I have never seen a warning like this from a governmental body.
URGENT - WEATHER MESSAGEThat message flat out scares me.
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NEW ORLEANS LA
1011 AM CDT SUN AUG 28 2005DEVASTATING DAMAGE EXPECTED
HURRICANE KATRINA
A MOST POWERFUL HURRICANE WITH UNPRECEDENTED STRENGTH...RIVALING THE INTENSITY OF HURRICANE CAMILLE OF 1969.MOST OF THE AREA WILL BE UNINHABITABLE FOR WEEKS...PERHAPS LONGER. AT LEAST ONE HALF OF WELL CONSTRUCTED HOMES WILL HAVE ROOF AND WALL FAILURE. ALL GABLED ROOFS WILL FAIL...LEAVING THOSE HOMES SEVERELY DAMAGED OR DESTROYED.
THE MAJORITY OF INDUSTRIAL BUILDINGS WILL BECOME NON FUNCTIONAL. PARTIAL TO COMPLETE WALL AND ROOF FAILURE IS EXPECTED. ALL WOOD FRAMED LOW RISING APARTMENT BUILDINGS WILL BE DESTROYED. CONCRETE BLOCK LOW RISE APARTMENTS WILL SUSTAIN MAJOR DAMAGE...INCLUDING SOME WALL AND ROOF FAILURE.
HIGH RISE OFFICE AND APARTMENT BUILDINGS WILL SWAY DANGEROUSLY...A FEW TO THE POINT OF TOTAL COLLAPSE. ALL WINDOWS WILL BLOW OUT.
AIRBORNE DEBRIS WILL BE WIDESPREAD...AND MAY INCLUDE HEAVY ITEMS SUCH AS HOUSEHOLD APPLIANCES AND EVEN LIGHT VEHICLES. SPORT UTILITY VEHICLES AND LIGHT TRUCKS WILL BE MOVED. THE BLOWN DEBRIS WILL CREATE ADDITIONAL DESTRUCTION. PERSONS...PETS...AND LIVESTOCK EXPOSED TO THE WINDS WILL FACE CERTAIN DEATH IF STRUCK.
POWER OUTAGES WILL LAST FOR WEEKS...AS MOST POWER POLES WILL BE DOWN AND TRANSFORMERS DESTROYED. WATER SHORTAGES WILL MAKE HUMAN SUFFERING INCREDIBLE BY MODERN STANDARDS.
THE VAST MAJORITY OF NATIVE TREES WILL BE SNAPPED OR UPROOTED. ONLY THE HEARTIEST WILL REMAIN STANDING...BUT BE TOTALLY DEFOLIATED. FEW CROPS WILL REMAIN. LIVESTOCK LEFT EXPOSED TO THE WINDS WILL BE KILLED.
AN INLAND HURRICANE WIND WARNING IS ISSUED WHEN SUSTAINED WINDS NEAR HURRICANE FORCE...OR FREQUENT GUSTS AT OR ABOVE HURRICANE FORCE...ARE CERTAIN WITHIN THE NEXT 12 TO 24 HOURS.
ONCE TROPICAL STORM AND HURRICANE FORCE WINDS ONSET...DO NOT VENTURE OUTSIDE!
If you are in the path of this thing, for God's sake, get out now. You still have time, but the window of opportunity is closing.
Posted by mhking at August 28, 2005 01:33 PM | TrackBackMy wife works for the NWS and I've never seen a NWS release like that either.
Chris worked at the New Orleans office when Hurricane Andrew made its second landfall west of New Orleans in (IIRC) 1992. I've e-mailed her a link to one of the blogged copies of this release for her opinion.
The quoted message isn't at the link you've provided anymore -- it's either scrolled off or been removed.
Posted by: McGehee at August 28, 2005 05:54 PMWell, it's there now -- dated 4:13 pm CDT, meaning it' been renewed.
Just @#$%!!ing wow.
Posted by: McGehee at August 28, 2005 06:52 PMMy prayers are with the folks going through this ordeal. Today I stumbled across a website at www.SupportNewOrleans.com which supports the brave people facing Hurricane Katrina. Others have posted letters of support on the site as well.
When did Art Bell start writing these advisories?
This has the mentality of Bill Paxton's character "Hudson" in Aliens.
Hudson: "Well that's great, that's just f***in' great man. Now what the f**k are we supposed to do? We're in some real pretty s**t now man... That's it man, game over man, game over! What the f**k are we gonna do now? What are we gonna do?"
Posted by: OXENinFLA at August 29, 2005 09:52 AMHey, OXENinFLA, how 'bout the Katrina warning. Sometimes the truth is hard to face. You sound like the kind of moron W might choose for the next head of FEMA.
Hey, OXENinFLA, how 'bout the Katrina warning? Looks like "Art Bell" was right on the mark. You sound like the kind of moron W might choose for the next head of FEMA.