...and your point is???

Good luck to everybody in South Florida. Stay safe!

As for Rita's potential path, how must those New Orleans evacuees be feeling wondering if Rita is bearing down on them? Jeez these folks have been through enough.

Still here in one piece. We're just beginning to get the worst of it.

I'm surprised the power's still up. Surprised but grateful.

Didn't start really blowing here until around 630am...now it's just squally, but we're both off of work today...

Rita was a tropical storm early this morning. By late morning she was upgraded to a category 1 hurricane. Now she's a category 2--amazing.

The dame is getting stronger.

Houston, we have a problem.

Oh, its going to get alot more powerful that this, unfortunately. The hot water in the Gulf of Mexico will make her very very scary come landfall time. Saw Rob Marciano's reports from Key West yesterday on CNN. Look forward to more of him today. wink

[ September 20, 2005, 11:51 AM: Message edited by: puckman1 ]

On screen on CNN: forecasters predict Rita could make landfall near Galveston on Saturday. Earlier it said that Rita is expected to become a category 4 storm. Let's hope it doesn't, or that it weakens before landfall.

Not much happened here. We had about 4-5 hours of squally weather...from the tv reports, it really doesn't look like KW got hit that bad, either, altho KWG could tell us differently...

But MiamiS, the important thing is: was Marciano shirtless in your house?

No Damn it!!

:mad:

That's it Rob! We are SSSOOOOO over! :mad:

Already seen him in one report from Key West. God I would love to be staying in the same hotel he was. eek!

To stay, or not to stay. Looks like it's about to get a little wet in the Bayou City. I live downtown in a building that flooded during Allison a few years back. I'm on the second floor - above the flooding - but several days without electricity and a water-logged car won't make for a very happy Gator in Houston.

Guess we'll see what happens overnight.

The NHC now says there is a distinct possibility that Rita will reach category 5 status. I doubt she'll remain that strong at landfall, but still--a cat. 5 storm again. Whoa!

Rita is now a category 4 storm, and she's got plenty of time to make it to a cat. 5. How strong will she get? eek!

Key West was VERY lucky--only took a glancing blow again. Power's still out at my home but most of the island is electrified again. Lots of tree limbs down, but no structural damage that I noticed on the way to the office this morning.

Now my former home of Houston looks to be in the crosshairs.

Good luck to those in Rita's path now.

Bring it on!

According to the last report I heard on the radio, travel time from Galveston Island to downtown Houston (c. 45 miles) is clocking in at just under four hours. Travel time from Brazoria County (also 45 miles south of Houston) to north Houston is running at 6-7 hours. Travel time from Downtown to Austin (c. 200 miles) is over eight hours. No mandatory evacuation in Houston just yet. I imagine it will take longer to get to Austin tomorrow.

The grocery stores are emptying quickly - no water, potato chips and bread and peanut butter are going quickly, beer and wine are running low. Looks like people are hunkering down for the ride. I just paid $27 for a flashlight. It's a helluva flashlight, mind you, but it still cost me 27 freakin' bucks.

[ September 21, 2005, 03:43 PM: Message edited by: Houston Gator ]

Last night I saw a couple of New Orleans survivors talking about whether they'd leave if Rita hit there. The woman said she would, as she went through too much last time. The man said he was staying. Imagine living through Katrina and not leaving if Rita headed their way?

They are saying that even a glancing blow from Rita could cause new flooding in New Orleans.

The death toll from Katrina is currently 1,036 -- 799 of that total from Louisiana.

Edit to add: update from the National Hurricane Center:


[ September 21, 2005, 03:59 PM: Message edited by: Joe in Philly ]

904 mb. Wow.

AAA Texas is saying there isn't a hotel room to be had in a major metro area within 250 miles. They're suggesting Midland/Odessa or OKC.

Looks like you'll get it. frown

Anderson Cooper is in Galveston. Anyone heard whether Jim Cantore and Rob Marciano are coming to town? I might stay if they're gonna be here, too.

With all the oil refineries on the Texas Coast, better fill up tonight. Gas prices are going to go up again.

Tell me you're not going to try riding this storm out...

Even if it's not a Category 5 at landfall, it'll be a major hurricane nonetheless, with hurricane force winds extending 70 miles from the center. This is no joke- this storm is quite similar in size and strength to Katrina...

Make that stronger than Katrina. Rita is now at 898MB of pressure--the 3rd strongest hurricane ever recorded. eek!

it could be stronger than Katrina at landfall. Hopefully it will lose some steam like Katrina did right before it hit land. I would be hi-tailing it out of Houston myself. After riding out one Cat 5 storm (Andrew) I vowed never to do that again. And I was well inland, also. If concrete block houses came apart in Andrew, how well do you think the fiberboard houses they build in the Houston suburbs will fare??? Not too well I bet...

[ September 21, 2005, 05:10 PM: Message edited by: MiamiSpartan ]

I suppose Mommy and Daddy Bush have become refugees in Crawford.

Latest on Rita just in, 897MB and 175mph. According the guys on the Weather Channel, when the trough comes through to turn it northwesterly it will probably weaken to a Cat 4. They say it is very difficult for any hurricane to maintain Cat 5 status for more than 3 days.

[ September 21, 2005, 07:36 PM: Message edited by: phillyrunner ]

I lived in Houston when hurricane Alicia hit (1992???). It wasn't nearly as strong as Rita and it did devastating destruction to Houston. All the windows in downtown Houston were ripped out and electrical towers fell all over the city, not to mention the incredible flooding in the low lying areas. I was without electricity for 5 days, you just don't know what that's like.

If you live in north Houston, you'll probably be okay. But downtown and further south I'd get the hell out of there!

1983. I remember hearing stories about it when I lived there in 1990....

My brother and his family (which includes a six year old and 1 year old triplets) got the hell out Houston this morning and are staying with my parents in Austin. My parents housed my cousin from New Orleans, her boyfriend, and dog during Katrina. I told my mom that they should just turn the house into a hurricane evacuation center.

People aren't going anywhere right now. DOT is just now changing the direction of the inbound lanes. Hundreds of thousands of people are stuck in traffic, many losing gas and without food or water, it's 100 degrees out. It's a nightmare.

It appears Rita is changing course a little - Beaumont is under evacuation orders now. Houston still isn't under mandatory evacuation - can't imagine it will happen this late in the game. Good news is that traffic is light in-town. Either people are out or on their way out, or they are home getting prepared.

I lived in Beaumont about 1/3 of my life and only experienced one hurricane (only a Cat. 2 which still scared the shit out of me) the entire time I lived there. This whole thing is getting ridiculous.

I was just reading some dialogue on CNN.com, between CNN's weather guy and another guy in weather, studying and watching Rita. He said from the air " its the perfect storm. It looks like a buzz saw, with the teeth on the edge. This storm they will be studying in text books 10 years from now." No doubt.

A very large buzz saw, about to chew right into Texas.

[ September 22, 2005, 01:48 PM: Message edited by: fenwayguy ]

Unfortunately New Orleans is now under a tropical storm warning. Not good. Lets hope they get little rain at all!

Thankfully, Rita now looks to make landfall a bit farther east up the coast, meaning the back side of the storm would hit Houston and Galveston and the sorrounding area--a much better scenario than if the right front quadrant of the storm were to hit them, which would have happened had she hit as originally predicted--on Galveston's SW side. It also appears likely that she'll weaken a little. She'll still be a major hurricane at least, but maybe not a super hurricane as she was yesterday.

Of course, like all women, Rita can change her mind at the last minute and decide to go somewhere else again.

My cousins live in Beaumont, (both retired school teachers)their on the way up here to Tulsa with the dog and cat. If you went to French H.S. you might have had them.
Anyway, I think this is all going to be a knee jerk reaction brought on by the media, President Butthead and to a lesser extent, those damn twist-ties on loafs of bread you can't figure out which way to twist them at three in the morning after a night of heavy drinking.

Just spent the afternoon at the George R Brown Convention Center. All of the New Orleans evacuees who were staying at GRB have been bussed to the airport, put on planes, and flown out to Odessa. Early this afternoon, busses started bringing special needs and poor people from all over the greater Houston area to GRB to be screened, put back on a bus, and flown out to West Texas. Bus after bus after bus... One lady told me about her elderly neighbor who was left behind - shd had forgotten about him in her haste to get out. He's 75, crippled, and has no food. I asked TSA if they were still retrieving people and was told me to talk to the police or EMS. I talked to a police officer and was told to talk to someone else. We finally found the SPCA which was going to the woman's house to pick up her dog. So she asked SPCA to pick up the neighbor. I don't know whether SPCA was able to pick him up or not.

So many of the people were elderly or ill. I helped a few people off of buses who had urinated on themselves, having been in transit for four or five hours. Hundreds and hundreds of people required wheelchairs.

Many people appeared to have packed up everything they owned. One old man demanded to be taken back home because "I ain't never been on no plane, and I ain't gettin' on one now."

The news just showed the National Guard leaving Houston for Austin - inspires confidence.

You gotta wonder, after Katrina, what these folks will have to come home to, and when will they come home, if they come home at all. East Houston floods after two or three inches of rain - I can't imagine how it will look after the surge from the shipping channel comes in.

Thousands of people came through the GRB today. I worry that doesn't even scratch the surface - there are still people who are staying in the flood-prone areas, much like Katrina.

Much to the chagrin of my family (who went through Frances and Jeanne last year in Vero Beach, FL), I decided to stay in Houston. I'm in a strong building, and I know it's gonna suck being without power for several days or more. Don't have a reason why I stayed, I just did. I wanted to. After today, I'm glad I stayed. After tomorrow? Probably won't be too pleased with myself.

Good luck Gator! I'll keep you in my thoughts...

Posted by puckman1 (Member # 663) on September 21, 2005, 07:15 PM:

I was watching ABC News Tonight and they were conjecturing that if Rita does hit certain areas badly in the Texas Gulf coast that gas prices could easily be $4.00 a gallon, and they said natural gas prices this winter would be horribly bad. The lady they interviewed said people will be seeing gas bills this winter that can't believe. Its going to be a long cold winter. grab the heatingn pads, the electric blankets and all signifciant others. wink

After some discussion, my family and i decided not to evacuate due to the erratic health of my grandmother. What was not looking very smart last night when Rita was 175 MPH and headed towards us dead on looks a little better today with lower winds, an eastward trend, and 14-hour drives to Austin.

We won't flood here, but i am a little worried about the roof flying off or a 60-foot tree wiping us out. I'll be evacuating into my shorts.

Everything has shut down, and we're not 24 hrs away yet. Wal Mart, HEB, Target, all restaurants, etc. Lowe's closed as i drove up; only one Home Depot is still running and they are out of plywood, batteries, and tape. A lady in line next to me had 10 bags of garden soil. :confused:

Anyone have any C batteries for me?

You'all will be in mine and all of our thoughts down there. Take care and be strong.

Best of luck to all Outsport Texans. You all are better off staying if you're in a solid building than getting on the road in all that mess. If you do decide to loot, I could use a plasma tv...

What size? I'll pick one up for you Saturday afternoon when I hit the Best Buy for an iPod Nano (now that my Mini is passe).

Anyone else? Please send me your requests before power goes out about this time tomorrow night.

Get a DLP HDTV--much better and not as expensive to maintain. Be sure to get your FEMA debit card or Red Cross debit card first in order to pay for it.

stay safe outsports texans. it took me forever to call my friend in texas. the lines are so busy. they'll be evacauting to a nearby hospital.

[ September 22, 2005, 07:56 PM: Message edited by: gomets29 ]

But it's now looking like the northeast quadrant will pass over eastern Texas and eek! Louisiana eek!

Have a good wish for folks down there -- and their pets, property and livelihoods.

[ September 22, 2005, 09:32 PM: Message edited by: fenwayguy ]

Yes, I would love a DLP Plasma 55"+ television. E-mail me for the address to ship it to. wink

Really take care down there. Like I say, if you're fairly far north of the Loop you should be OK, barring any tornado activity. Hope you have a lot of beer iced down!

Done. I've decided that all my friends and family are getting Nanos for Christmas! They should be pretty easy to shove in my cargo shorts.

At 4:00 AM this morning, Accuweather showed the hurricane moving back toward (towards?) Galveston and Houston. NHC shows that Galveston and Port Arthur are the most likely towns to be hit (30% probability for Galveston and 28% probability for Port Arthur). Wes Hohenstein - the hot weather caster for Local 2 news in Houston - is still reporting that Rita will land up the coast from here. Who knows?

Bus of elderly evacuees caught fire this morning. Oxygen tanks on the bus exploded. 20 people were killed. The bus driver - a true hero - pulled out as many people as he could (one reporter said he pulled out between 15 and 25 people) before the O2 tanks began exploding. The bus burned to the ground.

Many Poor Residents Stuck in Houston

I MET JIM CANTORE!! I MET JIM CANTORE!! Y'all might think I'm dumb for staying in Houston, but meeting Jim was totally worth it. He's a little shorter than you would think (maybe 5'9"), and he had his pants pulled up way too high, but boy is that body beefy and that head bald. And he's a nice guy - spent ten minutes talking to us about our concerns, etc.

Am a little concerned that Jim chose to come to Houston. He always seems to end up in the hardest hit area.

Hey Hou Gator...I noticed recently that Jim was no longer wearing a wedding ring. Is that still the case? Maybe he's OK being sent on assignment to the "danger zones" because he is no longer tied down with family concerns.....?