New Hou/Galv Evacuation Maps

[GalvestonDuck]

http://www.click2weather.com/hurricanes ... etail.html

You'll need Adobe Acrobat Reader to view them.

[southerngale]

I'm glad I clicked the link. It's for this area too.

Sabine Area (includes Chambers, Hardin, Jasper, Jefferson, Liberty, Newton, and Orange counties)

Beaumont is in Jefferson County. Thanks.

[jeff]

http://www.cityofgalveston.org/news/default.cfm?ID=801

The above link shows the evacuation corridors. The different shaded colors indicate which route you will be forced to take and how far inland you will be forced to go. For example everyone shaded in green will be required to take I-45 north to Huntsville. No one will be allowed to exit the freeway until they reach Huntsville. Pre-determined exits will be opened for gas only.

[GalvestonDuck]

Gonna sticky this for the time being.


Rita...go 'way, ya bother me!

[southerngale]

Se Tx/Sw La


http://www.srh.noaa.gov/lch/tropical/evac-maps.htm

[wxman57]

http://www.click2weather.com/hurricanes/4589609/detail.html

You'll need Adobe Acrobat Reader to view them.

The problem with these evacuation maps is that they assume that we have a high degree of skill in forecasting hurricane intensity. In reality, there should be only ONE evacuation zone. This would include any area that could be flooded by a storm surge of a Category 5 hurricane.

Think about it, evacuations must begin 2-3 days BEFORE a hurricane hits. We have basically little or no skill in forecasting hurricane intensity. Average errors are 20 mph per day. So how can one say that a Category 1 hurricane 48 hours out won't be a Category 4 hurricane at landfall? This year, we saw Wilma go from TS to Cat 5 in under 24 hours. We weren't even CLOSE to forecasting such intensification.

The bottom line is that any tropical cyclone has the potential to become very intense, very quickly. Often we can't forecast such intensification. So, for those of you in ANY surge zone, unless there is a guarantee of high wind shear preventing intensification of an approaching storm, you need to consider evacuating when even a tropical storm is 2-3 days from landfall near your location. That tropical storm could unexpectedly become a very dangerous hurricane just before it makes landfall, and you'll be trapped. We saw what mere Cat 1 and isolated Cat 2 winds did to south Florida with Wilma. Hurricanes are nothing to play with.