Hurricane Katrina now Cat 5

[coquina]

Katrina now has winds in excess of 160 mph. She will hit somewhere on the gulf coast - probability is high for New Orleans.

 

Link to "The Weather Channel"

http://www.weather.com/newscenter/tropical/

 

I suspect that this storm will ultimately affect a large part of the eastern US. I remember Camille...in case anyone has any doubt of what a Cat 5 can do..

 

http://www.geocities.com/hurricanene/hurricanecamille.htm

http://www.angelfire.com/ms3/n5ycn/camille.html

 

If you live in the strike zone, I hope you've already left the area.

 

Maybe we can use this thread to keep in touch with one another as the storm progresses.

[JustStuit]

Wow this is bad. When it hit Florida where I am it was a hurricane 1. Cat 5 is gonna be bad. Prayers and luck to people in New Orleans and anywhere in its path. Be prepared.

[Pangloss]

Now up to 175mph and 907mb pressure (Andrew was ~922). The only good news there is that hurricanes can rarely sustain that kind of energy for very long, so there's a good chance it will drop down to Cat4 before it hits.

 

But any way you look at it, it's going to be very bad, and perhaps worse than Andrew, because as I understand it New Orleans lacks even the pre-Andrew building codes of South Florida, especially in the older parts of town (like the French Quarter).

 

Katrina passed right over my house, by the way, but of course it was just a Category 1 then. We just closed the shutters and hunkered down. Lost a plantain tree in the backyard, and my server got zapped by a power surge. But even with all our preparations and building codes there are still half a million people here without power, a bridge collapsed on a major highway (that I was supposed to use Monday morning), and seven people died foolishly trying to drive around town in the middle of an "only a category one" hurricane.

[JustStuit]

Hey so does anyone on here live in the way of Katrina? I suppose they won't be on though. Be interesting to hear from them when they get back. I agree about the hurricane catagory one, many people underestimate them (i was inside watching tv)

[latentheat]

barometric pressure in the center now down to 902 mb.

 

Anyone in new orleans who won't leave will DIE, plain and simple. This is not the time to play games.

[JustStuit]

The lower the barometric pressure the worse correct? I think thats right.

[latentheat]

Yes. Lower barometric pressure = larger pressure gradient. Larger pressure gradient = greater air transfer needed to re establish equilibrium = higher winds.

[JustStuit]

I assume most of the people have already left? I dont see how anyone would want to stay in the way of that thing. They would have to be ignorant or unintelligant or something.

[Thomas Kirby]

With all eyes on Katrina, it would be wise to pay attention to any tornadoes that might be spawned. Also, landfall is coming during what is usually the hottest part of the day. I think we're going to see the worst we can get for a hurricane. The heated land will add thermal energy.

[Lance]

The winds are not going to be bad as the flooding. New Orleans was built 9' below sea level and has levees from 10 to 15 feet. A storm surge is expected of around 25 feet. I wont be surprised if New Orleans is gone after after the hurricane.

[JustStuit]

Yea i was watching tv and the mayor of new orleans placed a mandatory evacuation and said that the levy system would fail. There will be bad flooding in the area and it may be there for 6 months they said. I sure hope this does not happen.

[JustStuit]

They also said that the pumps to pump out water would be underwater and therfore useless. Thats why it would take so long to clear out the water.

[coquina]

They say there are tourists stranded in New Orleans because all airlines have canceled flights - why doesn't the gov't send those huge cargo planes in to get them out?

[Cap'n Refsmmat]

The cargo planes aren't really equipped to carry a massive load of people. They're designed for inanimate objects, and I believe they only have a row of seats down each side. Equipping them to carry many people would take a while, and also they are very loud and I believe they are also uninsulated.

[coquina]

Regardless - the military does have planes that are equipped to handle large numbers of troops. It would be horrible if thousands of people were drowned like rats in a barrel.

[oatjay]

hey, everyone. i live in new orleans but right now i'm at college in indiana. i am in contact with a lot of people back home though. apparently the winds were overestimated a little bit (about 10 mph) but i don't think that that will make too much of a difference. i know a few people who are staying behind but most people have already left- my family evacuated to florida this morning and most of my friends are in baton rouge or texas. the city is essentially empty right now. i'm really worried about this. the worst thing that could happen would be for the eye to pass just to the west of the city- the winds would push the water over the levee and once it gets over, it isn't going to leave. hopefully i'll have a house tomorrow.

[oatjay]

They say there are tourists stranded in New Orleans because all airlines have canceled flights - why doesn't the gov't send those huge cargo planes in to get them out?

 

 

at this point flying people out of the city would be impractical because of the numbers left and because flying at this point wouldn't be very safe at all. at this point most people who haven't left yet are going to ride it out at home or head to a nearby shelter. hopefully the water doesn't flood them out.

[oatjay]

7 o'clock advisory just came in- winds are down to 160. pressures up a little bit at 904 mb. and it has slowed slightly. heading in a more northerly direction, but it's still looking really bad for the city.

[mezarashi]

New Orleans Mayor C. Ray Nagin has just issued an official order of mandatory evacuation for Orleans Parish, effective immediately.

 

http://www.neworleanscvb.com/static/index.cfm/action/group/contentID/256/sectionID/1/subsectionID/0/

 

According to predictions made previously, it seems like this may indeed be "the end" of New Orleans. A category 5 storm slamming directly into Lake Pontchartrain making it spill into New Orleans. Will there be much to salvage after the storm?

 

http://www.time.com/time/reports/mississippi/orleans.html

 

Being under sea level sure doesn't help. I just hope for the best to the people of that region.

[coquina]

U.S. oil surges $4 to record above $70 on hurricane

 

 

 

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - U.S. crude oil futures surged more than $4 in opening trade on Monday, hitting a new record high above $70 a barrel after Hurricane Katrina forced Gulf of Mexico producers to shut in more than a third of their output.

[JustStuit]

Good luck oatjay hope you have minimal damage. keep us updated

[jdurg]

My best friend, who is getting married in December, lives on the MS/LA border. I haven't been able to get in touch with him for a while, and I just pray that he and his family survive this thing. (I'd call to see if he's okay, but for the next few days I want to keep lines open for the emergency personnel in the area). I think it's still too early to say that a city is going to be 'wiped away'. With storms like these you just never know what's going to happen. I just pray that it slows up before making landfall as this will weaken it quickly, and that once it makes landfall it accelerates out of there. I was planning to go down for my best friend's wedding this December in New Orleans, but now I don't know if there will be a place for me to go.

[Pangloss]

APOD has an incredible picture of Katrina, taken this afternoon by GOES 12.

 

http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap050829.html

 

I can't get over the size of the thing. At one point the feeder bands were stretching from Cancun, Mexico to Gainesville, Florida (way north of Orlando). Unbelievable.

[Lyssia]

I don't know whether to be all "Aaaaah, look at that hurricane, isn't that cool!" or "Arrrrgghh is everyone out of New Orleans safely?!"

[jdurg]

On the bright side, the center of the storm moved a bit further east and has made landfall EAST of New Orleans. As a result, I think New Orleans got spared a little bit. In addition, the storm did what I was hoping it would do and stalled a little bit just offshore before making landfall. This allowed it to weaken a little bit due to friction of the feeder bands with the land. The area is still getting rocked by this, but it's not going to be the cataclysmic disaster that was initially thought. What saddens me a bit, however, is that the center of the storm has moved closer to where my friend lives in MS. (He lives basically right on the MS/LA border).