[Elfsea] North Texas Advisory

[Stacy E. Dickey]

      Special Weather Statement from the National Weather Service:  

      ANDERSON-BELL-BOSQUE-COLLIN-COMANCHE-COOKE-CORYELL-DALLAS-DELTA- DENTON-EASTLAND-ELLIS-ERATH-FALLS-FANNIN-FREESTONE-GRAYSON-HAMILTON- HENDERSON-HILL-HOOD-HOPKINS-HUNT-JACK-JOHNSON-KAUFMAN-LAMAR-LAMPASAS- LEON-LIMESTONE-MCLENNAN-MILAM-MILLS-MONTAGUE-NAVARRO-PALO PINTO- PARKER-RAINS-ROBERTSON-ROCKWALL-SOMERVELL-STEPHENS-TARRANT-VAN ZANDT- WISE-YOUNG- 600 PM CDT THU SEP 22 2005 
      ...MAJOR HURRICANE RITA FORECAST TO MAKE LANDFALL NEAR BEAUMONT AND TRACK NORTH THROUGH EAST TEXAS... 

      HURRICANE RITA IS NOW EXPECTED TO MAKE LANDFALL ALONG THE UPPER TEXAS GULF COAST NEAR BEAUMONT PRIOR TO SUNRISE ON SATURDAY. RITA IS A CATEGORY 4 STORM ON THE SAFFIR-SIMPSON SCALE WITH WINDS SUSTAINED AT 145 MPH. 

      AFTER THE STORM MAKES LANDFALL...THE HURRICANE WILL WEAKEN AS IT MOVES INLAND. THE LATEST FORECAST TRACK FROM THE NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER BRINGS THE WEAKENING HURRICANE NORTH TO NEAR LUFKIN AND TYLER SATURDAY NIGHT AND DURING THE MORNING HOURS ON SUNDAY. THIS FORECAST IS SIGNIFICANTLY DIFFERENT THAN WHAT WAS EXPECTED YESTERDAY AT THIS TIME...AND AS A RESULT THE MOST SIGNIFICANT EFFECTS FROM RITA ARE EXPECTED ACROSS EAST TEXAS. HOWEVER...FORECASTS FOR HURRICANES ARE ALWAYS UNCERTAIN...AND ANY DEVIATION TO THE WEST OF THE CURRENT FORECAST WOULD BRING MORE SIGNIFICANT EFFECTS TO NORTH TEXAS. THEREFORE...ALL RESIDENTS OF NORTH TEXAS SHOULD CONTINUE TO MONITOR THE LATEST WEATHER FORECASTS. 

      HERE ARE SOME OF THE EXPECTED EFFECTS FOR NORTH TEXAS... 

      1. HEAVY RAINFALL AND FLOODING. WITH THE LATEST FORECAST PATH...2 TO 4 INCHES OF RAIN WILL BE POSSIBLE FOR EASTERN AREAS OF NORTH TEXAS...GENERALLY EAST OF A LINE FROM BONHAM...TO CORSICANA...TO CENTERVILLE. THE REMNANTS OF RITA ARE EXPECTED TO STALL OVER EAST TEXAS AND LINGER IN THE AREA INTO EARLY NEXT WEEK. SIGNIFICANT FLOODING MAY OCCUR SOMEWHERE IN TEXAS MONDAY AND TUESDAY...BUT IT IS TOO EARLY TO DETERMINE WHERE EXACTLY THAT THREAT IS AT THIS TIME. 

      2. STRONG WINDS. WIND GUSTS OF 50 TO 60 MPH ARE POSSIBLE ALONG AND SOUTHEAST OF AN ATHENS...TO FAIRFIELD...TO HEARNE LINE. THESE WINDS MAY BE STRONG ENOUGH TO KNOCK DOWN TREES...POWER LINES AND CAUSE LOCALIZED MINOR STRUCTURAL DAMAGE. RESIDENTS SHOULD PREPARE FOR INTERRUPTIONS IN POWER SERVICE AND SECURE SMALL AND LIGHTWEIGHT OUTDOOR OBJECTS. 

      3. ISOLATED TORNADOES. AS WITH ALL LANDFALLING HURRICANES... ISOLATED TORNADOES WILL BE POSSIBLE. THIS WILL BE MOST LIKELY IN EAST TEXAS...BUT ANY SLIGHT WESTWARD DEVIATION IN THE TRACK OF THE STORM WOULD INCREASE THE THREAT OF TORNADOES ACROSS NORTH TEXAS. 

      4. TRAVEL PROBLEMS. INCREASED TRAFFIC ON INTERSTATES AS PEOPLE EVACUATE FROM THE HURRICANE. WET ROADS...HEAVY RAINFALL AND INCREASED TRAFFIC COULD LEAD TO DELAYS AND ACCIDENTS. SOME AIRLINE DELAYS WILL BE POSSIBLE. ALLOW EXTRA TIME TO REACH YOUR DESTINATIONS.
     
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