Texas Is lucky

[Opal storm]

Anyone else notice that the major hurricane landfalls are shifting westward each season? Florida/AL in 2004, MS-LA in 2005, ????? in 2006?

Dennis made landfall in the Florida panhandle and it was a major hurricane.

[vbhoutex]

The Houston/Galveston metro area was very lucky. The rest of SE Texas was not lucky. The media is imo "under reporting" what happened all over SE TX and SW LA to the East of Houston. Many people in/from that area are still not allowed to go back to even assess their homes due to no available electricity/utilties for large areas. Last report I saw there were still 200,000 without electricity in E TX. Several of the largest refineries on the Gulf coast in the B/PA area were severely damaged and will not be back in service for months. That is not lucky or good for any of us, much less the people in that area that depend on them for employment.

[caribepr]

The Houston/Galveston metro area was very lucky. The rest of SE Texas was not lucky. The media is imo "under reporting" what happened all over SE TX and SW LA to the East of Houston. Many people in/from that area are still not allowed to go back to even assess their homes due to no available electricity/utilties for large areas. Last report I saw there were still 200,000 without electricity in E TX. Several of the largest refineries on the Gulf coast in the B/PA area were severely damaged and will not be back in service for months. That is not lucky or good for any of us, much less the people in that area that depend on them for employment.

Thank you for putting it in proper terms and perspective. *Lucky* is one of those words best used carefully and sparingly.

[Stratosphere747]

The Houston/Galveston metro area was very lucky. The rest of SE Texas was not lucky. The media is imo "under reporting" what happened all over SE TX and SW LA to the East of Houston. Many people in/from that area are still not allowed to go back to even assess their homes due to no available electricity/utilties for large areas. Last report I saw there were still 200,000 without electricity in E TX. Several of the largest refineries on the Gulf coast in the B/PA area were severely damaged and will not be back in service for months. That is not lucky or good for any of us, much less the people in that area that depend on them for employment.

Well said David.

I can see where Kelly would be extremely upset with a topic of "Texas is lucky" and people actually agreeing with it. As you mentioned Houston/Galveston was lucky concerning Rita, though you might get some arguments with what quite a few people went through in respect to the evacuation. This topic comes across as very selfish, and seems to send the vibe that the Golden Triangle is not a part of Texas.

Rita IMO will go down as the most significant hurricane to effect Texas since Carla, and most likely overtaking Carla in terms of damage and monetary loss. Only the 1900 storm will have a claim over Rita.

This landfall point is crap.... I'll quote Floydbuster..."I think Texas is extremely lucky. They had not had a hurricane landfall now...since July 2003, and have not had a major hurricane landfall since Bret in 1999. However...their last major hurricane landfall that was destructive...was Alicia in 1983. Hopefully this luck will last."

I understand that you are a aspiring Meteorologist and have already became somewhat of a on-air personality. But you should seriously listen to what the director of the NHC says every single time, and I mean every single time he comes on air when a hurricane is approaching land. "Don't focus on the exact landfall point as the storm is not a single point"

History may show that Rita did not make a "true" landfall in Texas. Without question though it's destruction/damage made every bit of a landfall in Texas.

Scott

[jasons2k]

I wholeheartedly agree with both of you David and Scott. Those to the east of us were extremely unlucky and I can see exactly why Kelly may be upset.

I might be 'one of those who actually agreed' but I'm just trying to put it into persective. Rita was not the $100B+ disaster for Texas that was feared, and a disaster of that magnitude is a much larger strain on both the state's and nation's resources than a storm that did 1/10 of that in terms of losses. A direct hit on HGX would not only have been a disaster for the state, but for the whole nation in terms of economic impact. Those are just the brutal facts. Don't shoot the messenger.

Maybe the term "lucky" isn't appropriate. I feel for those in East Texas & SW LA, I truly do. It's truly sad that our miss was at their expense.

[Derek Ortt]

In a way, you were SOMEWHAT lucky in that Texas did not ge the eastern eye wall; thus, were spared the total obliteration that Cameron experienced. Highest winds in Texas were likely borderline 1/2 winds based upon the obs at Port Arthur, and sustained hurricane winds did not occur in Beaumont. Had it have came in 25 miles west, parts of Texas may not exist as we know them

[f5]

I wholeheartedly agree with both of you David and Scott. Those to the east of us were extremely unlucky and I can see exactly why Kelly may be upset.

I might be 'one of those who actually agreed' but I'm just trying to put it into persective. Rita was not the $100B+ disaster for Texas that was feared, and a disaster of that magnitude is a much larger strain on both the state's and nation's resources than a storm that did 1/10 of that in terms of losses. A direct hit on HGX would not only have been a disaster for the state, but for the whole nation in terms of economic impact. Those are just the brutal facts. Don't shoot the messenger.

Maybe the term "lucky" isn't appropriate. I feel for those in East Texas & SW LA, I truly do. It's truly sad that our miss was at their expense.

that 100+ billion would of been on top of Katrina's price tag in less than a month

[caribepr]

In a way, you were SOMEWHAT lucky in that Texas did not ge the eastern eye wall; thus, were spared the total obliteration that Cameron experienced. Highest winds in Texas were likely borderline 1/2 winds based upon the obs at Port Arthur, and sustained hurricane winds did not occur in Beaumont. Had it have came in 25 miles west, parts of Texas may not exist as we know them

Well Derek, I'm not from Texas, but from the pictures I've seen and reports I've read...parts of Texas DON'T exist as previously known, which you wrote yourself in reference to Cameron...(and beyond)

[southerngale]

In a way, you were SOMEWHAT lucky in that Texas did not ge the eastern eye wall; thus, were spared the total obliteration that Cameron experienced. Highest winds in Texas were likely borderline 1/2 winds based upon the obs at Port Arthur, and sustained hurricane winds did not occur in Beaumont. Had it have came in 25 miles west, parts of Texas may not exist as we know them

Are you kidding? JASPER even had sustained hurricane winds and Beaumont and surrounding areas obviously did as well. Gusts of 100-120mph were clocked in Jasper and the damage coincides with that. Btw, thanks David and Scott. Yeah, lucky would have been if it had dissipated or weakened dramatically. This wasn't lucky.

This wasn't a true Texas landfall? I didn't have electricity when the eye came on shore but everything I've read has said either Sabine Pass or the TX/LA border. Maybe I missed something.

HURRICANE RITA ADVISORY NUMBER 27
NWS TPC/NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER MIAMI FL
4 AM CDT SAT SEP 24 2005
...RITA MOVES ONSHORE NEAR SABINE PASS AS A DANGEROUS CATEGORY THREE
HURRICANE...CURRENTLY NEAR PORT ARTHUR TEXAS...

It doesn't matter though - the effects were horrible just the same.

[f5]

we were talking about a carla type storm where the entire texas coast gets hurricane force winds.this was mainly a straddle the state line event