[Tropical] Hurricane Local Statement

[EMWIN Server]

WTUS84 KHGX 221336
HLSHGX
GMZ330-335-350-355-370-375-TXZ163-164-176>179-195>200-210>214-226-227-
235>238-221600-

HURRICANE LOCAL STATEMENT...CORRECTED FORMATING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUSTON/GALVESTON TX
534 AM CDT THU SEP 22 2005

...RITA IS A DANGEROUS CATEGORY 5 HURRICANE WITH WINDS NEAR 175 MPH...

...HURRICANE WATCH IS IN EFFECT FOR THE UPPER TEXAS COAST...

...INLAND HURRICANE WATCH FOR ALL OF SOUTHEAST TEXAS...

...THIS STATEMENT APPLIES TO THE RESIDENTS OF...GALVESTON...
AUSTIN...BRAZORIA...BRAZOS...BURLESON...CHAMBERS...COLORADO...FORT
BEND...GALVESTON...GRIMES...HARRIS...HOUSTON...JACKSON...LIBERTY...
MADISON...MATAGORDA...MONTGOMERY...POLK...SAN JACINTO...TRINITY...
WALKER...WALLER...WASHINGTON...AND WHARTON COUNTIES.

...WATCHES/WARNINGS IN EFFECT...
HURRICANE WATCH FOR ALL OF THE COASTAL COUNTIES OF SOUTHEAST TEXAS.

INLAND HURRICANE WATCH FOR ALL OF SOUTHEAST TEXAS.

...CURRENT STORM INFORMATION...

.LOCATION...
AT 4 AM CDT...THE CENTER OF HURRICANE RITA WAS LOCATED NEAR LATITUDE
24.9 NORTH...LONGITUDE 88.0 WEST...OR ABOUT 515 MILES SOUTHEAST OF
GALVESTON TEXAS.

.MOVEMENT...
HURRICANE RITA WAS MOVING WEST-NORTHWEST AT 9 MPH.  THIS GENERAL
MOTION IS EXPECTED TO CONTINUE FOR THE NEXT 24 HOURS.

.INTENSITY...
MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS WERE ESTIMATED AT 175 MPH WITH HIGHER GUSTS.
RITA IS A DANGEROUS CATEGORY 5 HURRICANE AND FLUCTUATIONS IN STRENGTH
ARE EXPECTED THROUGH TOMORROW.

...PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

.EVACUATION INFORMATION...
FOR JACKSON COUNTY...
MANDATORY EVACUATION HAS BEEN DECLARED FOR THE ENTIRE COUNTY.

FOR MATAGORDA COUNTY...
MANDATORY EVACUATION IN EFFECT FOR EVERYONE SOUTH OF A LINE FROM
HIGHWAY 35 AT THE BRAZORIA COUNTY LINE TO MARKHAM THEN SOUTH ON
HIGHWAY 2431 TO MIDFIELD AND THEN SOUTH ON HIGHWAY 111 TO THE COUNTY
LINE. THIS CURRENTLY EXCLUDES BAY CITY AND VAN VLECK.

ALTHOUGH TRAFFIC HAS BEEN HEAVY AS THE TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT PLAN HAS
BEEN IMPLEMENTED...TRAFFIC MOVEMENT SHOULD ACCELERATE.  DO NOT LET THE
TRAFFIC DELAYS HALT YOUR EFFORTS TO EVACUATE.

FOR HARRIS COUNTY...
MANDATORY EVACUATIONS ARE IN EFFECT FOR ZONE A. ZONES B AND C WILL
HAVE MANDATORY EVACUATIONS BEGINNING AT 6 AM.

FOR GALVESTON AND BRAZORIA COUNTIES...
MANDATORY EVACUATIONS ARE IN EFFECT FOR ZONE A.  ZONE B STARTED A
MANDATORY EVACUATION IN EFFECT AT 2 AM.  ZONE C WILL HAVE A MANDATORY
EVACUATION IN EFFECT AT 6 AM.  PEARLAND OFFICE OF EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT
OFFICE HAS ISSUED A MANDATORY EVACUATION FOR THOSE IN FLOOD PRONE
AREAS...THOSE IN MOBILE HOMES OR OTHER NON-STURDY STRUCTURES...AND FOR
THOSE WITH SPECIAL TRANSPORTATION.

LIBERTY COUNTY...
LIBERTY COUNTY OFFICE OF EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT HAS ASKED FOR A
VOLUNTARY EVACUATION FOR THE ENTIRE COUNTY.  EVACUEES SHOULD TRAVEL
NORTH ON HIGHWAY 321 AND HIGHWAY 146.  SPECIAL NEEDS INDIVIDUALS IN
NEED OF TRANSPORTATION SHOULD CONTACT THE SHERIFFS OFFICE.

FOR FORT BEND...
VOLUNTARY EVACUATIONS IN EFFECT.

FOR WHARTON...MANDATORY EVACUATIONS BEGIN AT 6 AM.

.SCHOOL...GOVERNMENT...AND HOSPITAL FACILITY CLOSINGS...
MANY INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICTS IN GALVESTON...BRAZORIA...
MATAGORDA...JACKSON...CHAMBERS...AND HARRIS COUNTIES ARE CLOSED.

LAMAR...NEEDVILLE...AND FORT BEND INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICTS ARE
CLOSED.

IN ADDITION...ALL SCHOOLS IN THE SAN JACINTO COLLEGE DISTRICT AND
BRAZOSPORT COLLEGE ARE CLOSED.  GALVESTON COUNTY GOVERNMENT FACILITIES
ARE CLOSED TODAY.  THE JAMAICA BEACH OFFICE OF EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT
IS CLOSED.

UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS MEDICAL BRANCH (UTMB) IN GALVESTON IS CLOSED.  NO
MEDICAL CARE WILL BE AVAILABLE AT UTMB HOSPITAL FROM THIS POINT
FORWARD.

...STORM SURGE FLOOD AND STORM TIDES IMPACT...
TIDE LEVELS ARE CURRENTLY RUNNING WITHIN 1 FOOT OF NORMAL ALONG THE
UPPER TEXAS COAST.  TIDE LEVELS ARE EXPECTED TO GRADUALLY BEGIN RISING
LATER TODAY AS SWELLS ASSOCIATED WITH HURRICANE RITA BEGIN PROPAGATING
ACROSS THE COASTAL WATERS.  THIS POTENTIAL WATER LEVEL RISE COUPLED
WITH THE HIGH TIDE CYCLE TONIGHT AND EARLY FRIDAY MORNING WILL LIKELY
RESULT IN MINOR COASTAL FLOODING ACROSS THE LOWEST AREAS ALONG THE
COAST AND ADJACENT TO THE BAYS.  MORE SIGNIFICANT COASTAL FLOODING IS
EXPECTED TO OCCUR AT THE SUBSEQUENT HIGH TIDE CYCLE WHICH WILL BEGIN
FRIDAY EVENING AND CONTINUE INTO SATURDAY MORNING.

THE FOLLOWING ARE THE HIGH TIDE TIMES FOR THURSDAY EVENING AND EARLY
FRIDAY MORNING...AS WELL AS THE PREDICTED WATER LEVELS.

LOCATION          HIGH TIDE TIME     EXPECTED WATER LEVEL
                                     RELATIVE TO MEAN LOWER LOW
WATER

PLEASURE PIER      937 PM CDT THU    4.7 FEET

PORT BOLIVAR      1123 PM CDT THU    3.9 FEET

GALVESTON CHANNEL 1109 PM CDT THU    4.4 FEET

SAN LUIS PASS     1100 PM CDT THU    3.7 FEET

JAMAICA BEACH      147 AM CDT FRI    3.9 FEET

MORGANS POINT      930 AM CDT FRI    3.5 FEET

EAGLE POINT        303 AM CDT FRI    3.4 FEET

FREEPORT           949 PM CDT THU    4.4 FEET

PORT OCONNOR       451 AM CDT FRI    3.6 FEET

CLEAR LAKE         514 AM CDT FRI    3.5 FEET

...WIND IMPACTS...
TROPICAL STORM FORCE WINDS...39 MPH OR GREATER...ARE EXPECTED TO
REACH THE UPPER TEXAS COAST AROUND NOON FRIDAY AND SPREAD INLAND TO
THE INTERSTATE 10 CORRIDOR BY LATE AFTERNOON.  THE TROPICAL STORM
FORCE WINDS ARE THEN EXPECTED TO PUSH NORTHWARD ACROSS THE REMAINDER
OF SOUTHEAST TEXAS BY AROUND MIDNIGHT.

THE ONSET OF HURRICANE FORCE WINDS ARE EXPECTED AT THE COAST BY LATE
FRIDAY EVENING.  HURRICANE FORCE WINDS ARE THEN EXPECTED TO SPREAD
INLAND THROUGHOUT THE REMAINDER OF FRIDAY NIGHT AND INTO SATURDAY
AFTERNOON.

AN INLAND HURRICANE WATCH HAS BEEN ISSUED FOR ALL OF SOUTHEAST
TEXAS.  THIS MEANS SUSTAINED WINDS GREATER THAN 74 MPH ARE POSSIBLE
OVER ALL OF SOUTHEAST TEXAS.

THE IMPACTS FOR SUSTAINED WINDS OF 70 TO 90 MPH WITH GUSTS 100 TO 110
MPH ARE AS FOLLOWS...
VERY DANGEROUS WINDS WILL PRODUCE WIDESPREAD DAMAGE.  DESTRUCTION OF
MOBILE HOMES ARE LIKELY!

STRUCTURAL DAMAGE...
THE MAJORITY OF MOBILE HOMES MAY BE SEVERELY DAMAGED.  THOSE THAT
SURVIVE COULD BE UNINHABITABLE.  HOUSES OF POOR TO AVERAGE
CONSTRUCTION MAY RECEIVE MAJOR DAMAGE...INCLUDING PARTIAL WALL
COLLAPSE AND ROOFS BEING LIFTED OFF.  MANY COULD BE UNINHABITABLE.
WELL CONSTRUCTED HOUSES MAY INCUR MINOR DAMAGE TO SHINGLES...SIDING...
GUTTERS...AND BLOWN OUT WINDOWS.  UP TO ONE QUARTER OF GABLED ROOFS
MAY FAIL.

PARTIAL ROOF FAILURE IS POSSIBLE AT INDUSTRIAL PARKS...ESPECIALLY TO
THOSE BUILDINGS WITH LIGHT WEIGHT STEEL AND ALUMINUM COVERINGS.  OLDER
LOW RISING APARTMENT ROOFS MAY ALSO BE TORN OFF...AS WELL AS RECEIVING
SIDING AND SHINGLE DAMAGE.  UP TO ONE QUARTER OF ALL GLASS IN HIGH
RISE OFFICE BUILDINGS MAY BE BLOWN OUT.  AIRBORNE DEBRIS MAY CAUSE
DAMAGE...INJURY...AND POSSIBLE FATALITIES.

NATURAL DAMAGE...
ALL TREES WITH ROTTING BASES MAY UPROOT OR SNAP.  NEARLY ALL LARGE
BRANCHES SHOULD SNAP. BETWEEN ONE QUARTER AND ONE HALF OF HEALTHY
SMALL TO MEDIUM SIZED TREES MAY BE SNAPPED OR UPROOTED.

...RAINFALL...
8 TO 12 INCHES OF RAIN...WITH LOCALIZED HIGHER AMOUNTS...IS EXPECTED
THROUGH THE DURATION OF THE EVENT.  INLAND FLOODING IS LIKELY FRIDAY
NIGHT AND SATURDAY.

FOR MORE TROPICAL WEATHER INFORMATION...SEE THE NATIONAL HURRICANE
CENTER WEB PAGE AT HTTP://WWW.NHC.NOAA.GOV OR THE HOUSTON/GALVESTON
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WEB PAGE AT HTTP://WWW.SRH.NOAA.GOV/HGX.

THE NEXT HURRICANE RITA STATEMENT WILL BE ISSUED AROUND 11 AM CDT.

$$



This weather bulletin was brought to you by:
www.nashvilleweather.net