Rita Update...Friday Afternoon

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The big R is approaching. The weather should be getting worse later tonight with the worst conditions around sunrise Saturday morning. Rita has not changed much this afternoon. WSR-88D (Doppler Radar) from Louisiana sure shows a nice eye wall moving 310 degrees (toward the Northwest). I agree that Rita will be a Category 3 or 4 storm as it moves inland early tomorrow morning, and my feeling is that landfall will be right in between Galveston and Port Arthur, TX. This will probably save Galveston and Houston from the worst part of the storm as it will be on the typically weaker left side of the storm. Port Arthur and areas near to it will get slammed. Galveston and Houston will still have its share of the problems but not as bad as it could have been.

At this point the weather computer models are of little help in determining the future track of Rita. The best thing to use is satellite and radar observations. This is why I am adjusting my landfall eastward by about 25 miles. Barring any last minute jogs to the left, I think this landfall forecast will verify.

Doppler Radar Loop Near Rita

Satellite Loop of Rita

Live NWS Warnings/Statements for Texas (incl. Houston & Galveston)