Monday, August 29, 2005

Hurricane Katrina 8AM CDT Public Advisory


000
WTNT32 KNHC 291254
TCPAT2
BULLETIN
HURRICANE KATRINA INTERMEDIATE ADVISORY NUMBER 26B
NWS TPC/NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER MIAMI FL
8 AM CDT MON AUG 29 2005

...LARGE AND EXTREMELY DANGEROUS CATEGORY FOUR HURRICANE KATRINA POUNDING SOUTHEASTERN LOUISIANA AND SOUTHERN MISSISSIPPI...

A HURRICANE WARNING IS IN EFFECT FOR THE NORTH CENTRAL GULF COAST FROM MORGAN CITY LOUISIANA EASTWARD TO THE ALABAMA/FLORIDA BORDER...INCLUDING THE CITY OF NEW ORLEANS AND LAKE PONTCHARTRAIN.

AT 8 AM CDT...1300Z...THE CENTER OF HURRICANE KATRINA WAS LOCATED NEAR LATITUDE 29.7 NORTH... LONGITUDE 89.6 WEST OR ABOUT 40 MILES SOUTHEAST OF NEW ORLEANS LOUISIANA AND ABOUT 65 MILES SOUTHWEST OF BILOXI MISSISSIPPI.

KATRINA IS MOVING TOWARD THE NORTH NEAR 15 MPH...AND A GRADUAL TURN TO THE NORTH NORTHEAST AT A SLIGHTLY FASTER FORWARD SPEED IS EXPECTED OVER THE NEXT 24 HOURS. ON THIS TRACK...THE CENTER WILL BE PASSING JUST TO THE EAST OF NEW ORLEANS DURING THE NEXT FEW HOURS WITH THE WORST OF THE WEATHER FOR THAT CITY OCCURRING OVER THE NEXT COUPLE OF HOURS. THE CENTER IS EXPECTED TO MOVE INTO SOUTHERN MISSISSIPPI LATER TODAY.

MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS ARE NEAR 135 MPH...WITH HIGHER GUSTS. KATRINA IS AN EXTREMELY DANGEROUS CATEGORY FOUR HURRICANE ON THE SAFFIR-SIMPSON SCALE. WEAKENING IS FORECAST AS THE CIRCULATION INTERACTS WITH LAND TODAY. WINDS AFFECTING THE UPPER FLOORS OF HIGH-RISE BUILDINGS WILL BE SIGNIFICANTLY STRONGER THAN THOSE NEAR
GROUND LEVEL.

Well, it’s finally hit. Eastwards of the centre of New Orleans, which is better than expected, but only just eastwards.

The significant development is that earlier today UK time, and in the middle of the night New Orleans time, the western quadrant of the hurricane had an influx of dry air which changed the characteristics of the eyewall, making that side of the storm very slightly weaker. It has been downgraded to a Category 4 storm.

Keep yourself updated with the latest reports from the Hurricane Center.

Things are happening all over the area as I type. New report: a levee has been breached at the Industrial Canal at Tennessee Street.

.. A LEVEE BREACH OCCURRED ALONG THE INDUSTRIAL CANAL AT TENNESSE STREET. 3 TO 8 FEET OF WATER IS EXPECTED DUE TO THE BREACH...LOCATIONS IN THE WARNING INCLUDE BUT ARE NOT LIMITED TO ARABI AND 9TH WARD OF NEW ORLEANS.

St. Bernard Parish spokesman Larry Ingargiola says the parish's two shelters at Chalmette High and St. Bernard High are suffering major damage. He said Chalmette High shelter is losing its roof, and St. Bernard High has plenty of broken windows and glass. He estimates 300-plus refugees at the two sites.

Entergy says 317,000 customers were without power as of 6 a.m. Cleco reported 40,000 without power in St. Tammany Parish.

Air conditioning out at Louisiana Superdome due to power outages.

St. Bernard Parish officials say most of the parish has no power.

Get quick updates via Google News, CNN, Metafilter threads (#1 and #2) and keep track of where the reports are coming from on Google Maps.

Current time in New Orleans.

Update 1

From a livejournal (linked to from this one, which is an excellent summary):

0513 am: in old apt. rainy windy, still power. worst is yet to come. yet try sleep. very well sheltered for now. zzz...

0643 am: power out now. things going thud outside.

0643 am: building next door collapsed. this may go soon wall missing big cracks. fun trip love you

Oh god. :o( The latest from CNN is that parts of New Orleans are under 6 feet of water after some of the pumps that service the city stopped working. The Lower 9th Ward of the city was affected after 3 pumps failed. Weather Service reports ‘total structural failure’ in some areas of the city.

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