Houston in the rear view mirror

[Tasan]

As of Thursday night, Houston will be in my rear view mirror. We decided tonight to not even risk the southern tracking the storm is starting to take now and just go visit our parents in north east Texas. Call me a wimp, call me reactionary, but I don't like storms at all, and we'll be on the eastern (aka the BAD side) of it as it is. I'd rather a tornado rip through my EMPTY house that with us in it.

I'll keep you guys informed of the journey!

[Hammer755]

I'll be exiting stage left as well, heading to some friend's house in Dallas. I live just west of Houston, and most of the tracking indicates Rita will turn north far too close for my comfort. I've got 2 little boys, and even if it's a minimal risk of something catastrophic happening, it's still not a chance I want to take.

This was the projected path of Rita earlier this evening:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v508/Hammer715/OOTP/Rita.gif

[GoldenEagle]

What part of Houston do you live in?

[Tasan]

I'm in north Houston, near Bush airport, but still , that puts us on the east side of the storm, and everything I read says that is BAD.

[cartman]

Well, we need the rain in the Austin area. Would prefer that it comes from not so potentially catastrophic a source though.

[Hammer755]

What part of Houston do you live in?
I live in Katy.

[Swaggs]

Hope you all have a safe trip and return.

[Ksyrup]

I live in Katy.
Say hi to Doug and Ty for me (Jerry moved to Jersey).

[sterlingice]

Hm.. maybe it's time to call the parents tomorrow night. Then, again, they live on the far northwest side of town, out 249 past Highway 6 so they should be fine. That's almost 2 hours from the coast driving.

SI

[Solecismic]

The big risk once you're more than a mile or so from shore will be the tornadoes that pop up - probably all over the area. I'm not sure why people in Houston are evacuating, other than that the media's probably enjoying giving everyone a good scare.

Now, if you're in Galveston, that's another story.

[BigJohn&TheLions]

Could we soon see Front Office Hurricane Tracker?

Sorry... Couldn't resist.

[JeeberD]

Best of luck to all the Houston/Galveston FOFCers!

[JeeberD]

Well, we need the rain in the Austin area. Would prefer that it comes from not so potentially catastrophic a source though.

I'm hearing that Austin is supposed to get some serious winds...like 60-80mph.

[Huckleberry]

I'm not sure why people in Houston are evacuating, other than that the media's probably enjoying giving everyone a good scare.
1.) Wind and water. Why stay in a tropical depression or storm if I don't have to?

2.) Power outage. Why live without electricity if I don't have to?

3.) My work closed for Thursday and Friday so scratch the first two - it's really more of an excuse for an extended weekend trip to see the family. :D

[cartman]

I'm hearing that Austin is supposed to get some serious winds...like 60-80mph.

Now that it is a Cat 5 storm, I wouldn't be suprised if it was still a Cat 1 storm if the track takes it to Austin. I remember back in the 80s, I think it was Hurricane Alicia, was still a Cat 1 with a well formed eye when it made it to DFW.

[RPI-Fan]

I live in Katy.

Interesting... my aunt (& family) who live in Lake Jackson are evacuating to Katy.

[Tasan]

Wow, evac'ing to anywhere in the greater Houston area is NOT a good idea. Winds will be 100+ mph in most areas if it comes ashore Cat 4 or bigger. I can't wait to leave in the morning.

[jackyl]

My little sis, after my insistence, is coming up to DFW from College Station to ride this thing out. My question is, how bad will this thing be 70+ miles inland like Aggieland is? Am I being overprotective here or is CS close enough to worry about Rita's wrath?

[RendeR]

Its definitely worth worrying about, even 70+miles in if she hits at Cat 4 she'll still be damned near if not Cat 3 when she gets that far.

[JeeberD]

I've heard that just about all the hotels in Texas are already booked up. If any FOFCers are trying to get out of Houston but can't find anywhere to stay, the fiancee' and I have a couch that we're willing to let someone crash on for a few days. It's not the most comfortable couch in the world, but it's free and we'll have electricty and water...

[JeeberD]

Dola-

Am I being overprotective here or is CS close enough to worry about Rita's wrath?

My fiancee' just sent me this e-mail from the Richardson PD. If they're predicting this in DFW I'm not sure I would want to stick it out in B/CS...

Crimefighters- this is from our Emergency Management Director at the City
of Richardson. Notice the suggestion to stock up on water and batteries,
and to fuel up your vehicles. He is expecting we'll get some spin-off from
hurricane Rita, so we should plan for possible power outages due to high
winds and possible tornadic activity.
Hurricane Rita is now a Cat 4 (131-155). The models used to track
hurricanes show that the probable impact will be near Matagorda. With this
being the general location of landfall, the strongest side of the storm
will severely impact the greater Harris County (Houston) with destructive
winds, very heavy rains, and tornadoes.

After landfall, the track of the storm is projected to move over Dallas -
Fort Worth area. If the storms reach land at a Cat 4, by the time it
reaches DFW, it should be a
CAT 1. We will experience wind gusts at time greater than 50 mph up to 74
mph. The Metroplex will experience the affects of Hurricane Rita by
Saturday afternoon. We can expect periods of heavy rains and possible
tornadic event associated with the rain bands. I would suggest that you
stock up on batteries and potable waters. Fuel up your vehicles.

I strongly suggest you monitor the weather channel or your news station for
the latest information in this changing event.




John C. Corbitt
Crime Prevention Unit
Richardson Police Department
972-744-4952
[email protected]

[oliegirl]

I live in Katy.

Shouldn't that be "I live in Katy - home of Renee Chesney, nee Zellweger, who will soon be Renee Zellweger again?"

[sterlingice]

Well, I called my parents tonight after about an hour and a half of getting "the circuits are all full". Apparently, my parents are still hanging out at their house as the ways out of town are pretty much parking lots where the only thing you can accomplish is running out of gas on your way out of town. They've boarded up the house as much as they can with old lumber from, yes, you guessed it, Hurricane Allen, that they brought up to Houston when they moved and over the past couple of days re-cut it for their windows there. Not quite enough for every window, particularly the ones facing the back of the house so hopefully things won't get too nasty there. If roads clear up enough to get out, they're going to go stay with my sister who's at school in San Antonio and if not, they'll stick it out in Houston.

They've also been told that if you can't leave by about noon tomorrow, don't even try as the storm will be on them and you'll be stuck on the road in the middle of nasty, windy thunderstorms. Can't say I'm not a bit worried for them but they've done all they can and hopefully things will work out.

SI

[DaddyTorgo]

my grandparents and my aunt/uncle and cousins are riding it out in Houston. Twin Lakes out by Bear Creek Park, if that means anything to anyone down there.

[kcchief19]

My aunt lives in Katy and she's trying to go to Dallas. Katy is generally elevated enough that flooding shouldn't be a major concern, but there is a reservoir in Katy that connects to a channel that feeds to the gulf, and that reservoir has a history of flooding and poses a risk to some neighborhoods in Katy. That's where my aunt lives, so she's trying to take off. She left this morning at 4 a.m. and by noon had made it 20 miles and returned home.

Her husband is a detective and she claims (she's prone to over dramatization) that the police there are primarily assigned to looting prevention and they are putting very few resources into traffic direction, which may be one reason why the evacuation appears to be a bit of a cluster.

Jim, I agree. I think a massive evacuation of Houston is a bit much, especially now that Rita appears to be pushing further east. The only real threat to Houston should be from heavy rains, but it shouldn't threaten the entire city. I think we're seeing some paranoia and overreaction.

[sterlingice]

my grandparents and my aunt/uncle and cousins are riding it out in Houston. Twin Lakes out by Bear Creek Park, if that means anything to anyone down there.
Bear Creek Park sounds familiar but I can't place it...

SI

[DaddyTorgo]

out off what...the Eldridge Parkway?

[Tasan]

After 15.5 hours of backroad meandering, I am proud to say I'm safely out the greater Houston area, in Tyler, Texas. We got a real good tip on a back road early, and if it wasn't for one 5 mile stretch that took 4.5 hours, we would have made great time. I was on fumes though when I reached the first gas station that had something though, some 250 miles from my origin. I was glad I grabbed the 1.5 gallons of gas for the lawnmower right before I left, let me tell you.

[oliegirl]

I have an aunt and uncle in Houston - Kingwood...once they decided to stay some friends of theirs who live in Beaumont came to stay with them. They aren't anticipating any flooding problems, just standing water in the roads and that type of thing. Their major threat is wind - their neighborhood is very wooded so they are concerned about tree limbs coming through the roof or windows.