Hurricane Rita hits Tex/La with water, wind

[Kooperman]

Rita Strengthens Into Category 2 Hurricane

Rita strengthened rapidly on Tuesday to a Category 2 hurricane as it lashed the Florida Keys with flooding rain and strong wind and sparked fears the storm could eventually bring new misery to the Gulf Coast.

Rita went from a tropical storm with top sustained wind of 70 mph early Tuesday to a hurricane with 100 mph wind by early afternoon as it passed just south of the Keys, the National Hurricane Center said.

Thousands of residents and tourists had fled the low-lying island chain, where forecasters said Rita could dump up to 8 inches of rain, down from earlier forecasts of up to 15 inches.

Rita threatened to continue gaining strength as it left Florida and crossed the warm Gulf of Mexico for a weekend landfall, most likely in Texas although Louisiana or northern Mexico could end up in the path of what could become a major hurricane.

"Farther out, we do anticipate further strengthening up to Category 3, or major hurricane status," Chris Sisko, a meteorologist at the hurricane center, said before Rita rose to Category 2. Category 3 storms have maximum sustained wind of 130 mph.

Data from a hurricane chase plane confirmed the increase to 100 mph wind, the hurricane center said.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050920/ap_on_...HE0BHNlYwN0bWE-

[Shawn]

Rita threatened to continue gaining strength as it left Florida and crossed the warm Gulf of Mexico for a weekend landfall, most likely in Texas although Louisiana or northern Mexico could end up in the path of what could become a major hurricane.

I can't even feature that

[Kooperman]

Now a 4......and growing.

http://news.yahoo.com/fc/world/tropical_st..._and_hurricanes

[Kooperman]

Hurricane Rita Becomes a 165-Mph Monster; 1.3 Million Evacuated

By Pam Easton Associated Press Writer

Published: Sep 21, 2005

GALVESTON, Texas (AP) - Gaining strength with frightening speed, Hurricane Rita swirled toward the Gulf Coast a Category 5, 165-mph monster Wednesday as more than 1.3 million people in Texas and Louisiana were sent packing on orders from authorities who learned a bitter lesson from Katrina.

"It's scary. It's really scary," Shalonda Dunn said as she and her 5- and 9-year-old daughters waited to board a bus arranged by emergency authorities in Galveston. "I'm glad we've got the opportunity to leave. ... You never know what can happen."

With Rita projected to hit Texas by Saturday, Gov. Rick Perry urged residents along the state's entire coast to begin evacuating. And New Orleans braced for the possibility that the storm could swamp the misery-stricken city all over again.

For the complete story click here:

http://ap.tbo.com/ap/breaking/MGB6XYI5WDE.html

[The Hunter]

I believe its now the 5th most powerful in history, and Im betting its going to make it to #1. Dammit.

[Amber]

I have an aunt down there, she's been told to leave.

Russ from UTC is also down there.

I know a couple of you all are down there, so be careful dammit.

If anyone needs a place to go or knows someone who needs a place to go and is willing to come to Illinois...my home is listed on a couple evacuee sites.

[The Hunter]

I echo those thoughts Amb, and its now up to the 3rd most powerful. hopefully Russ got his ass out of there, and is safe. If you get talking to him, you can tell him that.

[Potato]

Isn't there someone from zp from Galveston? I remember that being listed as someone's location. Not sure who though. mojo maybe?

[rainbowdemon]

BK and ZP have some members from down that way. My thoughts are with them. I hope they make it throught it all right.

:hug:

[The Hunter]

Tater it is Mojo, and he has closed up the house and cleared out. Or at least that was the plan, but I wont feel good until i hear from my many friends that had to evacuate.

[Shawn]

:(

[The Hunter]

I feel the same way Shawn, as contrary to what some folks might think, I take things to heart, and we have a lot good friends in trouble right now. including a lady I call fluffster. Her, her family, and her many pets are moving out as i type. Shawn has worked with mojo, and knows what a great guy he is. Fuck im sick of seeing this shit. Sorry for the language, but thats how i feel.

[CTC Command]

wow that is insane...up here in RI the headlines were all about the 1938 hurricane that struck this day, well, back in '38. its just a matter of time before another one hits here too. no one is safe, only lucky, if it misses you this time around.

[rainbowdemon]

Shawners from ZP is, I think, in Dallas.

[moodyblue]

Hey guys and ladies.....I live in the Woodlands/spring area....that's about a 45 min or so drive North of Houston. I had to work in the downtown area at the Galleria (a huge shopping mall), we were at the Westin Galleria Hotel. Had to be there at 1pm got off at 5:30, it took me 3hrs and 25min to get home!! And that's taking the back roads!!

They are saying on the local radio that it is taking people 3 to 4 or more hours to get to Austin, and it is only a 2 hour drive normally. It is taking people 8 or more to get to Dallas and that is normally a 3 1/2 to 4 hour drive from here.

Hope everyone that didn't leave stays safe (myself included) and dry!!

[rainbowdemon]

Moodyblue, Keep us posted on how it's going.

[DudeAsInCool]

Beatfactory goes to school in Houston - hope he got out in time, too

[moodyblue]

I MIGHT leave.....I don't know yet! But I will keep you posted!

[DudeAsInCool]

The whole situation is scary -

***

Rita could equal $5 gas

The timing and strength of the latest storm could cause worse spike at the pumps than Katrina did.

NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Remember when gas spiked to $3-plus a gallon after Hurricane Katrina? By this time next week, that could seem like the good old days.

Weather and energy experts say that as bad as Hurricane Katrina hit the nation's supply of gasoline, Hurricane Rita could be worse.

Katrina damage was focused on offshore oil platforms and ports. Now the greater risk is to oil-refinery capacity, especially if Rita slams into Houston, Galveston and Port Arthur, Texas.

"We could be looking at gasoline lines and $4 gas, maybe even $5 gas, if this thing does the worst it could do," said energy analyst Peter Beutel of Cameron Hanover. "This storm is in the wrong place. And it's absolutely at the wrong time," said Beutel.

Michael Schlacter, chief meteorologist at Weather 2000, said Rita now appears most likely to hit between Port Arthur and Corpus Christi, Texas, sometime between Friday afternoon and Saturday morning.

Just about all of Texas's refinery capacity lies in that at-risk zone. (For a look at CNN.com's coverage of Hurricane Rita, click here.)

"There is no lucky 7-10 split scenario to use a bowling analogy," he said. "If you're [a refiner] within 200 miles, you're going to feel the effect."

Compounding Katrina's impact

When Katrina hit, 15 refineries, nearly all in Louisiana and Mississippi, with a combined capacity of about 3.3 million barrels a day were shut down or damaged, according to the Energy Department. That represented almost 20 percent of U.S. refining capacity.

Within a week, almost two-thirds of that damaged capacity had resumed some operations, according to the department. But four refineries with nearly 900,000 barrels a day of capacity are still basically shut down.

If Rita hits both the Houston-Galveston area, as well as the Port Arthur-Beaumont region near the Texas-Louisiana border, that could take out more than 3 million barrels of capacity a day, according to Bob Tippee, editor of the industry trade journal Oil & Gas Journal in Houston.

"Before Katrina, the system was already so tight that the worst-case scenario was for a disruption that took 250,000 barrels of capacity out of the picture. That would have been considered a major jolt," said Tippee.

"We're already in uncharted territory now. We can't project what happens from another shot the size of Katrina or worse."

Part of the problem is that skilled crews needed to make refinery repairs are already busy trying to fix the Katrina damage. That would extend recovery time from Rita.

"[Rita] could have a significant impact on supply and prices -- this really is a national disaster," Valero Energy (Research) CEO Bill Greehey in an interview with Reuters Tuesday evening.

Gas not the only concern

Problems could spread beyond the gas pumps.

Tippee said that natural-gas prices could see a further spike, since so many of the offshore platforms off of Texas produce natural gas, not crude oil.

And while gasoline imports have helped bring gas prices down from record highs, there isn't as much potential for heating-oil imports, he noted.

"Gasoline tends to obscure everything, especially since we aren't paying heating bills right now," said Tippee. "But we were already looking at a winter fuel problem. We're about to take another hit that will cause a lot of problems."

Schlacter said even the oil platforms off the Louisiana Gulf Coast, which are not likely to take a direct hit from Rita, could be affected by large waves churning up the Gulf of Mexico as the storm passes to the south. Waves of as much as 40 to 50 feet could hit the platforms off the Texas Coast, he estimated.

Tippee said that production across the Gulf is already being affected by oil companiespulling workers off platforms ahead of the storm. And it's not just domestic oil being interrupted.

The Louisiana Offshore Oil Port (LOOP), the nation's largest gateway for overseas oil, stopped accepting deliveries of its 1.2 million barrels of oil a day Wednesday afternoon due to high seas, LOOP spokeswoman Barb Hesterman told Reuters. She said the disruption was expected to be "for a short time."

But if Katrina is any guide, it could take several days after Rita passes for production to resume even at oil and gas platforms that escape damage.

"There were several days where if you could have gotten out to the platform, you could have started it back up, but you couldn't find the boats or helicopters you needed to get back to the platforms," he said.

http://money.cnn.com/2005/09/21/news/econo...hreat/index.htm

[Kooperman]

Anticipating this stuff, I filled my tank up this evening at $2.55 a gallon....the lowest it'll be for a while.

[slum_goddess]

bah...i have friends in Houston and Dallas and i talked to them both yesterday. Chuck in Dallas was alright but he was a bit paranoid about any tornados after. the dude in Houston was scared--he said Hurricane Alicia wiped out all his family's stuff when he was a kid--he was getting out ASAP. last night when Chris came home, he tried calling his sister in Dallas and couldn't get through. :(

[DudeAsInCool]

washingtonpost.com

Rita Could Be Strongest Storm to Hit Texas

GALVESTON, Texas -- Gaining strength with frightening speed, Hurricane Rita swirled toward the Gulf Coast a Category 5, 175-mph monster Wednesday as more than 1.3 million people in Texas and Louisiana were sent packing on orders from authorities who learned a bitter lesson from Katrina.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/conte...2100243_pf.html

[Redneck4sure]

Good luck, moodyblue. All the hotels and motels are full in Dallas. We already had around 30k refugees from New Orleans and now this.

[DudeAsInCool]

Here's a pic of this monster:

[Amber]

MoodyBlue, my aunt lives in Spring. I have been trying all week to reach her...no luck, but she runs a couple bars also. Can you tell me what you guys there have been told? Are you realatively safer? You be careful, I'll be thinking of you.