Were electricity and running water supplies disrupted for long time during the last major hurricane (Alicia?) hit in Houston? IMO these two are the most important things to keep the entire city from going chaotic in the aftermath of a natural disaster.
Actually, based on the coordinates and the movement (not a sheet of paper), it is moving NW and is SE of High Island. The center point of the cone of uncertainty is currently halfway between High Island and Port Arthur. Staying on its current track would take it over High Island just to the east of the Bolivar Peninsula. Any movement to the north - which is expected and forecast by all models including the NHC consensus - would send it to the right and near Sabine Pass. High pressure to the north and west of the hurricane is still preventing it from making any significant move west. You can see that when you look at how the western side is being compressed on the lastest IR satellite models. That is a combination of high pressure to the northwest and shear from the southwest. Finally, the high pressure that was over Arkansas has begun moving to the east, which is what will ultimately allow Rita to make a move north and then even northeast after landfall. Obviously, no one should let down his/her guard. That is just common sense. Plus, this is still going to cause flooding and a lot of wind for the Houston/Galveston area even if it does come on shore around Sabine Pass. So, caution is most certainly in order.
Has anyone been checking the traffic? I'm looking at the live pics on transtar and it shows empty in Houston Area at least..
The good thing is that we will be on the West side of the storm. Alicia was bad because most people were on the East side of it.
I drove to work at 7:30 this morning going from Clear Lake to downtown and there were only 3 or 4 cars on the road. It was like something out of a movie. (resident evil)
We were without power for four days after Alicia. The power company had to reroute power to our block from the east. The block to our west had every telephone pole taken down by falling trees. That block didn't get power back for almost two weeks. One teacher at my school had no power for three weeks. Even the lines to his house were down. Alicia's eye though past right over west Houston. Hopefully if the models and Jeff are right, then maybe the western part of Harris county will be spared the brunt of the storm. The eastern part of Harris county is in for a much rougher ride. My parents, who live just west of the Heights, are going to ride out the storm tonight at my sisters house out in west Houston off of Kirkwood. All together now, go east Rita, go east.
Ok call me crazy, but anyone else trust Jeff more than any person (OR DOG) on the news these last few days??? Good job with helping us all out with your info Jeff..
Man, I feel terrible for NOLA. Ugh. If anyone cares to look, check out the latest IR satellite loop from Intellicast.com: Link Look at the wobble to the north and almost northeast. Plus, look at how the outflow pattern of the storm to the northwest and southwest is totally being disrupted. It's like a giant hand is holding it back in the northwestern quadrant over central Texas. That is the high that we've talked about. The shear in the southeastern quadrant is really tearing up that bottom left corner. Oh, and thanks Da-Glyde. I'm far from an expert. I'm just a geek who likes the weather. I don't mind saying that this thing scared the bejeezus out of me when it was a cat 5. It is still scary as hell, but all we can do is hope for the best and prepare for the worst.
I'm in Allen, Texas with family. Texas Cable News is simulcasting KHOU, which has been great! We've had Neil Frank on constantly. They were suggesting that winds in west Houston, for example, would be around 75-80 mph if landfall happens where projected at the intensity expected. That's VERY similar to what they were during Alicia which as a low-3, high-2 at landfall. The highest recorded winds on-land during Alicia were around 96 mph. So I'm guessing we're talking about massive power outages for some time. But the good news is we MAY be spared the disaster of a direct hit from a Cat 4 storm. By the way..the evacuation was unreal. 13 hours to get up here. With a 5 year old and a 1 year old, that's no small feat. Lots of family helping us out here, though...very nice.
I certainly do. I also want to say thanks because you have certainly kept me much more informed than any news reports, local or national.
Well I made it to Nacogdoches. I took the wife and I (and 2 cats) 14 hours to get here from Kingwood yesterday. It was insane. I didn't know if we would make it. We got separated from my brother and his girlfriend and they are staying at a shelter in Livingston (it took 7 hours just to get there). Now it looks like we are going to get some of the bad stuff here. My parents are still on their way to Austin and they are past Brenham and might even of got there by now. So I am not that worried about them anymore. I hope we are say here (there are tons of big 'ol trees here) and my borther is safe in Livingston. I still worried about our houses in Clear Lake/ Seabrorok but I am mostly worried about us and my bro in Livingston.
With the track of the hurricane taking it to the east of Houston/Galveston now what can we expect here in the Houston/Pearland area and how long should it last? I am staying in my house in Pearland. Its a relatively new house that was build 3 years ago and neighbors say that all houses in this neighborhood are hurricane reinforced.
It looks like Rita will bring some needed moisture to Arkansas. There is a little good that will come from this but I feel bad for those who will get the worst of it.
Well, considering one of their levees just broke... probably not too great. But at least the city is pretty much evacuated from the last hurricane.
I talked to my mom a little while ago, who evacuated to New Orleans from Sugar Land (Yea, I know ). She said the sky was just cloudy and the flooded area is no where near downtown. Oh, I'm not an incredibly religious person but I just want to take this opportunity to say God Bless to everyone and I pray that EVERYONE remains safe and unharmed.
I have been hearing it from friends and family about my getting hurricane info from a basketball website. This is a truly special place.
Really interesting to watch the satellite imagery over the past few hours. Everyone needs to remember that this storm has tropical storm force winds extend out 150 miles WEST of the storm. Houston is well within that range meaning we'll get sustained 50-60mph winds with gusts up to 70-75mph. Considering this will last between 6 and 8 hours, we'll see a lot of trees down and power outages all over the city. Also, we are talking 10-15 inches of rain over a 24-hour period and some places could get as much as 20. So, don't think that this storm moving to the east of us means we won't have any problems. We will.
