OFFICIAL NEW DATA- 944mb est..140 MPH(may be getting updated data again within 20 minutes)..forecast takes it to border line Cat4/5 at 155MPH..
...Rita remains an extremely dangerous hurricane...winds now estimated 140 mph winds...
at 11 am EDT...1500z...the Tropical Storm Warning for the Florida Keys from the Marquesas Keys westward to the Dry Tortugas has been discontinued.
A Hurricane Watch will likely be issued for portions of the northwest Gulf of Mexico coast later today or this evening.
Interests in the northwestern Gulf of Mexico should monitor the progress of dangerous Hurricane Rita.
For storm information specific to your area...including possible inland watches and warnings...please monitor products issued by your local weather office.
At 10 am CDT...1500z...the eye of Hurricane Rita was located near latitude 24.3 north...longitude 85.9 west or about 260 miles... west of Key West Florida and about 755 miles east-southeast of Corpus Christi Texas.
Rita is moving toward the west near 13 mph and this motion is expected to continue during the next 12 to 24 hours.
Maximum sustained winds have increased to near 140 mph...with higher gusts. Rita is a extremely dangerous category four hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson scale. Some additional strengthening is forecast during the next 24 hours and could reach category five intensity in the central Gulf of Mexico.
Hurricane force winds extend outward up to 45 miles from the center...and tropical storm force winds extend outward up to 140 miles. The wind field associated with Rita is forecast to expand during the next day or two.
Estimated minimum central pressure is 944 mb...27.88 inches.
Repeating the 10 am CDT position...24.3 N... 85.9 W. Movement toward...west near 13 mph. Maximum sustained winds...140 mph. Minimum central pressure... 944 mb.
The next advisory will be issued by the National Hurricane Center at 4 PM CDT.
Forecaster Avila
oh dear. This thing may have time to go annular possibly as soon as it is getting that strong.
THE RECONNAISSANCE PLANE WILL NOT BE IN THE AREA OF RITA UNTIL LATER THIS MORNING. HOWEVER...SATELLITE IMAGES INDICATE THAT THE CLOUD PATTERN IS TYPICAL OF AN INTENSE HURRICANE WITH A CLEAR EYE SURROUNDED BY VERY DEEP CONVECTION. INITIAL INTENSITY IS ADJUSTED UPWARD TO 120 KNOTS AT THIS TIME. HOWEVER...OBJECTIVE T-NUMBERS FROM BOTH TAFB AND THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN CIMSS ARE PEAKING NEAR 7.0 ON THE DVORAK SCALE...SUGGESTING WINDS OF NEAR 140 KNOTS. I WILL WAIT FOR THE PLANE TO REACH RITA TO INCREASE THE WINDS FURTHER...IF NECESSARY