Is this worse b/c of Rita?

[hurricanetrack]

Are the conditons expected in these areas worse now because of Rita? Did the hurricane wash away protective dunes, if there were any or is this typical of large Gulf storms? If so, this really should underscore the vulnerability of portions of the Gulf Coast to storm surge.

...COASTAL FLOOD WARNING NOW IN EFFECT UNTIL 7 PM CDT MONDAY...

THE COASTAL FLOOD WARNING IS NOW IN EFFECT UNTIL 7 PM CDT MONDAY.

STRONG EASTERLY WINDS CONTINUE TO PILE-UP WATER ALONG THE COAST.
THE ACTUAL TIDES ARE RUNNING ABOUT 2 FEET ABOVE THE PREDICTED
TIDES.

THE HIGH TIDE WILL OCCUR BETWEEN 1 AND 2 AM MONDAY MORNING. THE
ACTUAL TIDES WILL BE RUNNING FROM 4 TO 4.5 FEET... BASED ON THE
CURRENT TREND.

ACTUAL TIDES BETWEEN 4 AND 5 FEET MAY CAUSE COASTAL FLOODING.

IN CAMERON... WATER MAY COVER PARTS OF HIGHWAY 82 BETWEEN HOLLY
BEACH AND JOHNSON BAYOU... AND BETWEEN OAK GROVE AND GRAND
CHENIER. ALSO... WATER MAY COVER MAIN STREET IN THE CITY OF
CAMERON.
IN JEFFERSON... WATER MAY COVER PARTS OF HIGHWAY 87 BETWEEN
SABINE PASS AND PORT ARTHUR.

IN ST MARY... WATER MAY CREEP INTO CYPREMORT POINT STATE PARK AND
BURNS POINT RECREATION AREA.

[marcane_1973]

That is a great question you have brought up there Mr. Mark Sudduth. Those conditions listed there are a bit extreme it seems for such a weak system right now in the GOM.

[wxmann_91]

A strong southerly fetch of winds along with the weakened coastline and high tide will create coastal flood conditions.

Remember, it does not take an eyewall of a hurricane to create storm surge...a training squall line will do the trick just fine. Dennis, Rita, Katrina all taught us that well.

If we have a disturbance which can induce a strong southerly fetch aimed perpendicular to the coastline, you betcha there will be significant coastal flooding.

[Lindaloo]

In Hancock County, the area that suffered Katrina's wrath, homes on the shoreline are 8 inches away from entering homes.

[T-man]

I live in a low lying coastal area of southeast LA- and yes, I can say that it is worse since 2005- Cindy, Katrina, and Rita all passed through here or close enough to cause damage of some type. Right now my back yard is under water. The bayou is threatening to inundate the highway in Lafitte, where I live. Down below me, in Grand Isle, the highway is already under water. This is the new reality...

[SIMWMBA]

The west end of Dauphin Island, AL had a bit of overwash Monday Oct 16.
Tides were about 2 feet above normal.

You can see in the pic (link below) there are NO dunes left on the island.

http://www.di-bbs.com/gallery/files/2/O ... er001w.jpg

Even more coastal flooding Tuesday morning Oct 17th before the squall line moved through.
Tides were almost 3 feet above normal and winds were gusting to near 35 knots all Monday night!

Numerous Tornado Warnings issued for Mobile & Baldwin Counties.
Easily the 'worst' weather we've seen here in over a year.

The wind has calmed now, but the tide is still about a foot above normal.
Thank goodness this occured during a NEAP tide phase or the flooding would have likely been even worse.

Yes, it doesn't take a tropical system to make coastal flooding.

[hurrican19]

Photos taken from Holly Beach, LA (West Cameron) on Highway 82 and Highway 27 on October 16th where the Coastal Flood Warning was going on. Highway 27 was closed due to high water over the road (the photo where the fire hydrant is, is hwy 27 - just a half mile up the road were the DoT Workers - Sorry for the poor quality, photos were from my cellphone,and the seasalt got into my tiny lens and I had no way to clean it, also have video of the wind howling at the beach at about 45-50mph, but didn't know I couldn't download the video to my laptop! go figure!

Visibility was extremely poor due to all the salt in the air, maybe half mile visibility.

[Jim Cantore]

Rita couldn't of helped, it wiped the area flat. I think she very well of made this worse.

[LaBreeze]

I heard on the news that south of the Henry, Louisiana area (southern Vermilion Parish), the water had reached waist high levels on Monday and cattlemen had to allow their cattle out so that they could make it to the high ground on the levee.

['CaneFreak]

If Rita and Katrina DID make the Gulf Coast more vulnerable to storm surge in their wakes, then I can't wait to see what the storm surge scenarios are like for even a minimal hurricane. I am sure the projected surge is going to be higher now than pre-2005 surge values. This is really gonna be interesting to say the least. It probably won't be this year but next year things COULD be QUITE different.

[bbadon]

I have lived in this area all my life and saw the above mentioned overwash with my own eyes, I can say without a doubt Hurricane Rita changed the landscape so that the recent higher than normal tide indeed flooded areas that did not flood pre Rita. In fact even further inland HWY 27 North of Hackberry flooded which did not happen before Rita.