Hurricane Plan
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NOAA
Hurricane
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Hurricane Rita Satellite Image
Coastal Watches/Warnings and 3-Day Cone |
By Dr. José G. Martín, Provost
4:00 p.m. Thursday,
September 22
Brownsville and the Southern Texas coast have been spared
the effects of Hurricane Rita. Please remember those along
the coast and inland who will be affected and keep them in
your thoughts.
Thank you for your attention to all of these bulletins.
Hopefully we will get through the rest of the Hurricane
Season without anything coming our way! But just in case,
keep your Hurricane Plan handy and be prepared.
We do not anticipate issuing any more advisories.
1:00 p.m. Thursday,
September 22
Hurricane Rita is still expected to have landfall near the
Freeport/Galveston area. It is not anticipated that it will
change its course. Therefore, the University will continue
normal operations for the rest of the week and there will be
no suspension of classes. If there are any changes we will
keep you informed.
Hurricane Rita has weakened to
a strong category four hurricane. Some slight weakening is
forecasted during the next 24 hours but Rita is expected to
remain an extremely dangerous hurricane. The tropical storm
watch for the Brownsville area still remains in effect. The
eye of Hurricane Rita is located near Latitude 25.5 North
and Longitude 89.2 West or about 435 miles Southeast of
Galveston, Texas. Rita is moving toward the West-Northwest
near 9 mph. A gradual turn to the Northwest is expected
during the next 24 to 36 hours.
Maximum sustained winds have decreased to near 150 mph.
Hurricane force winds extend outward up to 85 miles from
the center and tropical storm force winds extend outward up
to 185 miles. Estimations are for coastal storm surge
flooding of 15 to 20 feet above normal tide levels along
with large and dangerous battering waves near to and to the
right of where the center makes landfall.
Rainfall accumulations of 8 to 12 inches with isolated
maximum 15 inches total are possible along the path of Rita,
particularly over Southeast Texas and Western Louisiana.
Based on the forecast track, rainfall totals in excess of
25 inches are possible after Rita moves inland.
We will continue to monitor the movement of Hurricane Rita
and will keep you informed of any changes. Until that time,
continue doing business as usual.
Our next advisory will be issued at 4:00 p.m.
Thursday, September 22.
10:00 a.m. September 22
Hurricane Rita is still expected to have landfall near the
Freeport/Galveston area. It is not anticipated that it will
change course. Therefore, the University will continue
normal operations for today and Friday and there will be no
suspension of classes. If there are any changes we will
keep you informed. We are fortunate that Rita will not be
coming our way. We must remember those along the coast who
will be affected and we should keep them in our thoughts.
Hurricane Rita is expected to weaken slightly but is
forecasted to make landfall as a dangerous hurricane. The
tropical storm watch for the Brownsville area still remains
in effect. The eye of Hurricane Rita is located near
Latitude 25.4 north and Longitude 88.7 west or about 445
miles southeast of Port Arthur, Texas. Rita is moving
toward the West-Northwest near 9 mph. A gradual turn to the
northwest is expected during the next 24 to 36 hours.
Maximum sustained winds have decreased to near 165 mph.
Hurricane force winds extend outward up to 80 miles from the
center and tropical storm force winds extend outward up to
185 miles. Estimations are for coastal storm surge flooding
of 15 to 20 feet above normal tide levels along with large
and dangerous battering waves near to and to the right of
where the center makes landfall.
Rainfall accumulations of 8 to 12 inches with isolated
maximum 15 inches total are possible along the path of Rita,
particularly over southeast Texas and western Louisiana.
Based on the forecast track, rainfall totals in excess of 25
inches are possible after Rita moves inland.
We will continue to monitor the movement of Hurricane Rita
and will keep you informed of any changes. Until that time,
continue doing business as usual.
Our next advisory will be issued at 2:30 p.m. Thursday,
September 22.
8:00 a.m.
Thursday,
September 22
Latest
indications are that Hurricane Rita will hit near the
Freeport/Galveston area. At this time we will continue
normal business operations. This does not mean that we let
down our guard, since hurricanes have been known to change
their courses.
Hurricane
Rita is a potentially catastrophic category five. The
tropical storm watch for the Brownsville area still remains
in effect. The eye of Hurricane Rita is located near
Latitude 25.2 North and Longitude 88.3 West or about 595
miles east-southeast of Corpus Christi. Rita is moving
toward the west-northwest near 9 mph and this general motion
is expected to continue for the next 24 hours. Maximum
sustained winds are estimated near 170 mph with higher
gusts.
Hurricane
force winds extend outward up to 70 miles from the center
and tropical storm force winds extend outward up to 185
miles. Once Rita moves inland, total rain accumulations of
5 to 10 inches will be possible over Eastern Texas and
central and Eastern Oklahoma during Saturday and Sunday.
We will
continue to monitor the movement of Hurricane Rita and will
keep you informed of any changes. Until that time, continue
doing business as usual.
Our next
advisory will be issued at 10:30 a.m. Thursday, September
22.
5:00 p.m. Wednesday, September 21
At 4:00 p.m.
CDT a Tropical Storm Watch was issued for the Gulf of Mexico
coast from south of Port Mansfield to Brownsville. A Tropical
Storm Watch means that tropical storm conditions are possible
within the watch area, generally within 36 hours.
The eye of
Hurricane Rita is located near Latitude 24.4 North and Longitude
86.8 West or about 700 miles east-southeast of Corpus Christi.
Rita is moving toward the west near 13 mph and this motion is
expected to continue during the next 24 hours. Maximum
sustained winds are near 165 mph with higher gusts. This is an
extremely dangerous category five hurricane. Some fluctuations
in intensity are likely during the next 24 hours.
Hurricane
force winds extend outward up to 70 miles from the center and
tropical storm force winds extend outward up to 175 miles.
We continue to
monitor the situation closely and expect to have more definitive
information by mid-day tomorrow.
Our next
advisory will be issued at 8:30 a.m.Thursday, September 22.
2:55 p.m. Wednesday, September 21
Data from
Reconnaissance aircraft indicates that Rita has reached Category 5
intensity with estimated maximum sustained surface winds of 165
mph. It is approximately located at Latitude 24.3 North and
Longitude 86.5 West.
Governor Rick
Perry today urged coastal residents from Beaumont-Port Arthur to
Corpus Christi to voluntarily evacuate in advance of Hurricane Rita
“if they have the means”.
We are continuing
to monitor the situation closely and expect to have more definitive
information by mid-day tomorrow.
Our next advisory
will be issued at 5:00 p.m. Wednesday, September 21.
10:00 a.m. Wednesday, September 21
At 9:00 a.m. CDT, the
eye of Hurricane Rita was located near Latitude 24.3 North and Longitude
85.9 West or about 755 miles east-southeast of Corpus Christi.
Rita is moving toward
the west near 13 mph and this motion is expected to continue during the
next 12 to 24 hours. Rita is an extremely dangerous hurricane with
winds now estimated at 140 mph with higher gusts.
Hurricane force winds
extend outward up to 45 miles from the center and tropical storm force
winds extend outward up to 140 miles.
At this time the
University has not made any decisions about suspending classes or
closing the campus. We will continue to monitor the Hurricane and will
make a determination as soon as we know more. Please continue to review
the University’s Hurricane Plan and be ready to take action if the need
arises.
Our next advisory will
be issued at 3:00 p.m. Wednesday, September 21.
8:00 a.m. Wednesday,
September 21, 2005
At 7:00
a.m. CDT, the eye of Hurricane Rita was located near Latitude 24.4 North and
Longitude 85.3 West or about 790 miles East-Southeast of Corpus Christi.
The hurricane has been upgraded to a Category 4.
Rita is moving toward the west near 14 mph and this general motion is
expected to continue for the next 24 hours. Satellite imagery suggests that
Rita has continued to strengthen and maximum sustained winds have increased
to near 135 mph with higher gusts.
Hurricane force winds extend outward up to 45 miles from the center and
tropical storm force winds extend outward up to 140 miles.
Our next advisory will be issued at 11:00 a.m. Wednesday, September 21.
5:00
p.m. Tuesday, September 20, 2005
We are continuing to watch
Hurricane Rita. There have not been any real changes regarding location and
wind speed. At 5:00 p.m. CDT Rita was located near latitude 24.0 North
and Longitude 82.2 West and was moving West at 15 mph. Maximum
sustained winds are 100 mph.
Governor Perry today certified that Hurricane Rita poses a threat of
imminent disaster along the Texas Coast. In accordance with his authority he
proclaimed the existence of such threat and directed that all necessary
measures, both public and private, be implemented to meet that threat.
All rules and regulations that may inhibit or prevent prompt response to
this threat are suspended for the duration of the incident.
Our next advisory will be issued at 8:00 a.m. Wednesday, September 21.
2:00 p.m. Tuesday, September 20, 2005
For several days we have been
watching the weather system in the Bahamas. The system reached
tropical storm status on Sunday and was named “Rita”. Rita reached
hurricane status this morning at 10:00 Brownsville time and has since been
upgraded to a Category 2 Hurricane as of 2:00 p.m. CDT. The forecast
is for the hurricane to continue to move to the west into the Gulf of Mexico
by tomorrow, Wednesday, and then things will become more uncertain.
Current projections are that it will turn northward and hit around the
Galveston area. However, we can never be sure once it gets into the
Gulf. We have a couple of days to watch this hurricane and to prepare.
We will be in contact with city, county and state emergency planners and
will work towards a coordinated response should the need arise.
At home, start thinking about securing your property, start assembling
important papers, and stock up on needed supplies (water, non-perishable
food, prescription medications, flashlights, etc.) Make sure you have
a family plan. Where will you go? How will you get there? What
will you do with your pets?
On the heels of Katrina, we know that we’re all nervous. All we can do
right now is watch, get ready, stay calm, be rational, and think clearly.
We’ve faced storms before and each one is new and each one brings its own
challenges. We’ll be paying close attention to Rita and working hard
to prepare.
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