orleans' battered levees Friday, sending water gushing into two separate neighborhoods just days after they were pumped dry."
"Officials with the Army Corps of Engineers said other levees appeared secure, including those breached during Katrina, but there were leaks."
http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5478,16700019%255E663,00.html
Texans trapped as Rita looms
"Hundreds of thousands of evacuees faced a new crisis -- petrol shortages -- on Texan highways as they tried to flee the deadly winds.
Many abandoned their cars and hitched a ride while others chose to wait in the hope petrol tankers would arrive. The abandoned cars and queues at the few remaining petrol stations caused a 160km traffic jam heading north of Houston, the fourth-largest US city.
Stranded motorists listened to radios helplessly as Houston mayor Bill White declared that "being on the highway is a death-trap"."
"Environmentalists warned of the possibility of a toxic spill from the 87 chemical plants and petroleum installations that represent more than a quarter of US refining capacity."
"The evacuation was a traffic nightmare with red brake lights streaming out of Houston and its low-lying suburbs.
"This is the worst planning I've ever seen," said Judie Anderson, who covered just 72km in 12 hours."
>>13
That's what you get for not using any trains, Texas!
BayouCam Image of Brays Bayou
http://www.floodalert.org/BraysFAS/
The BayouCam shows the confluence of Harris Gully and Brays Bayou near the TMC.
http://today.reuters.com/news/NewsArticle.aspx?type=topNews&storyID=2005-09-24T153740Z_01_DIT453163_RTRUKOC_0_US-RITA-ADVISORY.xml
Rita downgraded to Category 1
"Hurricane Rita was downgraded to a Category 1 storm on Saturday with maximum sustained winds of about 75 mph (120 kph), the U.S. National Hurricane Center said in its 11 a.m. EDT (1500 GMT) advisory."
It's almost as if Rita was there just to kick New Orleans' ass, and once the job was over, was too tired to hit Texas as well.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/09/24/AR2005092401699.html
"NEW ORLEANS, Sept. 24"
"Saturday brought a parade of journalists, out-of-town police officers and soldiers. The bridge became a boat launch once again, earning Ted Reine, 22, some cash as he took out one network television crew in his boat. A group of Japanese reporters donned hip waders and snapped photos.
A pair from the Federal Emergency Management Agency came to assess the flooding, but they did not have a boat, so they turned around."