Technically, No Texas landfalls in 04-05 record seasons

[Extremeweatherguy]

O_O, obviously it will take a while to recover, but I don't recall seeing the eye over Texas in any image. Do you have a link to one by any chance?

Umm, it tracked right over Southeast Texas and then north right through Jasper, where I had evacuated to. The NHC said it was over Jasper at 10am Saturday morning but the worst of the storm occurred for many hours overnight and into the early morning. At 10am, conditions were bad but the worst of it was over. It was a terrifying experience with it hitting in the dark.

Yeah you are right the eye did go right over you guys...but even though you were hit hard, you were still very lucky...it could have been MUCH worse. At landfall Rita was a weakening Cat. 3, and in Beaumont they only got wind reports to Cat. 1 strength (up to Cat. 2 east of Beaumont). It would have been a lot worse if Rita would have hit as a strong 4 like originally expected. For 2006 I hope areas east of Houston are quiet, and I think that Houston southward deserves to take a bullet after being so lucky these last 2 years (I havn't been lucky however, I lived in Florida during 2004 lol). Hopefully though, that bullet ends up being weak and is only enough to teach us in Houston and points south a lesson, and not kill anyone. And for all those in Houston who thought that we saw Hurricane force winds from Rita (yes, I have met a few)...you are wrong. The highest gusts IAH reported was 61mph..yes enough to do minor damage but no not enough to be a hurricane.

[Extremeweatherguy]

I feel the W and NW GOM will be much more active in 2006. Its was a quiet area compared to other locations.

Also note the shifting Westward trend. Ominous from a TX viewpoint.

That's weird...that map for 2004 does not include the recurving and rebirth of Ivan.

[southerngale]

O_O, obviously it will take a while to recover, but I don't recall seeing the eye over Texas in any image. Do you have a link to one by any chance?

Umm, it tracked right over Southeast Texas and then north right through Jasper, where I had evacuated to. The NHC said it was over Jasper at 10am Saturday morning but the worst of the storm occurred for many hours overnight and into the early morning. At 10am, conditions were bad but the worst of it was over. It was a terrifying experience with it hitting in the dark.

Yeah you are right the eye did go right over you guys...but even though you were hit hard, you were still very lucky...it could have been MUCH worse. At landfall Rita was a weakening Cat. 3, and in Beaumont they only got wind reports to Cat. 1 strength (up to Cat. 2 east of Beaumont). It would have been a lot worse if Rita would have hit as a strong 4 like originally expected. For 2006 I hope areas east of Houston are quiet, and I think that Houston southward deserves to take a bullet after being so lucky these last 2 years (I havn't been lucky however, I lived in Florida during 2004 lol). Hopefully though, that bullet ends up being weak and is only enough to teach us in Houston and points south a lesson, and not kill anyone. And for all those in Houston who thought that we saw Hurricane force winds from Rita (yes, I have met a few)...you are wrong. The highest gusts IAH reported was 61mph..yes enough to do minor damage but no not enough to be a hurricane.

The winds were well above cat.1 in Beaumont. Heck, even Jasper got cat.2 winds.
I don't consider us lucky. Yes, I know it could have been worse. It can always be worse, but lucky? nah, not even close


I also hope areas east of Houston are quiet, as well as areas west of Houston. Maybe we'll get lucky and nobody will have to deal with devastation this year. Now that would be lucky.

[ROCK]

Good maps Kat. You beat me to it. I for one have made 06 preparation given the scare with Rita. Plylox, plywood, and if I can talk the warden into it a generator. If you can't guess I will not leave for another one. 18hrs to turn around and come home. It wasnt hard to make the call.

[Stratosphere747]

It still amazes me that people just don't get it about Rita.....

If not for the burn out of the last two years and coming on the heels of Katrina, the talk would be nothing but Rita. Take a drive down Beaumont way and towards the coast. Unreal damage.

Let's get over the landfall point crap as well. Technically did it landfall in Texas? No. Did it make any difference? NO

The only comparable storm to Rita that effected Texas is Carla. That should say enough there.

What Houstonians and other Texans don't see is because of the piss-poor coverage by our own media. Trust me, it will be years before portions of Southeast Texas are the same again, if ever.

Scott

[ROCK]

It still amazes me that people just don't get it about Rita.....

If not for the burn out of the last two years and coming on the heels of Katrina, the talk would be nothing but Rita. Take a drive down Beaumont way and towards the coast. Unreal damage.

Let's get over the landfall point crap as well. Technically did it landfall in Texas? No. Did it make any difference? NO

The only comparable storm to Rita that effected Texas is Carla. That should say enough there.

What Houstonians and other Texans don't see is because of the piss-poor coverage by our own media. Trust me, it will be years before portions of Southeast Texas are the same again, if ever.

Scott

Whoa there. This thread wasnt made to downplay the impact of Rita nor was the discussion. I think we all know what happen up there and we have seen the pictures. I think the point of this discussion was to the fact, that officially there hasnt been a TX landfall in the last two years.

[Jim Cantore]

Cape verde storms dont leave texas in the clear

look at the 1900 and 1915 galveston storms

[Extremeweatherguy]

It still amazes me that people just don't get it about Rita.....

If not for the burn out of the last two years and coming on the heels of Katrina, the talk would be nothing but Rita. Take a drive down Beaumont way and towards the coast. Unreal damage.

Let's get over the landfall point crap as well. Technically did it landfall in Texas? No. Did it make any difference? NO

The only comparable storm to Rita that effected Texas is Carla. That should say enough there.

What Houstonians and other Texans don't see is because of the piss-poor coverage by our own media. Trust me, it will be years before portions of Southeast Texas are the same again, if ever.

Scott

the ONLY comparable one was Carla? How about the 1900 storm...that storm was the deadliest in U.S. history. I think that was surely worse than both Rita and Carla combined. Also, though the winds were high with Rita..they were not incredible...it was the surge at the immediate coast that made Rita how bad she was.

According to NWS records...here are the top winds recorded from Rita:

Lake Charles, LA:
Sustained = 75mph
Gusts = 96mph
(Cat. 1 force; gusts to Cat. 2)

SE Texas Regional Airport:
Sustained = 81mph
Gusts = 105mph
(Cat. 1 force; gusts to Cat. 2)

Sabine, TX:
Sustained = 82mph
Gusts = 100mph
(Cat. 1 force; gusts to Cat. 2)

Port Arthur, TX (Downtown):
Sustained = 71mph
Gusts = 96mph
(TS force; gusts to Cat. 2)

Cameron, LA:
Sustained = 73mph
Gusts = 108mph
(Cat. 1 force; gusts to Cat. 2)

Port Arthur, TX (Closer to coast):
Sustained = 93mph
Gusts = 121mph
(Strong Cat. 1 force; gusts to Cat. 3)

East Beaumont:
Sustained = 70-75mph
Gusts = 96mph
(TS/Cat. 1 force; gusts to Cat. 2)

***At the immediate coast winds were near 100mph (may be up to 110-115mph at direct landfall site, with gusts to 120-140mph.) Most major cities, however, only experienced Cat. 1 force sustained winds with gusts to Cat. 2/3 strength***

When I lived in Florida I went through 77mph sustained winds and 105mph gusts from Hurricane Charley which was incredible. The damage was horrific. The power of Cat. 1/2 storm force wind is enough to blow down trees, billboards, signs, rip shingles, destroy pool screens, move cars, rip off church steeples, etc...but to think it can be worse is scary. For most in Cities like Beaumont, you really were *somewhat* lucky, as if it would have been a strengthening Cat. 4, then your gusts probably would have topped 140mph (even on the left side of the eye)! That kind of wind would have done 3 or 4 times the type of damage you saw (wind wise). Overall, I just hope everybody gets sparred from destruction this year, but it seems an impossibility. After the last two years I have no reason to believe that this year will not also be bad. Fasten your seatbelts America...more storms are on the way. I just hope everyone will be smart and leave if asked to this season, and I pray we will get everyone out in time.

[/code]

[Extremeweatherguy]

O_O, obviously it will take a while to recover, but I don't recall seeing the eye over Texas in any image. Do you have a link to one by any chance?

Umm, it tracked right over Southeast Texas and then north right through Jasper, where I had evacuated to. The NHC said it was over Jasper at 10am Saturday morning but the worst of the storm occurred for many hours overnight and into the early morning. At 10am, conditions were bad but the worst of it was over. It was a terrifying experience with it hitting in the dark.

Yeah you are right the eye did go right over you guys...but even though you were hit hard, you were still very lucky...it could have been MUCH worse. At landfall Rita was a weakening Cat. 3, and in Beaumont they only got wind reports to Cat. 1 strength (up to Cat. 2 east of Beaumont). It would have been a lot worse if Rita would have hit as a strong 4 like originally expected. For 2006 I hope areas east of Houston are quiet, and I think that Houston southward deserves to take a bullet after being so lucky these last 2 years (I havn't been lucky however, I lived in Florida during 2004 lol). Hopefully though, that bullet ends up being weak and is only enough to teach us in Houston and points south a lesson, and not kill anyone. And for all those in Houston who thought that we saw Hurricane force winds from Rita (yes, I have met a few)...you are wrong. The highest gusts IAH reported was 61mph..yes enough to do minor damage but no not enough to be a hurricane.

The winds were well above cat.1 in Beaumont. Heck, even Jasper got cat.2 winds.
I don't consider us lucky. Yes, I know it could have been worse. It can always be worse, but lucky? nah, not even close


I also hope areas east of Houston are quiet, as well as areas west of Houston. Maybe we'll get lucky and nobody will have to deal with devastation this year. Now that would be lucky.

read my above post, and see that the winds, though bad, were not above cat. 1/2 for Beaumont. It may have seemed bad, because you may have nothing worse to compare it to personally, but truely I think (wind-wise) you guys were luckier than you could have been..I mean yes still a lot of devastation inland in your areas, but it was far less than what COULD OF happened. I think the real story from Rita is the incredible surge.

[Scorpion]

Too early to tell. There is no such thing as a pattern that shifts west or east every season.

[southerngale]

It still amazes me that people just don't get it about Rita.....

If not for the burn out of the last two years and coming on the heels of Katrina, the talk would be nothing but Rita. Take a drive down Beaumont way and towards the coast. Unreal damage.

Let's get over the landfall point crap as well. Technically did it landfall in Texas? No. Did it make any difference? NO

The only comparable storm to Rita that effected Texas is Carla. That should say enough there.

What Houstonians and other Texans don't see is because of the piss-poor coverage by our own media. Trust me, it will be years before portions of Southeast Texas are the same again, if ever.

Scott

the ONLY comparable one was Carla? How about the 1900 storm...that storm was the deadliest in U.S. history. I think that was surely worse than both Rita and Carla combined. Also, though the winds were high with Rita..they were not incredible...it was the surge at the immediate coast that made Rita how bad she was.

According to NWS records...here are the top winds recorded from Rita:

Lake Charles, LA:
Sustained = 75mph
Gusts = 96mph
(Cat. 1 force; gusts to Cat. 2)

SE Texas Regional Airport:
Sustained = 81mph
Gusts = 105mph
(Cat. 1 force; gusts to Cat. 2)

Sabine, TX:
Sustained = 82mph
Gusts = 100mph
(Cat. 1 force; gusts to Cat. 2)

Port Arthur, TX (Downtown):
Sustained = 71mph
Gusts = 96mph
(TS force; gusts to Cat. 2)

Cameron, LA:
Sustained = 73mph
Gusts = 108mph
(Cat. 1 force; gusts to Cat. 2)

Port Arthur, TX (Closer to coast):
Sustained = 93mph
Gusts = 121mph
(Strong Cat. 1 force; gusts to Cat. 3)

East Beaumont:
Sustained = 70-75mph
Gusts = 96mph
(TS/Cat. 1 force; gusts to Cat. 2)

***At the immediate coast winds were near 100mph (may be up to 110-115mph at direct landfall site, with gusts to 120-140mph.) Most major cities, however, only experienced Cat. 1 force sustained winds with gusts to Cat. 2/3 strength***

When I lived in Florida I went through 77mph sustained winds and 105mph gusts from Hurricane Charley which was incredible. The damage was horrific. The power of Cat. 1/2 storm force wind is enough to blow down trees, billboards, signs, rip shingles, destroy pool screens, move cars, rip off church steeples, etc...but to think it can be worse is scary. For most in Cities like Beaumont, you really were *somewhat* lucky, as if it would have been a strengthening Cat. 4, then your gusts probably would have topped 140mph (even on the left side of the eye)! That kind of wind would have done 3 or 4 times the type of damage you saw (wind wise). Overall, I just hope everybody gets sparred from destruction this year, but it seems an impossibility. After the last two years I have no reason to believe that this year will not also be bad. Fasten your seatbelts America...more storms are on the way. I just hope everyone will be smart and leave if asked to this season, and I pray we will get everyone out in time.

[/code]

Those aren't the accurate max winds. Some, if not all of the equipment failed before the highest winds occurred. I know that all of the KFDM reporting stations were knocked out...many still haven't been repaired or replaced. A local met who rode out the storm in a downtown Beaumont office building said that the stations started failing when the winds were about 80mph and they certainly got stronger after that. Look at the damage - it tells the tale.
Even Jasper reported winds of 100-120mph, according to the police chief. The last wind report I heard they recorded for Jasper on the radio, while I was in Jasper was 87mph. That was sometime in the overnight and it got worse after that.
Anyway, I do know what kind of damage cat.1 does as Hurricane Bonnie hit here as a cat. 1 and the damage is nowhere close to comparable. Bonnie blew down trees, signs, billboards, ripped up shingles, etc. What Rita did was far, far worse.
The area recovered quickly after Bonnie. We are recovering here, but the process will take years

Anyway, when you feel like a sitting duck...you get hit by the hurricane that you evacuated from while it's devastating where you live, lucky is not a word I'd choose. Glad it wasn't worse? Sure. Look how horrible it is everywhere from all of the hurricanes. I don't think anyone affected feels "lucky" because it wasn't a cat. 4 or cat. 5 that hit them. Of course that would have been worse, but you don't feel lucky. Dealing with the aftermath and the numerous things that entails, day after day, financially and emotionally, doesn't make one feel lucky. Will we all get through it though? You betcha!

[southerngale]

O_O, obviously it will take a while to recover, but I don't recall seeing the eye over Texas in any image. Do you have a link to one by any chance?

Umm, it tracked right over Southeast Texas and then north right through Jasper, where I had evacuated to. The NHC said it was over Jasper at 10am Saturday morning but the worst of the storm occurred for many hours overnight and into the early morning. At 10am, conditions were bad but the worst of it was over. It was a terrifying experience with it hitting in the dark.

Yeah you are right the eye did go right over you guys...but even though you were hit hard, you were still very lucky...it could have been MUCH worse. At landfall Rita was a weakening Cat. 3, and in Beaumont they only got wind reports to Cat. 1 strength (up to Cat. 2 east of Beaumont). It would have been a lot worse if Rita would have hit as a strong 4 like originally expected. For 2006 I hope areas east of Houston are quiet, and I think that Houston southward deserves to take a bullet after being so lucky these last 2 years (I havn't been lucky however, I lived in Florida during 2004 lol). Hopefully though, that bullet ends up being weak and is only enough to teach us in Houston and points south a lesson, and not kill anyone. And for all those in Houston who thought that we saw Hurricane force winds from Rita (yes, I have met a few)...you are wrong. The highest gusts IAH reported was 61mph..yes enough to do minor damage but no not enough to be a hurricane.

The winds were well above cat.1 in Beaumont. Heck, even Jasper got cat.2 winds.
I don't consider us lucky. Yes, I know it could have been worse. It can always be worse, but lucky? nah, not even close


I also hope areas east of Houston are quiet, as well as areas west of Houston. Maybe we'll get lucky and nobody will have to deal with devastation this year. Now that would be lucky.

read my above post, and see that the winds, though bad, were not above cat. 1/2 for Beaumont. It may have seemed bad, because you may have nothing worse to compare it to personally, but truely I think (wind-wise) you guys were luckier than you could have been..I mean yes still a lot of devastation inland in your areas, but it was far less than what COULD OF happened. I think the real story from Rita is the incredible surge.

See my post above. Yes, I have Hurricane Bonnie to compare it to. It didn't seem bad. It was bad.

Again, there was nothing lucky about what happened here. Lucky for us would have been it hit somewhere else and we returned home to normal life, but hey, that's just me. I'll ask around and see what everyone else in the area thinks.
Yeah, it COULD have been worse. It can always be worse. Katrina COULD have been a cat.5, but it wasn't. It is what it is.
I don't think there is *a* real story with Rita. The incredible storm surge that wiped out Cameron, Sabine Pass, etc. was horrific and the devastating wind damage FAR inland is another story as well.

[Extremeweatherguy]

It still amazes me that people just don't get it about Rita.....

If not for the burn out of the last two years and coming on the heels of Katrina, the talk would be nothing but Rita. Take a drive down Beaumont way and towards the coast. Unreal damage.

Let's get over the landfall point crap as well. Technically did it landfall in Texas? No. Did it make any difference? NO

The only comparable storm to Rita that effected Texas is Carla. That should say enough there.

What Houstonians and other Texans don't see is because of the piss-poor coverage by our own media. Trust me, it will be years before portions of Southeast Texas are the same again, if ever.

Scott

the ONLY comparable one was Carla? How about the 1900 storm...that storm was the deadliest in U.S. history. I think that was surely worse than both Rita and Carla combined. Also, though the winds were high with Rita..they were not incredible...it was the surge at the immediate coast that made Rita how bad she was.

According to NWS records...here are the top winds recorded from Rita:

Lake Charles, LA:
Sustained = 75mph
Gusts = 96mph
(Cat. 1 force; gusts to Cat. 2)

SE Texas Regional Airport:
Sustained = 81mph
Gusts = 105mph
(Cat. 1 force; gusts to Cat. 2)

Sabine, TX:
Sustained = 82mph
Gusts = 100mph
(Cat. 1 force; gusts to Cat. 2)

Port Arthur, TX (Downtown):
Sustained = 71mph
Gusts = 96mph
(TS force; gusts to Cat. 2)

Cameron, LA:
Sustained = 73mph
Gusts = 108mph
(Cat. 1 force; gusts to Cat. 2)

Port Arthur, TX (Closer to coast):
Sustained = 93mph
Gusts = 121mph
(Strong Cat. 1 force; gusts to Cat. 3)

East Beaumont:
Sustained = 70-75mph
Gusts = 96mph
(TS/Cat. 1 force; gusts to Cat. 2)

***At the immediate coast winds were near 100mph (may be up to 110-115mph at direct landfall site, with gusts to 120-140mph.) Most major cities, however, only experienced Cat. 1 force sustained winds with gusts to Cat. 2/3 strength***

When I lived in Florida I went through 77mph sustained winds and 105mph gusts from Hurricane Charley which was incredible. The damage was horrific. The power of Cat. 1/2 storm force wind is enough to blow down trees, billboards, signs, rip shingles, destroy pool screens, move cars, rip off church steeples, etc...but to think it can be worse is scary. For most in Cities like Beaumont, you really were *somewhat* lucky, as if it would have been a strengthening Cat. 4, then your gusts probably would have topped 140mph (even on the left side of the eye)! That kind of wind would have done 3 or 4 times the type of damage you saw (wind wise). Overall, I just hope everybody gets sparred from destruction this year, but it seems an impossibility. After the last two years I have no reason to believe that this year will not also be bad. Fasten your seatbelts America...more storms are on the way. I just hope everyone will be smart and leave if asked to this season, and I pray we will get everyone out in time.

[/code]

Those aren't the accurate max winds. Some, if not all of the equipment failed before the highest winds occurred. I know that all of the KFDM reporting stations were knocked out...many still haven't been repaired or replaced. A local met who rode out the storm in a downtown Beaumont office building said that the stations started failing when the winds were about 80mph and they certainly got stronger after that. Look at the damage - it tells the tale.
Even Jasper reported winds of 100-120mph, according to the police chief. The last wind report I heard they recorded for Jasper on the radio, while I was in Jasper was 87mph. That was sometime in the overnight and it got worse after that.
Anyway, I do know what kind of damage cat.1 does as Hurricane Bonnie hit here as a cat. 1 and the damage is nowhere close to comparable. Bonnie blew down trees, signs, billboards, ripped up shingles, etc. What Rita did was far, far worse.
The area recovered quickly after Bonnie. We are recovering here, but the process will take years

Anyway, when you feel like a sitting duck...you get hit by the hurricane that you evacuated from while it's devastating where you live, lucky is not a word I'd choose. Glad it wasn't worse? Sure. Look how horrible it is everywhere from all of the hurricanes. I don't think anyone affected feels "lucky" because it wasn't a cat. 4 or cat. 5 that hit them. Of course that would have been worse, but you don't feel lucky. Dealing with the aftermath and the numerous things that entails, day after day, financially and emotionally, doesn't make one feel lucky. Will we all get through it though? You betcha!

You are right. After looking at some Rita pictures I would think that the gusts were probably higher than 96mph in Beaumont. I would predict that they reached 100-110mph as the damage pics look very similar to the damage I saw in Orlando after Hurricane Charley (which had 100-110mph gusts). Here is the site that I found these pics. on:

http://www.stormchase.net/rita.htm

According to the storm chasers in Beaumont...they say that the damage and wind that they saw was consistant with a Cat. 2 landfall...which is higher than the TS/Cat. 1 wind reports that I found on the NWS website.

[southerngale]

Thanks for that link - I hadn't seen it. Here are some more pictures from the area. I took some of them and some were from other people in the area and/or the newspaper.

http://www.storm2k.org/phpbb2/viewtopic.php?t=79174

[Derek Ortt]

ftp://ftp.nhc.noaa.gov/pub/storm_archiv ... elim02.gif

Bonnie wa supgraded to a cane based upon 68KT winds at 1500 feet. Thats a Great One upgrade by todays standards, as we now know that a 75% reduction factor is needed. This yields a 51KT TS. Also, the 75KT at landfall were based upon oil rigs well above 10m. This was not known at the time (and it appears as if Hugo was upgraded incorrectly to a 5 based upon 165KT at 1500 feet... which equates to 123.75KT at the surface, and nearly equated to a plane in the Atlantic... more evidence supports a cat 5 at SC with 141KT at 600mb)

ftp://ftp.nhc.noaa.gov/pub/storm_archiv ... elim06.gif

based upon the surface obs, it did become a cane before landfall, but most of the coast from Bonnie only received TS winds; thus, it may not be correct to equate Bonnie with the effects of cat 1 winds

[swampdude]

I'm with SouthernGale.......She and I live 20 miles apart IN Texas and the eye of Rita came right over both of our towns. Technically, Rita may have made a Louisiana landfall (by about 5-10 miles), but it spent most of it's land-time over Texas. Now, Louisiana definately took the brunt of the storm surge, but you might check with the insurance companies and see if they concur that Rita was a Texas storm! :-D Look closeley at a map finding Sabine Pass, Texas and Johnson's Bayou, Louisiana. Then look at Rita's angle of attack. Regardless of where you want to say Rita made landfall, she kicked Texas and Louisiana's butts!!