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Cylinder
21-September-2005, 01:13 PM
From the National Hurricane Center (http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/text/refresh/MIATCPAT3+shtml/211137.shtml):

000
WTNT33 KNHC 211137
TCPAT3
BULLETIN
HURRICANE RITA INTERMEDIATE ADVISORY NUMBER 15A
NWS TPC/NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER MIAMI FL
8 AM EDT WED SEP 21 2005

...SATELLITE SUGGESTS THAT RITA HAS BECOME A CATEGORY FOUR
HURRICANE...

A TROPICAL STORM WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR THE FLORIDA KEYS FROM
THE MARQUESAS KEYS WESTWARD TO THE DRY TORTUGAS.

INTERESTS IN THE NORTHWESTERN GULF OF MEXICO SHOULD MONITOR THE
PROGRESS OF RITA.

FOR STORM INFORMATION SPECIFIC TO YOUR AREA...INCLUDING POSSIBLE
INLAND WATCHES AND WARNINGS...PLEASE MONITOR PRODUCTS ISSUED
BY YOUR LOCAL WEATHER OFFICE.

AT 8 AM EDT...1200Z...THE EYE OF HURRICANE RITA WAS LOCATED NEAR
LATITUDE 24.4 NORTH...LONGITUDE 85.3 WEST OR ABOUT 195 MILES...
WEST OF KEY WEST FLORIDA AND ABOUT 790 MILES EAST-SOUTHEAST OF
CORPUS CHRISTI TEXAS.

RITA IS MOVING TOWARD THE WEST NEAR 14 MPH AND THIS GENERAL MOTION
IS EXPECTED TO CONTINUE FOR THE NEXT 24 HOURS. THIS MOTION SHOULD
BRING THE CENTER OF RITA FARTHER AWAY FROM THE FLORIDA KEYS OVER
THE SOUTHEASTERN GULF OF MEXICO TODAY.

SATELLITE IMAGERY SUGGESTS THAT RITA HAS CONTINUED TO STRENGHTEN AND MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS HAVE INCREASED TO NEAR 135 MPH WITH HIGHER GUSTS. RITA IS NOW A CATEGORY FOUR HURRICANE ON THE SAFFIR-SIMPSON SCALE. A NOAA PLANE WILL CHECK THE INTENSITY LATER THIS MORNING. SOME ADDITIONAL STRENGTHENING IS POSSIBLE DURING THE NEXT 24 HOURS.

HURRICANE FORCE WINDS EXTEND OUTWARD UP TO 45 MILES FROM THE
CENTER...AND TROPICAL STORM FORCE WINDS EXTEND OUTWARD UP TO 140
MILES.

Looking at a storm surge model from the Houston Chronicle (http://www.chron.com/content/chronicle/special/05/hurricane/index.html), it looks like a storm surge from around 10-15 feet would threaten Johnson Space Center located in Clear Lake, Texas.

If you click on Storm Surge of the Flash presentation and cycle through the animation, you will come to a map of the greater Houston area. Click on the League City link and move the toolbox to the right of the frame. You will see Clear Lake (the lake the empties into Galveston Bay)located below the Webster label. JSC is located below the letter B in Webster nearest the top on Clear Lake.

Does anyone know if Saturn V's float?

Jim
21-September-2005, 01:19 PM
JSC has suspended operations starting today. All of the local school districts have suspended classes at least through Friday. Galveston County begins a mandatory evac in stages today.

Cylinder
21-September-2005, 01:26 PM
JSC has suspended operations starting today. All of the local school districts have suspended classes at least through Friday. Galveston County begins a mandatory evac in stages today.


Be safe, Jim. I stayed in an apartment on Clear Lake off NASA-1 between JSC and El Lago - I wish I could remember the name - when I was setting up a call center downtown. It was a few hundred yards west of the Turtle Club and that boat dealer/marina. That was in the late 90s.

When are you evacuating?

Jim
21-September-2005, 01:47 PM
I think I know the one you mean. We lived in the apartment complex (now condos) just east of that marina when we first moved here.

Wife and daughter will leave tomorrow; I won't be far behind.

Cylinder
21-September-2005, 01:59 PM
Don't forget the photo albums and electronics. My brother works the Houston area out of Dallas for Sprint/Nextel. He will be pre-postioning the COW (cell on whells) Thursday to service the Houston or Galveston area after the storm.

Argos
21-September-2005, 02:04 PM
My best wishes to all of you Texans. I´m nobody to lecture you on this but... TAKE CARE.

CalabashCorolla
21-September-2005, 11:26 PM
HURRICANE RITA TROPICAL CYCLONE UPDATE
NWS TPC/NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER MIAMI FL
545 PM CDT WED SEP 21 2005

...RITA BECOMES THE FIFTH MOST INTENSE HURRICANE ON RECORD...

DROPSONDE DATA FROM AN AIR FORCE RESERVE UNIT RECONNAISSANCE
AIRCRAFT AT 416 PM CDT...2116Z...INDICATED THE CENTRAL PRESSURE HAS
FALLEN TO 904 MB...OR 26.69 INCHES. THIS MAKES RITA THE FIFTH MOST
INTENSE HURRICANE IN TERMS OF PRESSURE IN THE ATLANTIC BASIN.

RITA CURRENTLY RANKS BEHIND HURRICANE GILBERT IN 1988 WITH 888
MB...THE 1935 LABOR DAY HURRICANE WITH 892 MB...HURRICANE ALLEN IN
1980 WITH 899 MB...AND HURRICANE KATRINA LAST MONTH WITH 902 MB.

FORECASTER STEWART

Yikes...luckily this one will lose some strength before it hits :(

Monique
21-September-2005, 11:30 PM
Good Luck to Texans. Images on noaa.com show beautiful killer.

Lord Jubjub
22-September-2005, 03:02 AM
The pressure has now been reported at 898 mb. That is the THIRD most intense storm. The winds should top out faster than Katrina. We might see something close to 190 mph if not higher.