farkerintx:
rita#tracert houston

no, more like:

rita#ping -f houston

I'm on my way down to LaPorte to try and force my ex father in law and his 95 year old Mom to evacuate to our house in far NW Houston. I can get Gramma over my shoulder but Bob weighs about 300. May have to drag him to the car.

Miss Surreal: I mean come on Texas is huge, and not one hotel is available?

Did you not read my post. Yes, all the hotels are full.
Spare room, Austin. Don't know what the hotels in Houston are gonna do. Or the AstroDome.

That headline is wrong. Still a cat 4.

Veratyr: Feel free to address my grandparents in this thread, and please, keep it clean.

Fighting... desire... to... curse.

No really folks. Imagine for a second how your grandchild will feel FOREVER if something bad happens to you. Now get the heck out of there.

KidneyStone: Hey hurricane budette. At least we have nothin to worry about this time around, although my place was on the Northern tip of the TS warning area (Zzzzz).


Yes, yes that is true. My God woman, what the hell is going to happen to all those people though? Its like the entire gulf coast has been handed its ass in the past year!

Veratyr: Feel free to address my grandparents in this thread, and please, keep it clean.

This is not a media event, and the people who were harmed in New Orleans, weren't just unlucky, or stupid, or too poor to get on a bus. This is the way of these things every where they strike. It is, without question, the worst thing nature can throw at you, short of a cataclysmic earthquake, which is much kinder, because at least you are dead or not dead, or on the way to one or the other, right away.

There will be no power, no people, and no goverment for weeks. Do not trust in the Federal Goverment. You are in Texas and for goddamn sure should now better than to place your trust in a bunch of suits from Washington. I don;t give a damn if the President and Vice President are from Texas - this will not help you.

You are going to be looking at the destruction of everything there is around you, and there is so much more to life than this. There are places where you, and your family can be safe, and watch this thing from a distance. Where you are now is part of the past, and it has been since this storm started to turn towards you. Best get on with it and start missing it now.

You will get a lot of money to be somewhere else. It will take about a year for this money to get put together, but it will come. Its also selfish to stay when these things come about, because some idiot will end up risking thier life to make sure you are allright. If you don't give a damn about yourself, thing about the jackass that probably flew in from somewhere North to be a hero at your expense.

Its your own fault for living close to the coast, that's true. But you can't have known that something like this would have happened, not in your lifetime, or your children's lifetime, so its forgiveable. People did not used to plant down and stay in one spot much in the south. I am guessing this is why.

ExJerseyGirl: That headline is wrong. Still a cat 4.


Not according to weather underground. As of 5pm it will be classed a five, NOAA is having shiat with its planes at the moment.

Well according to the offical guidelines of racial evacuation it is as follows.
White
Oriental
Hispanic
C.H.U.D.s
Others(people not mentioned elsewhere on the list)
Deep Ones
Blacks
American Indians
Middle Easterns

/is being humourous note is only for the humor impared who will accuse racism.

cahier and other Houston TF'ers, joking aside, good luck and be safe. I realised tonight how much it sucks when 'one of us' takes the long trip. Be cool all.

Too all residents on the Texas coast, head in the opposite direction of this guy:

Why do residents in Florida only have 2 days to evacuate but Texas is evacuating almost 5 days before it hits? I mean, I understand evacuating and all, but that's a long time for it to turn and go somewhere else. Mass hysteria used to occur 24 hours before it hits, now it happens a week before.

I guess I've been through too many hurricanes without a scratch to understand...

Latest pressure on Rita now at 920 mb, this is lower Hurricane Andrew in FL and only 2 above Katrina at landfall. Latest flight level winds from the aircraft is 175 MPH, roughly equates to 150 MPH at the surface. This storm probably a category 5 on next advisory, haven't crunched the numbers but the return period on two category 5 storms in the Gulf in one season is something north of once every 250 years! Of all the storms I've studied and forecasted for only a few look as symmetrical as Rita, other one being Katrina. Perhaps most amazing statistic I can note is that the storm has deepened 50 mb in 24 hours, a phenomenal rate!

How does the new data look
Where? All the latest models agree on a swath between Port O'Conner and Galveston.this is not a new development, only the Navy NOGAPS made a sizeable switch, from a Corpus landfall last night to now Port O'Conner. Our attached briefing looks at three scenarios for wind and wave implications in Texas, notably two of them (Port O'Conner and Freeport) advertise widespread destruction near the coast and under the Freeport scenario in the Houston area.

When? This is one factor that is not in great doubt, most of the models advertise early on Saturday, we believe that landfall will be closer to midnight on Friday night..after midday on Friday conditions deteriorate rapidly in the Houston area. All preparations to secure life and property should be rushed to completion on Thursday.

How Strong? Rita will be a category 5 storm through Thursday but with still 60 hours to go before landfall there is time for multiple changes in strength, storms rarely stay at category 5 more than 24 hours. Also, once Rita gets over the relatively cool waters near the coast some weakening is likely. However, it is safe to assume that Rita will be a solid category 4 at landfall, weaker than what we see now but by no means a wimpy storm.

We prefer not to call an exact landfall point but to echo the ideas earlier today that the highest risk is from Port O'Conner to Matagorda with a high risk extending north to Galveston. The timing of the wide sweeping turn (yes, and it will turn) to the northwest is critical because a slower turn and impact is near Port O'Conner and if that is the case then Houston escapes catastrophic damage. However, we will not know the timing of the curve north until Thursday night. Our bias is slight and remains that the actual track may be a bit west and south of what the official track calls for nowbut not by more than 20-30 miles.

The margin here is razor thin..differences of only 40-50 miles make a huge difference in terms of wind and water. The water problems are limited to coastal locations and within a few miles of Galveston Bay. This is not an Allison remake for metro Houston, rain amounts likely to be in the 10-15" range under the worst of circumstances. Coastal areas are a different story, winds in Galveston will exceed 170 mph and surge of 20' with a Freeport landfall and 100-130 mph and 15' surge with a Matagorda landfall. Only a landfall near Port O'Conner and south will lower the risk substantially.

What about metro Houston? Inside the loop a landfall in the Freeport area is likely to bring 120 MPH winds inside the loop and some substantial over wash of water into eastern and southern suburbs from Galveston Bay the ship channel.

in the words of our fearless leader:

BRING IT ON!

/now watch this dive...... *ker-splash*

//seriously though, be safe out there folks

Veratyr

faethe said it best. Get them out of there.

and yes, it is a Cat5.

Pxtl:
I live in the Lake Superior Thunder Bay. Although your point is still correct. No tsunamis here either.
I didn't even know there was a thunder bay on lake huron. Clearly they must be destroyed.

/Faster, FASTER! FOR CANADA!

God, I usually love being right, but in this case, it isn't such a great feeling. Predicting this storm to become the monster it now is was bitter-sweet. Now I predict it will turn northward faster, which means it will strike a portion of the coastline where perhaps people are less aware of this potential catastrophe than elsewhere (and, an added caveat, the NOLA area is at greater risk for surge).

For Nutsac_Jim and all the other dingbats saying that the response will be better to "save whitey", the strike zone is going to be Matagorda Bay...my hometown. Trust me, between hispanics and asians, Whitey is the minority.

Don't bother stopping in CT...just keep moving...

RabidDog:


Did you not read my post. Yes, all the hotels are full.
Spare room, Austin. Don't know what the hotels in Houston are gonna do. Or the AstroDome

Lovely of you to offer, but its 3 of us and two huge dogs.

Screw it im going out of state...

Apparantly opening up a hotel in Texas would be a lucrative plan, since it seems we *dont have any*.

borednaked - What about a forest fire? How many forest fires were there in NW Ontario this summer? It's only a matter of time before one hits T.Bay.

Finding a hotel in texas to evacuate to is becoming a problem...

Either its filled up with Katrina evacuees or filled up with evacuees from this hurricane.

I mean come on Texas is huge, and not one hotel is available?

Yeah, I just checked too, nothing, nada zilch...wow.

Thanks all for the posts. :)

Maybe I'll be able to use them to thrust some sense in their senescent, obstinate heads.

Im going to call Australia collect pretty soon!

We need you to check your hurricanes and tell us which way the water is going, and please! Stand clear.

/do hurricanes in the southern hemisphere spin counter clockwise?
//which direction does water drain on the equator?

Good luck everyone.

JOHNDX: Yeah, I just checked too, nothing, nada zilch...wow.


Where all did you check? all the major cities?

Old and busted ...

KatrinaHelp.info
KatForumOnline.com
KatrinaShelter.com

New hotness...

???
???

Miss Surreal:

Lovely of you to offer, but its 3 of us and two huge dogs.

Screw it im going out of state...

It's your call. I have a big house, 2 empty rooms, big back yard. Just stay safe.

Kurland

Do Deep Ones really need evacuating?

/Ia! Ia!

nerfball: Also, once Rita gets over the relatively cool waters near the coast some weakening is likely.


Have you looked at the buoys? The water near the coasts is WARMER than it is in the deep gulf.

Nutsac_Jim:

Of course, it will go into texas, and then the gov't will have learned its lesson and send aid quickly... further adding fire
to the conspiracy theory that 'the gov't sends aid to whitey the quickest.'

I'm looking forward to the Religious Right blaming it on the gays.

...run for the hills.

And if you're a Katrina refugee holed up in Texas: May I suggest a move to Wyoming?

Good grief no! Wyoming has a huge fricken VOLCANO, God's already mad enough to send two hurricanes after them, sending them to the mountain of fire is a just a bad idea...

SpillyFarker:

JOHNDX: Yeah, I just checked too, nothing, nada zilch...wow.

Where all did you check? all the major cities

I dont know about him, but ive checked everywhere....literally. Thats in my price range. I may have to bite the bullet and pay for an expensive hotel or just leave the state. If anyone has a lead on an available non expensive hotel somewhere out of the strike zone that will take a dog...feel free to share.

More bad hurricane song lyrics, while we watch the price of gas go up and up....

Galveston, oh Galveston, I still hear your sea winds blowin'
I still see her dark eyes glowin'
She was 21 when I left Galveston

Galveston, oh Galveston, I still hear your sea waves crashing
While I watch the cannons splashing
I clean my gun and dream of Galveston

I still see her standing by the water
Standing there lookin' out to sea
And is she waiting there for me?
On the beach where we used to run

Galveston, oh Galveston, I am so afraid of dying
Before I dry the tears she's crying
Before I watch your sea birds flying in the sun
At Galveston, at Galveston

"Bush tells the Republican Jewish Coalition in Washington Tuesday that he is urging people in the path of Hurricane Rita to heed evacuation orders."


But these folks are in Washington. Sounds like he is FoS as usual.....

Hurricane Rita hitting Texico. There's a country song in there somewhere.

Isn't get the hell out of dodge a term that originated in Texas? If so, there could be an ironic tag in the future.

SirKeekles: damn, at least TX isn't a huge bathtub like nawlens is

Point of order: "...like nawlens was."

But I think what every Farker and Farkette are most concerned about is how this affects me, WindBreaker. I've gone to considerable expense to secure lodgings at a resort on Padre Island--just offshore of Corpus Christi--next summer. Is this naughty little storm gonna wipe out that island like it did the barrier islands around N'awlins? 'Cause if it will, then I'd better get on the phone and cancel those reservations.

Pxtl,

Thunder Bay is on lake Superior, not Huron.

/Hamiltonian too
//Hamlton fark party ?

faethe:

Have you looked at the buoys? The water near the coasts is WARMER than it is in the deep gulf.

this is coming off the meteorology desk of one of the energy traders here in houston. the met community is pretty much in agreement that it will be a 3/4 when it makes landfall.

Yeah, this sucks. I'm able to get myself and my mom and my dog out, but my dad and my other pets will have to stay here in Houston, a mile from the bay. We're on the ground floor of an apartment complex. This sucks.

Cat 5 has winds starting at 155 MPH, Rita is now at 150 MPH
so it's safe to say she's on her way to Cat 5 (5 MPH diff)

GGracie - Word is around here in Austin that everything's full for the weekend. I should know, the wife's from Houston and I've got three inlaws coming to my tiny little house.

I may just evacuate to Houston myself.