AmericanIceman

I'm not really sure. Not been watching the news about this one. Quite strange since i'm normally glued to the TV for these things.

This thing has me scared #$&(%less for the people I know over there. :huh: :unsure: <_<

Damnit, What's the chances of another EWR before landfall?

Don't hate me, but is that good or bad?!

I found out that one of my friends was with his brother and heading more North to get away from the storm (since it was supposed to go in South of Houston)...And now the storm looks to be hitting more north. :/ I'm scared they might get stuck in the worst part...on the road.

000 WTNT33 KNHC 220241 TCPAT3 BULLETIN HURRICANE RITA ADVISORY NUMBER 18 NWS TPC/NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER MIAMI FL 10 PM CDT WED SEP 21 2005 ...CATEGORY FIVE RITA CONTINUING TO STRENGTHEN OVER THE CENTRAL GULF OF MEXICO... A HURRICANE WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR THE GULF OF MEXICO COAST FROM PORT MANSFIELD TEXAS TO CAMERON LOUISIANA. A HURRICANE WARNING MAY BE REQUIRED FOR PORTIONS OF THE HURRICANE WATCH AREA THURSDAY MORNING. A TROPICAL STORM WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT ON EITHER SIDE OF THE HURRICANE WATCH AREA... FROM EAST OF CAMERON TO GRAND ISLE LOUISIANA... AND FROM SOUTH OF PORT MANSFIELD TO BROWNSVILLE TEXAS. A TROPICAL STORM WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR THE NORTHEASTERN COAST OF MEXICO FROM RIO SAN FERNANDO NORTHWARD TO THE RIO GRANDE. A HURRICANE WATCH MEANS THAT HURRICANE CONDITIONS ARE POSSIBLE WITHIN THE WATCH AREA...GENERALLY WITHIN 36 HOURS. A TROPICAL STORM WATCH MEANS THAT TROPICAL STORM CONDITIONS ARE POSSIBLE WITHIN THE WATCH AREA...GENERALLY WITHIN 36 HOURS. INTERESTS IN THE NORTHWESTERN GULF OF MEXICO SHOULD MONITOR THE PROGRESS OF POTENTIALLY CATASTROPHIC HURRICANE RITA. FOR STORM INFORMATION SPECIFIC TO YOUR AREA...INCLUDING POSSIBLE INLAND WATCHES AND WARNINGS...PLEASE MONITOR PRODUCTS ISSUED BY YOUR LOCAL WEATHER OFFICE. AT 10 PM CDT...0300Z...THE CENTER OF HURRICANE RITA WAS LOCATED NEAR LATITUDE 24.6 NORTH... LONGITUDE 87.2 WEST OR ABOUT 570 MILES... 915 KM... EAST-SOUTHEAST OF GALVESTON TEXAS AND ABOUT 670 MILES... 1080 KM...EAST-SOUTHEAST OF CORPUS CHRISTI TEXAS. RITA IS MOVING TOWARD THE WEST NEAR 9 MPH ...15 KM/HR...AND THIS GENERAL MOTION AT A SLIGHTLY FASTER FORWARD SPEED IS EXPECTED DURING THE NEXT 24 HOURS. MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS ARE NEAR 175 MPH...280 KM/HR...WITH HIGHER GUSTS. RITA IS A POTENTIALLY CATASTROPHIC CATEGORY FIVE HURRICANE ON THE SAFFIR-SIMPSON SCALE. SOME FLUCTUATIONS IN INTENSITY ARE LIKELY DURING THE NEXT 24 HOURS. HURRICANE FORCE WINDS EXTEND OUTWARD UP TO 70 MILES...110 KM... FROM THE CENTER...AND TROPICAL STORM FORCE WINDS EXTEND OUTWARD UP TO 185 MILES...295 KM. THE ESTIMATED MINIMUM CENTRAL PRESSURE IS 897 MB...26.49 INCHES. THIS MEANS RITA IS THE THIRD MOST INTENSE HURRICANE IN TERMS OF PRESSURE IN THE ATLANTIC BASIN. TIDES ARE CURRENTLY RUNNING NEAR NORMAL ALONG THE MISSISSIPPI AND LOUISIANA COASTS IN THE AREAS AFFECTED BY KATRINA. TIDES IN THOSE AREAS WILL INCREASE UP TO 3 TO 4 FEET AND BE ACCOMPANIED BY LARGE WAVES OVER THE NEXT 24 HOURS... AND RESIDENTS THERE COULD EXPERIENCE SOME COASTAL FLOODING. HEAVY RAINS ASSOCIATED WITH RITA ARE FORECAST TO BEGIN TO AFFECT THE WESTERN AND CENTRAL GULF OF MEXICO COASTAL AREAS THURSDAY NIGHT INTO FRIDAY. RITA IS EXPECTED TO PRODUCE TOTAL RAINFALL ACCUMULATIONS OF 8 TO 12 INCHES WITH ISOLATED MAXIMUM AMOUNTS OF 15 INCHES OVER THE CENTRAL TO UPPER TEXAS COAST. RAINFALL AMOUNTS OF 2 TO 24 INCHES WILL BE POSSIBLE ACROSS SOUTHERN LOUISIANA... INCLUDING THE NEW ORLEANS METROPOLITAN AREA. AFTER RITA MOVES INLAND...TOTAL RAIN ACCUMULATIONS OF 5 TO 10 INCHES WILL BE POSSIBLE OVER EASTERN TEXAS... AND CENTRAL AND EASTERN OKLAHOMA DURING SATURDAY AND SUNDAY. REPEATING THE 10 PM CDT POSITION...24.6 N... 87.2 W. MOVEMENT TOWARD...WEST NEAR 9 MPH. MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS...175 MPH. MINIMUM CENTRAL PRESSURE... 897 MB. AN INTERMEDIATE ADVISORY WILL BE ISSUED BY THE NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER AT 1 AM CDT FOLLOWED BY THE NEXT COMPLETE ADVISORY AT 4 AM CDT. FORECASTER STEWART

175 MPH Winds... 897 mb pressure... Supposed to get stonger still... Track moved north just south of Galveston Bay.. Worst possible thing that could happen.

What do you mean, exactly?

Well, I'm in awe and sorrow. I feel bad for all the folks it's gonna affect, and even know a few of em, that live just south of east Houston. I've talked to part of them, and they're in Austin now. But, I still don't know about the other people I know there, and have no real way of contacting them. So, I just hope they stay safe. Overall though, this thing is quite breath taking. It's amazing how something so....mystifying....can be so cruel. God speed to Texas!

About what?

BAHH! Katrina has already knocked the power out for some here in South Georgia, and we're not even anywhere near this damn storm! My power was out for about 10-15 minutes and has blinked off about 3 times sense they finally came back on. GR!

Bahh! Satelite is out. Some of Katrina's far outter bands are causing a little rain here in Southwest Georgia. Lost my coverage.

Anyone feel that this might not be the last big storm we compare to the 'greats' this year? Got a feeling this is just a tale of what's to come...

New Depression Formed!!!

Last I heard they already ahve 4,000 national guard ready to go in. President Bush has already declared Mississippi & Lousiana a disaster area. First time to ever do this before the storm. Goes to show how bad it's gonna be...

On the SURFACE?!

On WDSU, they said that 902 is the lowest ever in the Gulf?!

Hard to believe something so beautiful and mezmorizing is so hateful and destructive.

The 160kt is Flight Level though, i think which are usually stronger than the actual winds down on the surface.

So the pressure dropped a good bit, but the winds also dropped?! When the pressure drops isn't the wind force supposed to pick up?

Winds are up to 180? Where is that from?

Would be interesting to see how the animals are reacting right now. You always hear about how the animals "sense" disaster before it happens with the Tsunami(SP) or Torandoes. Wonder if they are acting up and heading north with this...

That gave me Chill Bumps. Amazing Grace is one of my favorite songs ever. Shows just how sad this is....

There's another area besides that one down there....

Lots of people think that New Orleans might be sitting under about 20 feet of water in a few days. Wouldn't surprise me if everything plays out like it's looking it might. It was also said that about THOUSANDS upon THOUSANDS of people in New Orleans don't have transportation and are basically trapped in the city. So, they're gonna open the Super Dome as a huge shelter with pickup stations around the town to get people there ASAP. Lots of news crews are setting up at the Super Dome also...Let's hope it holds. PS...They also told the residents to not stay below 2 stories.