Twin States Weather Blog

Rita Looking Spooky...

* It's hard to believe, but we are only 5 mph away from having 2 Category Five hurricanes in the Gulf of Mexico in a month's time. Rita is now a very strong Category 4 storm, with maximum sustained winds of 150 mph. Minimum pressure is down to a startling 920 millibars - very, very low. For reference, Katrina reached a minimum of 902 millibars out in the Gulf - but had risen to 919 millibars at landfall.

* At its' current pressure, Rita is the 4th strongest hurricane on record in the Gulf of Mexico. It is behind only Katrina, Camille, and Opal. So, it's apparent that this storm will make its own history.

* Our track reasoning hasn't changed much - unless something drastic changes, this will mostly be a non-event for us. Perhaps a few squalls with rain and gusty winds, but even that seems to be a stretch this far east. We would be fortunate to receive the rain though - we are still well below normal for September.

* Again, we want to emphasize the uncertainty. While our computer model guidance is in good agreement that Rita will strike the Texas coast, it is too early to give an "all-clear" to any coastal area between Morgan City, Louisiana and Brownsville, Texas. We must watch Rita closely, because wherever it hits will have catastrophic damage.

* Given the fresh memories of the suffering caused by Hurricane Katrina, I hope and believe that people along the Texas coastline will take Rita very, very seriously. If you have friends or family that live along the Texas coastline, you might consider calling them and making sure that they are watching it very closely. This will be yet another historic hurricane.

posted by WTOK Weather Staff @ 1:52 PM