Was at 184mph, earlier. Holy fuck, man. This is almost a once in a lifetime thing. Spectacular. That's one hell of a well-defined eye going at the moment. Going through the eye is such a strange feeling. Hurricane Katrina is an extremely dangerous Category 5 storm on the Saffir-Simpson scale. Maximum sustained winds are at 165 mph. Katrina continues not only grow stronger, but it continues to grow larger. Hurricane-force winds extend 105 miles from the center. Sustained tropical storm force winds are not far from the Gulf Coast and should move in later this afternoon. Katrina has turned and is moving northwest at 13 mph with a turn to the north expected tonight. Everyone along the northern Gulf of Mexico should be completing preparations for a major hurricane and take heed of evacutation orders. Hurricane warnings are up from Morgan City, La., to the Florida-Alabama border. This includes the city of New Orleans and Lake Pontchartrain. A tropical storm warning and a hurricane watch have been issued from the Alabama-Florida border eastward to Destin, Florida and from west of Morgan City to Intracoastal City, Louisiana. A storm surge of 20 to 25 feet or more is possible along and to the east of Katrina's landfall point Monday. On top of the water rise, pounding waves of 20 to 40 feet will produce catastrophic damage at coastal locations. Effects from Katrina will not be confined to coastal areas. Once Hurricane Katrina makes landfall, it will progress inland Monday into Tuesday with a trail of flooding rains and damaging winds across Mississippi and Alabama and then into Tennessee. Torrential, flooding rainfall is possible with the remnants of Katrina well inland, possibly into the Ohio Valley, Great Lakes and the Northeast later this week. Elsewhere, there are two areas of low pressure in the central Atlantic. The first area of low pressure has now become Tropical Depression Thirteen as of 5 p.m. EDT. It is located about 965 miles east of the Lesser Antilles and is expected to pass well north of the islands. The other area of interest is a low pressure system that has just come off the African coast. This system also has the potential to develop into a tropical depression later today or Monday. The final advisory has been issued on Tropical Depression Irwin in the eastern Pacific Ocean. Top winds are down to 30 mph and it will dissipate in the next 24 hours. In the northwest Pacific Talim has become a typhoon and is forecast to grow to a 120 mph typhoon before moving across Taiwan and into mainland China in the next 3 to 4 days.
Yep, worst hurricane in the history of the US. Much love to the people down there, I hope they take care.
Hey! Waitaminute! In the "Pressed_Rat, you owe me $5" thread, you said you lived here: What are you, a poseur?! Woodstock is at least three hours from New Orleans.
On the weather channel it said that there was a mandatory evacuation of New Orleans...so I have a feeling one of you two is fibbing.
Ah fuck, I hope my power doesn't go out. Kinda fun watching the weather outside though, feeling the wind steadily gain force..
I'm in Mobile, that fucker pulls the water with it into Mobile bay, and there's supposed to be up to 20' storm surges and such.. I live nearly in downtown.. Not more than a few miles from the bay..
I live in Florida. I wish it had hit us on the east side. So then we couldve had it while it was weak. Instead it flew into the Gulf, stregthened, and is now headed to kill the fuck out of everywhere else.
Yeah, I-10 is moving steady right now, all lanes were converted to head to evacuation routes outside of the N.O. area. If anybody is down there (including non-members who just happened to be reading this), there IS a mandatory evacuation and I suggest you get out before it's too late, and it may already be too late. By the way, Hurricane Isabel got up to cat. 4/5 and went down to 105 mph before it made landfall on Ocracoke Island in NC on 9/18/2003, we were out of power for two weeks because we're only about 5 feet above sea level here and I live down the street from a river... But the main reason was that with it (even though it died down) came the force from when it was stronger.
00 Wtnt32 Knhc 282041 Tcpat2 Bulletin Hurricane Katrina Advisory Number 24 Nws Tpc/national Hurricane Center Miami Fl 4 Pm Cdt Sun Aug 28 2005 ...potentially Catastrophic Hurricane Katrina Headed For The Northern Gulf Coast... A Hurricane Warning Is In Effect For The North Central Gulf Coast From Morgan City Louisiana Eastward To The Alabama/florida Border...including The City Of New Orleans And Lake Pontchartrain. Preparations To Protect Life And Property Should Be Completed This Evening. A Tropical Storm Warning And A Hurricane Watch Are In Effect From East Of The Alabama/florida Border To Destin Florida...and From West Of Morgan City To Intracoastal City Louisiana. A Tropical Storm Warning Is Also In Effect From Destin Florida Eastward To Indian Pass Florida...and From Intracoastal City Louisiana Westward To Cameron Louisiana. For Storm Information Specific To Your Area...including Possible Inland Watches And Warnings...please Monitor Products Issued By Your Local Weather Office. At 4 Pm Cdt...2100z...the Center Of Hurricane Katrina Was Located Near Latitude 26.9 North... Longitude 89.0 West Or About 150 Miles South Of The Mouth Of The Mississippi River. Katrina Is Moving Toward The Northwest Near 13 Mph...and A Gradual Turn To The North Is Expected Over The Next 24 Hours. On This Track The Center Of The Hurricane Will Be Near The Northern Gulf Coast Early Monday. However...conditions Are Already Beginning To Deteriorate Along Portions Of The Central And Northeastern Gulf Coast...and Will Continue To Worsen Through The Night. Maximum Sustained Winds Are Near 165 Mph...with Higher Gusts. Katrina Is A Potentially Catastrophic Category Five Hurricane On The Saffir-simpson Scale. Some Fluctuations In Strength Are Likely Until Landfall. Katrina Is Expected To Make Landfall At Category Four Or Five Intensity. Winds Affecting The Upper Floors Of High-rise Buildings Will Be Significantly Stronger Than Those Near Ground Level. Katrina Is A Large Hurricane. Hurricane Force Winds Extend Outward Up To 105 Miles From The Center...and Tropical Storm Force Winds Extend Outward Up To 230 Miles. Sustained Tropical Storm Force Winds Are Occurring Over The Southeast Louisiana Coast. Southwest Pass...near The Mouth Of The Mississippi River...recently Reported Sustained Winds Of 48 Mph With Gusts To 53 Mph. A Noaa Hurricane Hunter Plane Reported A Minimum Central Pressure Of 902 Mb...26.64 Inches. Coastal Storm Surge Flooding Of 18 To 22 Feet Above Normal Tide Levels...locally As High As 28 Feet...along With Large And Dangerous Battering Waves...can Be Expected Near And To The East Of Where The Center Makes Landfall. Some Levees In The Greater New Orleans Area Could Be Overtopped. Significant Storm Surge Flooding Will Occur Elsewhere Along The Central And Northeastern Gulf Of Mexico Coast. Rainfall Totals Of 5 To 10 Inches...with Isolated Maximum Amounts Of 15 Inches...are Possible Along The Path Of Katrina Across The Gulf Coast And The Tennessee Valley. Rainfall Totals Of 4 To 8 Inches Are Possible Across The Ohio Valley Into The Eastern Great Lakes Region Tuesday And Wednesday. Isolated Tornadoes Will Be Possible Beginning This Evening Over Southern Portions Of Louisiana...mississippi...and Alabama...and Over The Florida Panhandle. Repeating The 4 Pm Cdt Position...26.9 N... 89.0 W. Movement Toward...northwest Near 13 Mph. Maximum Sustained Winds...165 Mph. Minimum Central Pressure... 902 Mb. An Intermediate Advisory Will Be Issued By The National Hurricane Center At 7 Pm Cdt Followed By The Next Complete Advisory At 10 Pm Cdt.
I fear that this is the one that will turn New Orleans into Atlantis. Damn, man... all that history is going to be lost beneath a body of water. Toxic chemicals, bodies, etc. I mean, there's alot of waste treatment plants there, too, so there would, most likely, be a contaminated water supply even if it doesn't dissapear.
I know... same, man. Well, I do pray and meditate, but not in the traditional religious sense. Gah, here's just what I was talking about, too. When Hurricane Katrina hits New Orleans on Monday, it could turn one of America's most charming cities into a vast cesspool tainted with toxic chemicals, human waste and even coffins released by floodwaters from the city's legendary cemeteries. Experts have warned for years that the levees and pumps that usually keep New Orleans dry have no chance against a direct hit by a Category 5 storm. That's exactly what Katrina was as it churned toward the city. With top winds of 165 mph and the power to lift sea level by as much as 28 feet above normal, the storm threatened an environmental disaster of biblical proportions, one that could leave more than 1 million people homeless. "All indications are that this is absolutely worst-case scenario,'' Ivor van Heerden, deputy director of the Louisiana State University Hurricane Center, said Sunday afternoon. The center's latest computer simulations indicate that by Tuesday, vast swaths of New Orleans could be under water up to 30 feet deep. In the French Quarter, the water could reach 20 feet, easily submerging the district's iconic cast-iron balconies and bars. Estimates predict that 60 percent to 80 percent of the city's houses will be destroyed by wind. With the flood damage, most of the people who live in and around New Orleans could be homeless. "We're talking about in essence having — in the continental United States — having a refugee camp of a million people,'' van Heerden said. Aside from Hurricane Andrew, which struck Miami in 1992, forecasters have no experience with Category 5 hurricanes hitting densely populated areas. "Hurricanes rarely sustain such extreme winds for much time. However we see no obvious large-scale effects to cause a substantial weakening the system and it is expected that the hurricane will be of Category 4 or 5 intensity when it reaches the coast,'' National Hurricane Center meteorologist Richard Pasch said. As they raced to put meteorological instruments in Katrina's path Sunday, wind engineers had little idea what their equipment would record. "We haven't seen something this big since we started the program,'' said Kurt Gurley, a University of Florida engineering professor. He works for the Florida Coastal Monitoring Program, which is in its seventh year of making detailed measurements of hurricane wind conditions using a set of mobile weather stations. Experts have warned about New Orleans' vulnerability for years, chiefly because Louisiana has lost more than a million acres of coastal wetlands in the past seven decades. The vast patchwork of swamps and bayous south of the city serves as a buffer, partially absorbing the surge of water that a hurricane pushes ashore. Experts have also warned that the ring of high levees around New Orleans, designed to protect the city from floodwaters coming down the Mississippi, will only make things worse in a powerful hurricane. Katrina is expected to push a 28-foot storm surge against the levees. Even if they hold, water will pour over their tops and begin filling the city as if it were a sinking canoe. After the storm passes, the water will have nowhere to go. In a few days, van Heerden predicts, emergency management officials are going to be wondering how to handle a giant stagnant pond contaminated with building debris, coffins, sewage and other hazardous materials. "We're talking about an incredible environmental disaster,'' van Heerden said. He puts much of the blame for New Orleans' dire situation on the very levee system that is designed to protect southern Louisiana from Mississippi River floods. Before the levees were built, the river would top its banks during floods and wash through a maze of bayous and swamps, dropping fine-grained silt that nourished plants and kept the land just above sea level. The levees "have literally starved our wetlands to death'' by directing all of that precious silt out into the Gulf of Mexico, van Heerden said. It has been 40 years since New Orleans faced a hurricane even comparable to Katrina. In 1965, Hurricane Betsy, a Category 3 storm, submerged some parts of the city to a depth of seven feet. Since then, the Big Easy has had nothing but near misses. In 1998, Hurricane Georges headed straight for New Orleans, then swerved at the last minute to strike Mississippi and Alabama. Hurricane Lili blew herself out at the mouth of the Mississippi in 2002. And last year's Hurricane Ivan obligingly curved to the east as it came ashore, barely grazing a grateful city.
I hope we get out of school . Lat year when there was a bunch of hgurricanes (I dont live on the coast, I live in central GA) it sent some pretty harsh weather here and trees fell and s hit and we got out of school for a week. Hopefully we'll get lucky again and we wont hav to go to gay school.
