Hurricane Rita

[tinawv]

We are flying out of Pittsburgh, PA, this Friday, and I am so afraid that Hurricane Rita is going to affect our stay which is 9/23-30/05. I feel guilty for feeling this way when there is so much tragedy going on from Hurricane Katrina, but we have saved for so long. Has anyone heard how this latest tropical/hurricane storm may affect Orlando?

Thank you in advance.

Four days until we see the Mouse.

 

[safetymom]

Rita shouldn't affect your vacation. www.wftv.com is a great local weather station.

 

[Bob P]

The hurricane is expected to pass through Key West and into the Gulf in the next couple of days. By Friday it may be bearing down on Texas.

Rita will have little to no effect on Orlando, certainly none by the weekend.

 

[mjmcca]

The path i have been reading has it going past the keys and then into the gulf possibly hitting in the same area as Katrina.

 

[cdpa4d]

The only potential threat I would see to Orlando later this week or by the weekend would be traffic as many Florida Keys residents return home after their evacuation. Orlando seems to be a place of safe haven when hurricanes pass through South Florida. Sometimes hotels can fill-up quickly in light of an upcoming storm.

Also, it is still a TS, but is expected to turn into a hurricane later this evening.

Let's keep our fingers crossed for as minimal an impact as possible...

 

[tinawv]

Thank you all for your replies. My heart and prayers go to those who are suffering from Katrina, and pray that this latest storm/hurricane causes no damage.

God Bless.

 

[OSURules]

As a meteorologist by training (not by practice these days) and someone who is leaving in two days, not much to worry about. The large high pressure system over Mississippi is sending the steering currents from the Gulf Shore out towards the Gulf. This will keep the track far enough south to keep it away from Florida, save for the Keys. There is some concern that the high will begin to weaken over the next couple of days and allow the storm to begin a more northwesterly track. However, I am not too worried about any impact on Orlando.

 

[Artmom2]

Go to Disney this weekend and enjoy it! I live in Biloxi..reading these boards and "mentally placing myself in WDW" is one way I keep my sanity...we are fine and we are housing a family of friends who lost everything. We have enjoyed sharing past stories of Disney trips with each other to escape what's around us here. Go, and then write a great trip report and I'll share it with my family of friends.
As for Hurricane Rita.....it should be out of the Disney area by this weekend (I've been watching it because my sister is going this weekend also..She has a Fla annual pass and I'm keeping her kids for one of those nights..hmm..what's wrong with that picture ...I would be beyond jealousy if my Dad hadn't already planned a Thanksgiving trip for all of us before Katrina hit, and now we are counting down the days for that trip!!!
And if any of you are ever in the Biloxi area for anything or driving through on your way to WDW....stop at a restaurant for a meal or in the hopefully not too distant future, stay a night in one of our hotels.....We are a tourist area and we rebuild and be bigger and better!!!!

 

[Densgirl]

Artmom, Awesome post. How nice to know you are comforted by your past Disney trips. Thanks a ton for letting us all know how you guys in that area are doing.

Safetymom-Thanks for all the reassuring posts here and on other hurricane threads and the link to that weather station.:

We leave in just under a week and I'm a little nervous about the storms but it's Disney. How bad can it be?

 

[HaleyB]

Go to Disney this weekend and enjoy it! I live in Biloxi..reading these boards and "mentally placing myself in WDW" is one way I keep my sanity...we are fine and we are housing a family of friends who lost everything. We have enjoyed sharing past stories of Disney trips with each other to escape what's around us here. Go, and then write a great trip report and I'll share it with my family of friends.
As for Hurricane Rita.....it should be out of the Disney area by this weekend (I've been watching it because my sister is going this weekend also..She has a Fla annual pass and I'm keeping her kids for one of those nights..hmm..what's wrong with that picture ...I would be beyond jealousy if my Dad hadn't already planned a Thanksgiving trip for all of us before Katrina hit, and now we are counting down the days for that trip!!!
And if any of you are ever in the Biloxi area for anything or driving through on your way to WDW....stop at a restaurant for a meal or in the hopefully not too distant future, stay a night in one of our hotels.....We are a tourist area and we rebuild and be bigger and better!!!!

Thank you for posting that. I am glad you are all safe and sorry for the loss of your friends. We are looking at Rita and it reminds of Katrina 10 days out... that has me worried but what can anyone do but hold tight and see how it forms.

We leave is 13 days....

 

[Dukesmom]

As a meteorologist by training (not by practice these days) and someone who is leaving in two days, not much to worry about. The large high pressure system over Mississippi is sending the steering currents from the Gulf Shore out towards the Gulf. This will keep the track far enough south to keep it away from Florida, save for the Keys. There is some concern that the high will begin to weaken over the next couple of days and allow the storm to begin a more northwesterly track. However, I am not too worried about any impact on Orlando.

Is it possible to know yet if any other system developing in the Atlantic could potentially impact Florida in the next two weeks? I'll be at WDW 9/23-10/2. I keep hearing about these tropical waves...apparently there's a big one by the Cape Verde islands. Not sure what that means, just wondering if it's something to be concerned about or keep an eye on. Thanks!

 

[safetymom]

www.wftv.com
http://flhurricane.com/

Two great sites to monitor the weather here in FL.

 

[OSURules]

Is it possible to know yet if any other system developing in the Atlantic could potentially impact Florida in the next two weeks? I'll be at WDW 9/23-10/2. I keep hearing about these tropical waves...apparently there's a big one by the Cape Verde islands. Not sure what that means, just wondering if it's something to be concerned about or keep an eye on. Thanks!

Here is the latest discussion diagram:
http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/tafb_latest/danger_atl_latestBW.gif

This one shows an area that could well develop. It really is too soon to make any determination about what will happen in the later stages of your time frame. Tropical waves are storm systems that form in Western Africa or in the eastern Atlantic ocean. They are simply pockets of low pressure that occur naturally on a recurring basis. If conditions are favorable, they can develop further into Tropical Depressions, then Tropical Storms and finally hurricanes. Hope this helps.

 

[mickeyfan2]

The path i have been reading has it going past the keys and then into the gulf possibly hitting in the same area as Katrina.

This is the path that I heard. This concerns me with the NOLA mayor wanting to let people back in.

 

[morecast]

I'm flying tonight to Miami (arrive Tuesday morning) and the driving to WDW.......
I'm really worried because tuesday will be the worst day for Miami as far as this stom is concerned. I'll have to be extra careful when driving up to WDW.......

 

[1000th happy haunt]

Any hurricane named after me wouldn't DARE affect a Disney theme park.

 

[safaulk]

As a meteorologist by training (not by practice these days) and someone who is leaving in two days, not much to worry about. The large high pressure system over Mississippi is sending the steering currents from the Gulf Shore out towards the Gulf. This will keep the track far enough south to keep it away from Florida, save for the Keys. There is some concern that the high will begin to weaken over the next couple of days and allow the storm to begin a more northwesterly track. However, I am not too worried about any impact on Orlando.

Thanks for the info!!! Now I can tell my hubby to quit bugging me about the hurricane. He keeps saying that we may have to cancel our vacation due to the hurricane. He's a big pessimist.

Only 4 more days til we're in the world!!! Whoopeeeee!!

Shel

 

[safetymom]

Tropical Storm Rita Discussion Number 7
Nws Tpc/national Hurricane Center Miami Fl
11 Am Edt Mon Sep 19 2005

Since The Last Recon Fix Shortly Before 12z...which Measured A 997 Mb Central Pressure...very Deep Convection Has Wrapped Around The Low Level Center...so Rita Is Developing Substantial Inner Core Convection For The First Time. Dvorak Intensity Estimates At 12z Were Unanimously T3.5/55 Kt...which Is The Advisory Intensity.
Recon Is Scheduled To Be Back Into The System Early This Afternoon.

Rita Is Moving Toward The West-northwest Or 285 Degrees At About 10 Knots...to The South Of The Eastern Extension Of A Strong Mid-level Ridge Centered Over Texas. Dynamical Models Are In Very Tight Agreement Through 36 Hours On Basically This Continued Heading...with Perhaps A Slight Increase In Forward Speed As The Ridge To The North Strengthens And The Tropical Cyclone Deepens.
Most Of The Models And Their Consensus Have Shifted Northward...and The Official Forecast Is Adjusted Likewise...bringing The Track Closer To The Florida Keys Than The Previous Advisory.
Additionally...most Of The Models Have Shifted Farther North Late In The Forecast Period Over The Western Gulf Of Mexico...due To A Weakening Ridge As A Trough Approaches From The Western United States In Several Days. The Official Forecast Is Adjusted To The North Or Right Over The Gulf...but Not As Far As The Model Consensus.

Recon Data And Surface Observations Indicate The Size Of The Storm Is Increasing...especially To The North Of The Center. The Forecast Wind Radii Are Expanded Based On These Data...wind Radii Cliper Guidance...and Global Models Depicting An Expanding System.
It Is Important To Emphasize That Rita Could Affect A Large Area And One Should Not Focus On The Exact Track.

Atmospheric Conditions Are Continuing To Become More Conducive For Strengthening...and All Forecast Guidance Suggests Rita Should Intensify Some More...before And After It Reaches The Gulf Of Mexico. The New Official Intensity Forecast Is Adjusted Upward And Is A Blend Between The Ships And Gfdl Guidance Through Day 3...and Shows Rita Reaching Category Two Status Before Reaching The Gulf Of Mexico. There Is A Slight Possibility It Could Strengthen Faster Than Forecast. All Indications Are That Rita Will Become A Major Hurricane Over The Gulf Of Mexico... Where A Large Upper Level Anticyclone Is Forecast By The Models To Dominate And Provide A Weak Shear Environment.


Forecaster Knabb

 

[back2disney]

http://www.nodc.noaa.gov/dsdt/cwtg/wgof.html

Pretty warm water temperatures. Not quite like 90 degree bathtub water a few years ago. If something would have moved in the western gulf that year good grief! But still warm enough to make a major hurricane. I hope Houston and the rest of Texas learned something from Katrina..

 

[gymnasticscoach TX]

Hi everyone Looks like Rita is going to be knocking on my front door!
We have rode out many storms here on the Gulf Coast~ it would be terrible if we have to evacuate, because we have so many New Orleans evacuees here already~ My heart goes out to those people who have to "run" again! I am hoping this storm will head to Mexico. As for" what we have learned from Katrina" ...hard to compare, our geographic area is different so we would not have same devastating results. We do evacuate if the storm is a #2 or above. We have been dealing with Hurricane threats for a longggggg time and our local governments have a strong evacuation system (plan)in place.
Have a Great Day