Hurricane Rita
 | This article documents a current event. Information may change rapidly and initial news reports may be unreliable. The latest updates to this article may not reflect the most current information. |
| Duration | Sept. 17 - present, 2005 |
|---|---|
Hurricane Rita is the seventeenth named storm and the ninth hurricane of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season.
Storm history
The storm formed at the tail end of an old frontal boundary, where convection and low level circulation around an upper level low steadily developed for over two days. A surface low formed near it, and the season's 18th tropical depression formed soon thereafter east of the Turks and Caicos Islands. It became the 17th tropical storm of the season on September 18, less than a day after forming. A mandatory evacuation has been ordered for the entire Florida Keys. Rita is expected to threaten Texas and Louisiana next, likely as a major hurricane. Key West mayor Jim Weekley said in an interview, "We're looking right now at a Category 2 or 3." Rita was slow to become a hurricane; discussions early on September 20 showed that wind translations to surface level were indeed at 75 mph (120 km/h), however, the lack of a complete eyewall meant that the National Hurricane Center kept Rita as a tropical storm with 70 mph (110 km/h) winds overnight. Aerial reconnaissance data released at 9:45 am EDT that morning showed that Rita had closed the eyewall and winds clearly reached hurricane strength. Four hours later, another special update stated that Rita had reached Category 2 strength with 100 mph (160 km/h) maximum sustained winds.
Current status
As of 11 pm EDT September 20 (0300 UTC September 21), the center of Hurricane Rita was located about 95 miles (150 km) west-southwest of Key West, Florida and about 80 miles (130 km) northwest of Havana, Cuba, with maximum sustained winds of 110 mph (175 km/h). Rita is now a strong Category 3 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson hurricane scale. The minimum central pressure is 965 mb. Rita is moving west at 13 mph (20 km/h) and is forecast to pass over or just south of the Florida Keys into the Gulf of Mexico.
Rita is forecast to become a Category 3 hurricane early Wednesday morning and a Category 4 hurricane by late Wednesday, and is currently expected to at least maintain that intensity before a possible final landfall, most likely on the Texas or Louisiana coast as a Category 3 or 4 hurricane. This has prompted New Orleans mayor Ray Nagin to suspend re-entry to the city. However, the hurricane is now expected to miss the city. The forecast models are clustered tightly, with landfall expected along the Texas coast. There is also a chance that Rita could reach Category 5 intensity, most likely on Thursday.
Heavy rainfall is expected in central and western Cuba and the Florida Keys with amounts of 4 to 8 inches (100-200 mm) with local amounts up to 10 inches (250 mm) in most areas. The exception will be closer to the center of the storm in western Cuba, where local amounts of up to 20 inches (500 mm) are possible. Rainfall amounts of 4 to 6 (100-150 mm) inches are possible over the southern Florida peninsula. As well, storm surges of 4 to 6 feet (1-2 m) are still possible in the Keys in the onshore flow, and 2 to 4 feet (60-120 cm) in the extreme southeastern Florida peninsula.
- Hurricane warnings are in effect for:
- Portions of Cuba, including the provinces of Matanzas, Ciudad de La Habana, and La Habana.
- Tropical storm warnings are in effect for:
- Portions of Cuba, including the province of Pinar del Río.
- Florida Keys from Ocean Reef on Key Largo southward and westward to Dry Tortugas, including Florida Bay.
Impact
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Only a few reports have come in. Over 340,000 people were under voluntary or mandatory evacuation orders in Florida and Cuba. Flooding has been reported along the Florida Keys as a result of the storm surge. The Overseas Highway (US 1) connecting the islands is impassable in some sections as a result of the flooding. As of 8:00 pm EDT, about 25,000 customers were without electricity in Broward and Miami-Dade counties,[1] plus another 2,100 in the Keys. [2]
A state of emergency has been declared by Florida Governor Jeb Bush and a federal emergency by President George W. Bush in four counties: Broward, Collier, Miami-Dade and Monroe. Over 2,000 National Guard troops and dozens of law enforcement officers have been brought in and are on standby.[3]
After the devastating effects of Hurricane Katrina, government officials of Galveston, Texas have issued a mandatory evacuation of Galveston County effective on Wednesday, well in advance of the storm's possible landfall later in the week.[4] Texas Governor Rick Perry recalled all emergency personnel including almost 1,200 Texas National Guard from Katrina recovery efforts in anticipation of Hurricane Rita's arrival. [5]
External links
- For official forecasts, see the NHC's latest public advisory on Hurricane Rita
- NOAA Web Page
- Rita Storm Tracker
- Steve Gregory's Blog at Weather Underground
- The Weather Channel
- Flash Hurricane Tracker - track active hurricanes.