7:30 p.m. Thoughts and Q&A

Chief Meteorologist Craig Carnesi here...

I wanted to take a couple of questions here and respond as best I can with the current conditions and forecast track thinking as of 7:30 p.m.

Zack said...
Craig - I have family in Kilgore, near Tyler, and last I heard, they are expected to recieve up to 25 inches of rain. Please keep all of us with family in East Texas up to date as to the situation back home. Thanks for your great coverage on KRBC and here on the web!

Zack... My current thinking is that your family, and anywhere else in East Texas for that matter certainly does have the potential of 25 inches of rain. My thoughts are that anywhere from 10 to 30 inches will be possible depending on the final position of Rita in East Texas. I do beleive the storm will stall for at 24-36 hours. During this time, rainfall amounts will rely heavily on exactly where the center of the storm stalls. The heaviest rainfall totals will be on the eastern side of the low pressure circulation. On the Western side there will still be heavy rain, but we're talking more on the order of 5-10 inches. Judging from the latest computer models I've seen, the models stall the storm out in the Ark-La-Tex region. I think that is a little too far North, and I think the storm will stall closer to Tyler. This would definately put your family in the area to receive the higher rainfall totals. Rest assured, your family and everyone else's in East Texas are in the thought and prayers of everyone in West Texas and across the Nation.

R&B said...
Thanks, Craig for setting up the weather blog!I followed Katrina almost entirely in the "new media" blogosphere, so I'm thinkin' ya'll are really being forward thinking here.

R&B... I gotta tell you, that was exactly my thinking as well. With every major news or weather event across the country, there is either a new "star" born, or a new way to deliver information. When discussing KRBC's coverage, we immediately decided this blog would be a key component of our coverage of Hurricane Rita. I personally love being able to get into more details than we normally have time to during a newscasts. Thanks R&B for the pat on the back!

If you have any questions for myself, Downing Bolls or Kyna Grigsby, feel free to comment here on the blog, or e-mail me at ccarnesi@krbc.tv and we will answer those questions as quickly as we possibly can.

The next position and strength update from the National Hurricane Center is due in to the Triple Doppler Weather Center around 8:00 p.m. CDT. I'll post again shortly after that.