heh...we rode that one out at a friends house in Pasadena...we were stupid tho...during a lull in the storm...we were outside drinking and running around looking at the downed limbs. Thankfully....FEMA decided we were in a flood plain a couple years back..so we were forced to buy flood insurance. I certainly wouldnt have otherwise since this part of the neighborhood has never flooded. So Im prepared...got water...food and a pit I can cook on if power is out for any length of time. If it looks especially bad...Strong Cat 4 or better...we have a place in Livingston we can go to...I aint leaving unless it is strong Cat 4 or better...
I remember Alicia. Our electricity was out on my side of the street for two and a half weeks afterwards. No AC in the sweltering heat! The other side of the street had their electricity stay on the whole time. What a pisser.
There won't be mandatory evacuations of Houston. Certain areas that are very near the water - League City, Clear Lake, ship channel area - will likely be told to leave, but the reason people are evacuated is to avoid storm surge. We won't have those issues here.
Hear is another good sattelite link of the Gulf of Mexico... Here she comes boys... http://www.ssd.noaa.gov/PS/TROP/DATA/RT/gmex-vis-loop.html
According to one of the hurricane experts' blogs, Rita will likely be declared a hurricane within the next hour by the NHC. Forecast track has shifted to the west and south a bit as Rita has taken a wobble to the south and they are still in very good agreement of a landfall around Galveston on Saturday morning as a mid-level category 3 hurricane, probably similar in strength and size to Hurricane Alicia in 1983 and possibly in almost the exact same location. Great.
That Alicia thing is not cool. But I would like to say thanks to jeff , madmax, etc... for all of your information and insight.
Just FYI, Alicia came on shore with winds just over 100 knots or right around 120mph. Predictions for Rita are 105 knots or just about 125mph or so. Obviously, a lot can change in a few days, but just figured I'd give a little historical references for those of you who lived through Alicia (like me) remember what that was like.
Being that im currently living in a trailer ...im considering reserving a room out of town for Friday night how far inland would be relatively safe? Waco? Bryan?
I'm sure Bryan/CS would be more than far enough. We might get some good rain...but we are far inland.
Voluntary evacuation of Galveston, BEGINS NOW! http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/topstory/3360091
Really, anything north and west of the Conroe area would probably be more than fine. Conroe and Montgomery are around 100 miles from the coast. In a cat. 3 storm, you are looking at potentially hurricane force winds and some rain, but not what you would see closer to the coast. Most of Houston proper will be fine. We'll lose some trees, have roof damage, standard stuff in a cat. 3. But, you might not want to sit through it.
I live in Galveston and they said that ball high school might close down tomorrow. Depends on the situation. I like the fact I get out of school but dont want all my stuff gone. My parents are getting supplies and getting ready. I just dont want to be like the NO people and move to a new place. I hope this is just a minor hurricane. New York,Waco, and Baltimore are the likely places I would move to.. mybe Houston if it doesnt strike their that bad. -Lal Salam (maybe for the last time ...j/k )
O crap... I just remembered that my parents work at UTMB and that they might need to stay behind during the Hurricane. Hope not. Man im getting worried. -Lal Salam (told u the last post wouldnt be the last )
holy crap.. galveston is already evacuating? has this thing even hit florida yet? how accurate are these path predictions??
They aren't perfect, but keep in mind we're talking about a low-lying coastal city that only needs this storm to hit within 100 miles of it for it to cause a tremendous amount of flooding. Given what happened with Katrina, caution is most certainly in order. Model guidance on this thing has been remarkably steady since last night. We'll know for sure by Wednesday where this thing is going as it is likely to pick up a little forward speed once it gets into the gulf. We'll also get a better idea of how much it will strengthen.
Did you hear the tornado that went through Webster? I did and I was about 2 miles away. It was a religious experience. We made through the storm with power. I walked around my apartment after the storm and remember a ton of dust in the air, which punished my allergies without mercy. When I got back to my apartment, HLP had turned off my power, the bastards.
man,....Im glad we havent moved the trailer back out to the West end beach lot.. the last tropical storm to come close damn near wiped out the front row of lots out there...ours was on the second row. Unless it gets much stronger than predicted...looks like Ill be riding this one out. Im far enough off the bay to where the surge shouldnt bother us...wind damage is something different tho...but what the hell..Im insured.
