About 20 or so miles inland from Galveston. But the bay comes up to about a mile from my house. So we are getting the heck out of here. Just hope eerything is still here when we get back.
Good luck. It's strengthening off Miami as we speak. http://www.boston.com/news/weather/articles/2005/09/20/rita_strengthens_over_florida_keys/ Strange time to take a walk. MIAMI (Reuters) 4PM EST- Rapidly strengthening Hurricane Rita lashed the low-lying islands of the Florida Keys with squalls on Tuesday and Gulf Coast communities to the west braced for a possible encore to devastating Hurricane Katrina........
Yup, the Keys kinda lucked out, the worst of the storm appears to be south of the center at the moment. Things will probably change as the 'cane gets better organized out over the Gulf. Good luck to you yanks
Heading straight to LA and TX now, as a Cat 4. Hurricane Rita picks up strength after Florida http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20050921.writa0921/BNStory/International/ By MICHELLE SPITZER Wednesday, September 21, 2005 Posted at 8:43 AM EDT Associated Press Key West, Fla. — Hurricane Rita intensified into a category 4 storm Wednesday with wind of 217 kilometres an hour, deepening concerns that the storm could devastate coastal Texas and already-battered Louisiana by week's end. Mandatory evacuations have already been ordered for New Orleans and Galveston, Tex., one day after Rita skirted the Florida Keys as a Category 2 storm, causing minimal damage..............
They are saying most likely this one will make landfall with its full force. Hope it veers to the west a little more where it's more sparsely populated.
WRAPUP 7-Rita heads for Texas as Category 5 hurricane 22 Sep 2005 03:17:44 GM http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N21511741.htm By Mark Babineck GALVESTON, Texas, Sept 21 (Reuters) - Hurricane Rita strengthened on Wednesday into a powerful, intensely dangerous Category 5 storm as it headed toward the Texas coast and prompted evacuation orders for more than a million people. The storm had grown into the third most intense Atlantic hurricane on record as measured by internal pressure, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said. The hurricane center said Rita was "a potentially catastrophic" Category 5 hurricane with maximum sustained winds rising to 175 mph (281 kph) over the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico. That matched the peak strength over water of last month's devastating Hurricane Katrina, which hit land as a Category 4 storm with 145-mph (233-kph) winds. A hurricane watch was issued for the U.S. Gulf Coast from Fort Mansfield Texas, to Cameron, Louisiana. Rita was expected to come ashore late on Friday or early on Saturday as a "major hurricane ... at (Category 3) or higher," hurricane center forecaster Robbie Berg said............
1938 NE Atlantic Coast Hurricane Note the eye-witness reports of looting. Human behavior is timeless.
Speaking of human behaviors, here's a few pics, pre-Rita . Boys playing with Rita in Cuba. Boarding up at Galveston. Taking a one more walk before leaving the beach? Traffic on 45.
Hurrican Rita is now the strongest hurricane ever. Some are calling it Cat 6. Here's an article on the 1900 hurricane and Galveston. In Galveston, Rita conjures images of 1900 hurricane http://www.bradenton.com/mld/bradenton/news/nation/12706393.htm BY OFELIA CASILLAS Chicago Tribune GALVESTON, Texas - (KRT) - A sea wall rising 16 feet above the glistening Gulf of Mexico stands as a reminder of the 1900 hurricane that killed 8,000 residents and destroyed this island, transforming it from booming ship port to a place where tourists remember the past. Hurricane Rita, with its 165 mph winds, now threatens this community of seaside hotels, where windows with panoramic views are obscured by plywood. Under Wednesday's clear blue skies, residents placed dogs in carriers and packed family photographs and mementos, leaving Victorian homes to beat a mandatory 6 p.m. evacuation. A town that for so long has commemorated its destruction - the local "Great Storm" Theater regularly plays 30 minutes of images, writings and sounds of the 1900 hurricane, its aftermath and rebuilding - was preparing to relive it. "The images of the devastation of 1900 are always with us. It's engraved in our collective consciousness even more than most communities," said Marsh Davis, executive director of the Galveston Historical Foundation. "Time has caught up with us, and we are facing the first evacuation here in 20 years." Recent images of Hurricane Katrina's ruin have been adequate warning for this island's residents, who have grown up with daily reminders of the 1900 hurricane. Ten miles of sea wall separate residents from the Gulf, and plaques mark the homes that survived the storm a century ago, more than 2,000 of which were elevated in the 1900s to protect them from future storms. The local museum features an ongoing storm exhibit, and pictures on the walls of restaurants depict the storm's destruction. A large, fading granite stone in a local cemetery memorializes those who perished in the hurricane. For the 100th anniversary of that storm, a sculpture was added to the sea wall - of a man holding his wife and child and raising one arm to the sky. "It's an event that people talk about," Davis said. "It was the defining moment for this community." Galveston had been a major ship port prior to the 1900 hurricane, local historians said, and at the time residents felt their town could overcome anything, even a threatening storm. But the storm quickly whipped into the equivalent of a Category 3 or 4 hurricane, devastating the island, which was less than 9 feet above sea level and completely vulnerable, historians said. The storm surged nearly 16 feet at an estimated 140 mph, killing 8,000 of the town's 37,000 residents and destroying 3,600 buildings, according to historical data. Galveston's strong economy was reason to rebuild in a hurry. Three ships dredged sand from a Galveston bayou and pumped it through canals dug into sections of the island. Homeowners elevated their structures on screwjacks or filled in their basements to raise their homes, said Christy Carl, director of the Galveston County Historical Museum. The work that began in 1902 was mostly paid for by the city through the sale of bonds, with some tax relief from the state, Carl said. When the work was complete, the highest level of the sea wall was 17 feet above sea level, sloping to sea level to the harbor on the north side. At the same time, however, Houston had begun to build a ship channel closer to railroads. That city replaced Galveston as Texas' major port. "That was the end of Galveston's eminence as the Gulf seaport," Davis said. "It recovered, but certainly it was never going to be what it was before." With fewer than 60,000 residents today, Galveston continues as a port but lives off tourists who come to appreciate its beaches and rich historical architecture. "Storms can shift economies," Carl said. "It's where you just have to try to make the lemonade out of the lemons as best you can." Even before the 1900 storm, Galveston was the site of a medical college, now the University of Texas Medical Branch - the island's major employer and research center, Carl said. Because the community had little money, Carl said, many old buildings were left standing and eventually were renovated. They now represent "one of the highest concentrations of Victorian homes in America," Carl said. "It's really shifted from a port as its base to really almost a service industry.".................
Thank God. The worst case senario didn't materilize. Houston Evacuees Start Trip Home as Rita Cleanup, Rescue Begins http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000103&sid=aADlfYrrmA9g&refer=us Sept. 25 (Bloomberg) -- Thousands of Houston evacuees, spared the worst of Hurricane Rita, began to return home today as U.S. President George W. Bush toured areas of coastal Texas and Louisiana, where some areas were flooded by storm surges as high as 15 feet. Residents of the northwest quadrant of Houston, the nation's fourth-largest city, are the first to be allowed to return. The oil-refining centers around Houston and Galveston, source of about 12 percent of U.S. supply, weren't as hard hit as expected after Rita veered to the north. The $6 billion in claims insurers are expected to face is well below estimated damage from Katrina. Bush will be briefed on Rita recovery efforts today in San Antonio and Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The evacuation of almost 3 million people from the two states ahead of the storm reduced the number of people stranded, reducing the need for the thousands of rescues that were required in Katrina's aftermath..............
Relief as Hurricane Rita peters out 25/09/2005 - 14:03:24 http://breakingnews.iol.ie/news/story.asp?j=67170840&p=67y7yy4z Residents along the Texas and Louisiana coasts began clearing away debris today as crews worked to restore electricity to more than one million customers in four states after Hurricane Rita tore through the US Gulf Coast, causing less damage than feared. The residents breathed a sigh of relief that the devastation caused by the once-dreaded storm was less severe than that caused by Hurricane Katrina. Texas Governor Rick Perry said he saw plenty of damage during a helicopter tour over the Beaumont-Port Arthur area on Saturday, but added: “There’s none of that just-down-to-the-foundation devastation that we saw out of Mississippi” after Katrina. Rita tore down trees, sparked fires across the hurricane zone and swamped Louisiana shoreline towns with a 15ft storm surge that required daring boat and helicopter rescues of hundreds of people. Adam Suire, 77, said he climbed into an oak tree on Friday night with his wife, daughter and son-in-law when Rita flooded his house south of Erath, Louisiana. A coastguard helicopter plucked the battered family from the tree on Saturday afternoon. In Jasper County, within the Piney Woods of East Texas, trees lying over the roads were making it difficult for sheriff’s deputies to check on people. Search and rescue teams working with the Federal Emergency Management Agency arrived late on Saturday in Lake Charles, Louisiana, in a convoy of about a dozen vehicles loaded with water, ready-to-eat meals, medical supplies and fuel. The crews planned to get some rest before getting to work just after dawn today. By contrast to Katrina, with its death toll of more than 1,000, only one death had been reported by Saturday night. One person was killed in Mississippi when a tornado spawned by the hurricane overturned a mobile home. “The damage is not as serious as we had expected it to be,” said David Paulison, acting director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency. “The evacuations worked.” Damage to the vital concentration of oil refineries along the coast appeared relatively light, although industry officials said it was too early to assess whether there would be an impact on oil prices. Valero Energy Corp. said its 255,000-barrel-per-day Port Arthur refinery sustained significant damage to two cooling towers and a flare stack and would need at least two weeks for repairs. Rita roared ashore before dawn on Saturday close to the Texas-Louisiana border as a Category 3 hurricane with top winds of 120 mph and warnings of up to 25 inches of rain. By early today, it was a tropical depression with top sustained winds of 20 mph located about 20 miles southeast of Hot Springs, Arkansas. Some of the worst flooding occurred along the Louisiana coast, where floodwaters were nine feet deep near the town of Abbeville. In Cameron Parish, sheriff’s deputies watched appliances and what appeared to be parts of homes swirling in the waters of the Intracoastal Waterway. About 500 people were rescued from high waters south of New Orleans, some by helicopters. Another 15 to 25 people were reported stranded farther west along the shoreline of Vermilion Parish, but searches were postponed until Sunday because of high winds. Elsewhere, a portion of Interstate 10 over the Calcasieu River in Lake Charles was closed after barges broke loose from their moorings and slammed into the bridge. New Orleans, devastated by Katrina barely three weeks ago, endured a second straight day of new flooding that could seriously disrupt recovery plans. The Army Corps of Engineers said it would need at least two weeks to pump water from the most heavily flooded neighbourhoods – notably the impoverished Lower Ninth Ward – after crews plug a series of levee breaches. Texas officials planned for an orderly return of the nearly three million people who had fled ahead of the menacing storm, setting up regions that would reopen to evacuees on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday. President Bush, mindful of criticism the federal government was slow to respond to Hurricane Katrina three weeks ago, visited the Texas emergency operations centre in Austin on Saturday. Like other officials, Bush urged citizens not to prematurely assume the danger was over. “Even though the storm has passed the coastline, the situation is still dangerous because of potential flooding,” he said. “People who are safe now ought to remain in safe conditions.”................
We're back home and safe. We missed that crazy 24 hour traffic because we left early enough. We went up to East Texas which ended up bearing the brunt of the rain, but as soon as it stopped raining and being windy, we jumped back in the car and headed home. I certainly didn't want to get stuck on the freeway coming back. We got some branches down and that's it. We aren't exactly supposed to be here right now, but I don't care. I wanted to sleep in my own bed. We ended up getting a lucky break when it turned further east. I was so scared Wed when I saw it had gone to a cat 5 and was headed straight for Galveston. Luckily, it weakened alot before it hit Pt. Arthur, which is about 60 miles away from us. So yeah, I'm fine.
Wilma to close the season? http://today.reuters.com/business/newsarticle.aspx?type=tnBusinessNews&storyID=nN17340063 Wilma Forms, Tying 1933 Atlantic Ocean Hurricane Season Record Oct. 17 (Bloomberg) -- The Atlantic Ocean hurricane season tied a 1933 record for the busiest ever as Tropical Storm Wilma formed today over the Caribbean Sea, causing crude oil and natural gas prices to rise. Wilma was about 220 miles (354 kilometers) south-southeast of Grand Cayman at 11 a.m. Miami time, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said in an online advisory. The system is the 21st named tropical storm of the 2005 hurricane season.........
Wilma is following a similar path to last year's Charley, headed toward Florida, which has been lucky so far this season. Wilma set to become 'intense' hurricane in northwest Caribbean Sea 10.18.2005, 10:18 AM http://www.forbes.com/finance/feeds/afx/2005/10/18/afx2283275.html MIAMI (AFX) - Tropical Storm Wilma, the 21st storm of the Atlantic season, is expected to develop into an 'intense' hurricane as early as today, weather officials said. 'Wilma is expected to become an intense hurricane in the northwestern Caribbean Sea,' the Miami-based US National Hurricane Center said in a statement. At 1200 GMT, the center of the storm was located some 210 miles (335 kilometers) east-northeast of Cabo Gracias a Dios on the Nicaragua/Honduras border, and maximum sustained winds had reached 70 miles (110 kilometers) per hour. The storm had been creeping northwestward and was expected to continue moving to the west-northwest over the next 24 hours, the hurricane center said. 'Tropical storm-force winds associated with Wilma are expanding ... and now extend outward up to 125 miles (200 kilometers) from the center,' it added. The storm, matching a record set during the 1933 Atlantic hurricane season, in which there were 21 storms, gathered force in the Caribbean on Monday, threatening storm-battered Central America and pushing oil prices up sharply. The storm threatened Honduras, where authorities issued a red alert and prepared for evacuations. Authorities in neighboring Nicaragua and El Salvador kept a close eye on the storm's course, while rain was already falling on Cuba, which prepared to evacuate four southern provinces threatened with floods. A tropical storm warning and hurricane watch remained in effect for the Cayman Islands. Forecasters said the storm could enter the Gulf of Mexico this week and threaten the hurricane-battered US Gulf Coast, which is still clearing up after Hurricane Katrina killed more than 1,200 people before being followed by Hurricane Rita. Wilma also raised concerns regarding oil production in the Gulf of Mexico.........
There is still a possiblity that Wilma could pull a Mitch and go south. I want one more storm just so we can have Alpha.
Oh, by the way, this is now a cat 5 storm. 892 mb central pressure! http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/text/refresh/MIATCUAT4+shtml/190629.shtml
Wilma Now Most Intense Atlantic Storm Ever Wilma's confirmed pressure readings Wednesday morning dropped to 882 millibars — the lowest minimum pressure ever measured in a hurricane in the Atlantic basin, according to the hurricane center. Lower pressure translates into higher wind speed. Forecasters said Wilma was stronger than the devastating Labor Day hurricane that hit the Florida Keys in 1935, the strongest Atlantic hurricane to make landfall on record. But Wilma wasn't expected to keep its record strength for long, as higher disruptive atmospheric winds in the Gulf of Mexico around the hurricane should weaken it before landfall, said Hugh Cobb, a meteorologist at the hurricane center. The hurricane before Wilma was Vince and it was the first ever recorded hurricane in that area, 600 miles east of the Azores pointing towards Portugal and Spain (where luckily it arrived significantly weakened). One record is statistics, 2 records is odd, a big serie of odd records is alarming.
I knew I was nervous yesterday with good reason. May it diminish equally as quickly as it strengthened. It shouldn't be forgotton that last season southern Brasil received its first ever recorded ts/hurricane.