I should have taken more pictures when I was in New Orleans on Friday. At least I got to go to Cafe du Monde...
I have a lot of extended family around Gonzales (Baton Rouge) I hope they are going to be safe. The obvious focus is NO, but so much of that region is nothing more than sea level river delta -- I can't even imagine what it's going to look like on Tue.
actually if it stays right were it is that is the dooms day senario. That would cause the north winds to push the P lake south into NO and the storm would push the Missippii river up into NO therefore NO more NO.
the Superdome was built in the early 70s.. what scares me is that the roof was designed to buckle/move up to 3 inches with changing weather conditions (heat/cold, etc).. that might be a big problem with winds that strong..
http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/text/refresh/MIATCPAT2+shtml/241445.shtml Some of you are showing fake links and passing them off as official statements... poor humor for such a serious event.
I sincerely hope any Clutchfans in New Orleans have gotten out. I've always liked New Orleans and I hope the damage isn't going to be too bad and the city recovers. Its almost painful to think about the potential loss of life and damage to a great historic city. I wish I could go down and help sandbag.
The NWS has issued special warning statements for my area (Jonesboro, AR) because of the effects Katrina might bring Monday - Wednesday. I know we won't get anything near as bad as N.O. though.
Who? I assumed a link from http://www.srh.noaa.gov/ (The National Weather Service Southern Region) would be legit. Unless you aren't talking to me.
There was one hazard I forgot and that is ants and I got this quote from CNN: "He went further. "So, imagine you're the poor person who decides not to evacuate: Your house will disintegrate around you. The best you'll be able to do is hang on to a light pole, and while you're hanging on, the fire ants from all the mounds -- of which there is two per yard on average -- will clamber up that same pole. And, eventually, the fire ants will win."
Normally, I am the first person to talk about the overdramatazation of new stories by the media. However, in this case, I don't think anyone is exaggerating. The scenarios discussed for NOLA in the event of a cat. 4 or 5 hurricane are based on sound science and have been known about for years. If Katrina crosses over NOLA or close to it (especially to the west), and that is looking more and more likely, it is entirely possible that the city of New Orleans could be under 30 feet or more of water by tomorrow afternoon.
http://www.srh.noaa.gov/showsigwx.p...ans+Parish&product1=Hurricane+Local+Statement Hurricane Local Statement LAZ038-040-050-056>070-MSZ080>082-290800- HURRICANE KATRINA LOCAL STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NEW ORLEANS LA 1030 PM CDT SUN AUG 28 2005 ...DIRECT STRIKE OF POTENTIALLY CATASTROPHIC AND LIFE THREATENING HURRICANE EXPECTED LATE TONIGHT AND EARLY MONDAY... ...RUSH PROTECTIVE MEASURES TO COMPLETION... ...HURRICANE WARNING IN EFFECT FOR SOUTHEAST LOUISIANA AND COASTAL MISSISSIPPI FROM MORGAN CITY EAST TO THE ALABAMA FLORIDA BORDER.... ...HURRICANE FORCE WINDS EXPECTED ALONG SOUTHEAST LOUISIANA COAST AROUND MIDNIGHT THEN SPREADING INLAND... ...AREAS AFFECTED... IN SOUTHEAST LOUISIANA...THE FOLLOWING PARISHES ASSUMPTION...ST JAMES...ST JOHN THE BAPTIST...ST CHARLES... ST BERNARD...TERREBONNE...ORLEANS...JEFFERSON...PLAQUEMINE... LAFOURCHE...ST TAMMANY...TANGIPAHOA...LIVINGSTON. IN COASTAL MISSISSIPPI...THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES HANCOCK...HARRISON...JACKSON ...WATCHES AND WARNINGS... A HURRICANE WARNING IS IN EFFECT FROM EAST OF MORGAN CITY EAST TO THE ALABAMA-FLORIDA BORDER AREA. THIS INCLUDES THE METRO NEW ORLEANS AREA...AND THE MISSISSIPPI COAST. AN INLAND HURRICANE WARNING IS ALSO IN EFFECT FOR AREAS AWAY FROM THE COAST. A FLOOD WATCH IS IN EFFECT FOR MOST OF SOUTHEAST LOUISIANA AND EXTREME SOUTHERN MISSISSIPPI TONIGHT. A TORNADO WATCH IS IN EFFECT THROUGH 200 AM MONDAY. ...STORM INFORMATION... AT 1000 PM CDT...THE CENTER OF HURRICANE KATRINA WAS LOCATED NEAR LATITUDE 27.6 NORTH...LONGITUDE 89.4 WEST OR ABOUT 105 MILES SOUTH SOUTHEAST OF NEW ORLEANS. MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS ARE NEAR 160 MPH...WITH HIGHER GUSTS. HURRICANE KATRINA IS A CATEGORY FIVE HURRICANE ON THE SAFFIR SIMPSON SCALE. SOME FLUCTUATIONS IN STRENGTH ARE LIKELY AS THE HURRICANE APPROACHES THE COAST. KATRINA IS EXPECTED TO MAKE LANDFALL AS A CATEGORY FOUR OR FIVE HURRICANE PACKING SUSTAINED 160 MPH WINDS. HURRICANE KATRINA IS MOVING TOWARD THE NORTH NORTHWEST NEAR 10 MPH AND A GRADUAL TURN TOWARD THE NORTH IS EXPECTED LATER TONIGHT AND MONDAY. ...PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... PROTECT YOU AND YOUR FAMILY. FOLLOW LOCAL EMERGENCY MANAGERS RECOMMENDATIONS. WITH THE APPROACH OF HURRICANE FORCE WINDS AND HEAVY SQUALLS PEOPLE ARE URGED TO SEEK REFUGE OF LAST RESORT IN STRONG REINFORCED BUILDINGS. IF LIFE THREATENING STORM SURGE FLOODING DEVELOPS...MOVE TO HIGHER FLOORS OR HOUSE ATTICS. BRING TOOLS TO MAKE AN EMERGENCY EXIT SHOULD THESE HIGHER FLOORS OR ATTICS BECOME INUNDATED. ...STORM SURGE FLOOD AND STORM TIDE IMPACTS... KATRINA IS EXPECTED TO MAKE LANDFALL ALONG THE NORTHERN GULF OF MEXICO COAST AS A CATASTROPHIC AND LIFE THREATENING HURRICANE. WHILE EXACT LANDFALL OF LANDFALL IS UNCERTAIN AT THIS TIME...SIGNIFICANT AND LIFE THREATENING STORM SURGE 18 TO 22 FEET ABOVE NORMAL. A FEW AREAS MAY EXPERIENCE STORM SURGE FLOODING AS HIGH AS 28 FEET ALONG WITH LARGE AND DANGEROUS BATTERING WAVES NEAR AND TO THE EAST OF WHERE THE CENTER MAKES LANDFALL. SECONDARY ROADS ALONG THE COAST AND OUTSIDE LEVEE PROTECTION AREA WILL BECOME IMPASSABLE IN THE NEXT SEVERAL HOURS. ...WIND IMPACTS... KATRINA HAS EVOLVED INTO A LARGE HURRICANE WITH HURRICANE FORCE WINDS EXTENDING AROUND 100 MILES FROM THE CENTER. TROPICAL STORM FORCE WINDS ARE OCCURRING OVER MUCH OF THE COASTAL AREA. HURRICANE FORCE WINDS WILL SPREAD INTO COASTAL SOUTHEAST LOUISIANA SHORTLY BEFORE MIDNIGHT AND INTO MUCH OF THE REMAINDER AREA BY 400 AM CDT. HURRICANE FORCE WINDS WILL PERSIST OVER MUCH OF THE REGION THROUGH EARLY MONDAY AFTERNOON. KATRINA IS FORECAST TO MOVE ASHORE AS A CATEGORY FOUR OR FIVE HURRICANE...SIMILAR IN STRENGTH TO HURRICANE CAMILLE IN 1969. WINDS ASSOCIATED CATEGORY 4 AND CATEGORY 5 HURRICANE CAN TOTALLY DESTROY MOBILE HOMES AND POORLY CONSTRUCTED DWELLINGS...AND CAUSE MAJOR DAMAGE TO EVEN WELL CONSTRUCTED BUILDINGS. HIGHER WIND SPEEDS WILL BE SIGNIFICANTLY STRONGER ON UPPER FLOORS OF TALL BUILDINGS CAUSING DAMAGE. ...TORNADOES... A TORNADO WATCH HAS BEEN ISSUED FOR MUCH OF SOUTHEAST LOUISIANA AND COASTAL MISSISSIPPI FOR THIS EVENING DUE TO THE THREAT OF TORNADOES. THE THREAT OF TORNADOES WILL CONTINUE THROUGHOUT THE NIGHT ACROSS THE AREA. ...RAINFALL... RAINFALL TOTALS OF 8 TO 10 INCHES...WITH ISOLATED MAXIMUM AMOUNTS OF 15 INCHES...ARE POSSIBLE. ...NEXT UPDATE... THE NEXT LOCAL STATEMENT WILL BE ISSUED AROUND 230 AM CDT. ---------------------------------------------- No where does it mention, "pets being killed if struck..." or other extremes that the article you posted shows. If we click on your link, the page has no logos or any resemblance to the link i have attached. I am sure there will be quite a few "altered" reports spammed all day tommoroow....
I heard that the latest estimates think it will weaken to a strong cat 4 by the time it makes landfall. Maybe a little good news, but the winds aren't what NOLA needs to be concerned with.
Katrina our "Asian tsunami" Some 25 feet of standing water is expected in many parts of the city -- almost twice the height of the average home -- and computer models suggest that more than 80 percent of buildings would be badly damaged or destroyed, he said. (Watch a report on the worst-case scenario) Floodwaters from the east will carry toxic waste from the "Industrial Canal" area, nicknamed after the chemical plants there. From the west, floodwaters would flow through the Norco Destrehan Industrial Complex, which includes refineries and chemical plants, said van Heerden, who has studied computer models about the impact of a strong hurricane for four years. "These chemical plants are going to start flying apart, just as the other buildings do," he predicted. "So, we have the potential for release of benzene, hydrochloric acid, chlorine and so on." That could result in severe air and water pollution, he said. In New Orleans, which lies below sea level, gas and diesel tanks are all located above ground for the same reason that bodies are buried above ground. In the event of a flood, "those tanks will start to float, shear their couplings, and we'll have the release of these rather volatile compounds," van Heerden added. Because gasoline floats on water, "we could end up with some pretty severe and large -- area-wise -- fires." "So, we're looking at a bowl full of highly contaminated water with contaminated air flowing around and, literally, very few places for anybody to go where they'll be safe." He went further. "So, imagine you're the poor person who decides not to evacuate: Your house will disintegrate around you. The best you'll be able to do is hang on to a light pole, and while you're hanging on, the fire ants from all the mounds -- of which there is two per yard on average -- will clamber up that same pole. And, eventually, the fire ants will win."
