Hurricane Rita - Wild Texas Forums: Parks, Travel & Recreation

Shannon · 09-21-2005, 07:24 AM

Well, gang, it looks like it's our turn. Hurricane Rita is now a Category 4 storm and is expected to make landfall on the Texas Gulf Coast (brace yourselves, Galveston, Corpus Christi, etc.) late Friday/early Saturday.

Mandatory evacuations have begun as of 6 AM in Galveston for special needs individuals (nursing home residents, etc.) Mandatory evacuations for the general populace may be announced later today.

It goes without saying, but ... If you live in the Gulf Coast, be sure to tune in to your local news and listen to all warnings/instructions provided by authorities.

More Information on Hurricane Rita:

copuswalker · 09-22-2005, 07:22 AM

My folks live in Baclif near Kemah.. I went to help board their hous Wed. and left at 5:00 p.m. I got home at 2:00 Crockett and it was tough...Fuel was hard to get and the traffic was horrendous. I had to go East almost to Louissianna and take small backroads to avoid the traffic.

Shannon · 09-22-2005, 09:34 AM

Justin and I are in San Antonio, and the traffic and lines at gas stations began as evening approached last night. I thought I might gas up last night around 11 PM but I'd never seen lines that bad at gas stations before. I didn't bother, assuming that many of the people in line were evacuees who needed to gas up to continue their evacuation away from the coastal areas.

It was also a little surreal to see the entire slow lane of Hwy 1604 full of charter buses... at least at 11 PM, the traffic was flowing at highway speeds (but it was congested).

I hope all of our Houston, Galveston, Corpus Christi and other Gulf coastal residents reading this are safely evacuated or -- if you're further inland like us -- hunkered down and monitoring the weather as the storm approaches.

Shannon · 09-22-2005, 01:30 PM

Texas State Parks are waiving camping and entrance fees for hurricane evacuees.

Here's info: http://wildtexas.com/talk/showthread...=3354#post3354

Shannon · 09-22-2005, 02:16 PM

Corpus Christi National Weather Service up-to-the-moment forecast:
http://www.srh.noaa.gov/crp/

Turn Key · 09-22-2005, 03:18 PM

Just got off of I-35W, coming south out of Ft. Worth. Saw a BUNCH of "5ths", TT's and PU's headed north. Guess many are taking no chances.

As of this morning, fueling was not a problem in my area. Didn't seem to be any problems this afternoon either.

Everybody keep safe and I'll type at y'all later!

Shannon · 09-22-2005, 08:54 PM

Glad your experience was relatively painless. Where are you holed up, exactly?

To add to our link collection of storm-tracking resources:
Weather Underground RITA page

And this rather schizophrenic map showing the various computer model projections of RITA's potential path

Turn Key · 09-23-2005, 01:07 AM

We're at home, a bit south of Ft. Worth. Had been in to take care of some business. Looking at the weather maps, it looks like we won't be effected as much as they had first thought. Could use some rain but don't need the high winds and flooding they were first talking about.

Stay safe and happy camping!

toejam · 09-24-2005, 08:34 AM

Looks like the wind and storm surge weren't as bad as they could have been. Hopefully the heavy rains will move on.

Best wishes to all.