Rita image should auto update...

Oldman · September 22, 2005, 12:57:46 PM

This image will should auto update until Rita is gone. If not I will edit or add the next one. Look at the size of this sucker. Man O man is that one well formed eye or what? i'm stunned that she jump from a Cat 2 to a Cat 5. Barring a miracle the best hope is she will down grade to a Cat 3 at this point. Even then she is over 300 miles wide. What we need is a miracle in the form of a huge Wind Shear to tear the top off of her.

Rita could cause more storm-wind damage than Katrina. God help those poor souls.

Olds

Gordon · September 22, 2005, 02:32:11 PM

I live right under the ra in miracle.

And there is good hunting under the a and under the n in "in"!

What a piece of work is man!

bgfntk · September 22, 2005, 05:48:05 PM

I feel bad for all those people who were evacuated from New Orleans and Mississippi to Texas, and now they have another big one heading their way. Last year's hurricane season in Florida was nothing compared to what has happened this year.

Scott

"I love animals. They taste good!"

Phone Guy · September 22, 2005, 07:45:45 PM

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by Gordon
 I live right under the ra in miracle.

And there is good hunting under the a and under the n in "in"!<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

It looks to me as though you live in the Atlantic. I'm not sure if I am reading this correctly.

P.S. Leaving for Wyoming this afternoon, hunting pronghorns.

Oldman · September 22, 2005, 10:09:19 PM

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"> Last year's hurricane season in Florida was nothing compared to what has happened this year.<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"> I live in Florida so I don't think I quite agree with ya [:)] We got folks here that took two direct hits last year within weeks of each other.

Olds

Gordon · September 23, 2005, 03:03:47 PM

I live in MS

What a piece of work is man!

Oldman · September 23, 2005, 06:51:55 PM

At the time of this posting the eye is filling up and that is good. She may be down to a Cat 3 at land fall.

Over here in Florida we have had over cast skys and rain from her all day long... man is she ever a full-body lady! Just the kind you don't want to wake up in the morning and find yourself next to. [xx(]

Olds

GrillinFool · September 24, 2005, 02:08:48 AM

I moved to Florida from Mass and had the opportunity to see two small hurricanes go directly over last year. I say small because by the time they hit me they were cat 2 or so. I felt that my big strong concrete house would handle anything. But with wind speeds of only 65 or so, miles per hour I learned that much more than that would be entirely devistating.

They say my windows are rated up to 120 miles per hour, but I had to race to brace a over sized sliding glass door that was bowing in 6 full inches. that is a glass door flexing into the house 6 inches and wind and water blowing in around it!. It was like watching a horror film, with a rubber door, and the terror of knowing that glass should break any second in my face. Whole trees launch out of the ground and blow down with little warning. The noise is so loud outside that you barley hear them fall too. While all this is going on, you still see no sign of letting up, for hours on end. Its not like when you see it on tv and they cut to a commercial.

I was way wrong when I figured I knew anything about a hurricane, until I went through what I would say was two small ones. These people that are getting hit with 100 mile plus winds are in for some very scary stuff. On a related note, I would board up and evacuate my family for anything over a cat2 without hessitation, it just isnt worth it, and I dont even live close to the water.

jaeger · September 24, 2005, 05:28:37 AM

Grilling Fool,
I don't envy you for living there one bit. I live in South Dakota and will gladly take the full four seasons over your kind of risky weather.
You know what is amazing, after Katrina all you hear about are the preparations for Rita but as it approaches, it's like nobody knows what to do. Cars are stacked up in eight lanes heading out and the other eight lanes are empty. As soon as all the lanes were rerouted to the right direction, everything was bottled necked so bad and everyone had run out of gas. A lot of people were also left behind again that wanted to get out.
I'm not pointing fingers but observing what looks like total chaos.
I wonder how many vehicles had less than 6 people in them. I would bet at least 75 percent.
Also, to pack up a few belongings and take off with the rest of your personal property to the mercy of the storm and looters would be so tough. IMO, looters in a case like this should be shot on site.

I know these hurricanes don't hit the same places all the time but I think once in a lifetime would be about once to often.

Good Luck Grilling Fool and the rest of you in this dangerous part of the country!!!

Doug

Oldman · September 24, 2005, 10:34:09 AM

Grilling Fool

A lot you said is so true. People stick their hands out the window of a car going 70 mph and get a false understand of what that type of damage winds at that speed can do.

We are lucky that our house was built to withstand a Cat 3. Plus we have made improvements. A "seamless" metal roof bolted into real wood decking--not plywood. It is rated at 173-175 mph. The siding is over block walls that are filled with cement, granite pieces, and steel reinforment rods. It is rated 185 plus mph. Windows rated 135-140 mph. Tell the truth through I don't trust these ratings. By next season I will have installed hinged "clamshell" awnings that will fold down past the bottom of the windows and have locking devices. The goal after that is at least a propane 60 KW if not a 100 KW generator. I have 6 wells that go down past the clay hard pan we have here and a manual pump. The water is sweet. I would not drink it but for taking a bath and doing some washing it is just fine.

When I was still young, my family and I went through a Cat 3 and it is no fun. There was not a window left in that house. The foundation is what we call conventional-- built upon blocks with a crawl under the house. Well there was no crawl under the house as the winds push it off of them. We were all in the hall with all doors shut and one door had a long piece of glass stuck in when it was all over with.

Some may think I'm nuts-0 but what they don't understand is there is really no place to go here--given how crazy the storms get here changing direction; just look at last year and all of those folk that went to Orlando... Officals say go to Orlando... see the sites...opps you also get to see a hurricane errr maybe two at no extra charge.

For those who are not aware of the nuts-o ways of our storms just look at last years tracks. It like the storm drivers are drunk:

Around 1993-94 we had that "no-named" storm that changed directions about 7 or 8 times in the gulf before it made landfall. If I remember correctly it was in the Gulf almost a full 4 days. As I said there really is no place to go. The exception would be the beachs. Those you would have to get out of.

The only thing I can't do anything about is we are only 17-20 feet above sea level. A Cat 3 lands in the Northern part of this county and the bay will fill up. While I'm sure the house would still be here, I think she will have gotten real wet.

BTW I strongly suggest if it is in your budget to get rid of those sliding glass doors, or build a cover for them that you can put up in a hurry that goes a good 6 inches past the doors.

BTW Welcome to the "Sunshine State." [:D]

Olds