This site includes a Google hack that combines Google Maps with hurricane tracking data, for a comprehensive view of Rita’s activities: Link
Kathryn Cramer says,
Try this with that GoogleMaps plot of Hurricane Rita. First, shift to the satellite view, and then zoom in on the area of the map where Rita shifted from a Category 4 to a Category 5 and back again. You can see that the shift corresponds to the level of the sea floor.
Link to details.
Here’s a story on Defensetech about drone aircraft tracking hurricanes: Link
Houston TV Station KHOU is reporting Rita updates on a blog which may become their primary distribution means if things get rough. Includes MP3 audio and text story summaries. Link
Boing Boing reader oboreruhito says,
The newspaper I work for in Lake Charles, La., in the path of Hurricane Rita, has shifted operations to blogspot, since everyone who can update our usual site has evacuated. They will be updating as news occurs and as long as they have power. Lake Charles, located about 15-20 miles inland from the Gulf of Mexico, is expecting to see quite a bit of flooding from the storm surge, and more from the rains; everything south of I-10 will experience flooding, and areas 8 feet above sea level and lower are expected to be underwater for at least some time. The waterways around here feed into the gulf, and the storm surge alone will cause most of them to crest. I know the focus is on the Texas coast, but we’re expecting to get quite a bit of damage and 100+ mph winds ourselves.
Link.
The group site Houston metblog also has frequent first-person updates: Link
BB reader Justin says,
Here is the Galveston, TX 61 St Fishing Pier Internal Security Camera. iSeeCamera Client, live video feed, 50 yards offshore inside the bait shop on the pier. We do not expect the pier nor the webcams to survive. Link
Here’s the Houston Chronicle’s “Stormwatchers” site:
Welcome to our experiment in citizen journalism. The bloggers who are posting here live in various parts of the city, and they will be posting their experiences as Hurricane Rita approaches and moves through the area. Bloggers here are posting on their own and are solely responsible for the content of their blogs.
Here’s the latest NOAA advisory, and more will be here.
(Thanks, Mark Simmonds, Michael Slavitch, Mark Tyndall)