Couldn't agree more- we have a saying down South ( and I've heard it elsewhere ) that "when bad luck jumps you, it gets you with both feet."
Hate to see this.
From the 4:15 AM AFD from Ft. Worth:
BIG CHANGES POSSIBLE WITH THE MAJOR HURRICANE AS THREE SIGNIFICANT DEVELOPMENTS HAVE OCCURRED OVERNIGHT. FIRST...AND POSSIBLY THE MOST SIGNIFICANT...RITA HAS ALREADY MADE SOME MOVEMENT FURTHER NORTH OF WEST. SECOND...WHILE H5 RIDGE REMAINS RATHER STRONG...IT HAS SHOWN SIGNS THAT IS IS ALREADY WEAKENING...PER 00Z UPPER AIR DATA. MODELS...ESPECIALLY THE GFS...ARE TYPICALLY TOO FAST IN WEAKENING SUCH STRONG RIDGES...SO THIS HAS AND CONTINUES TO BE A CONCERN AS THE RIDGE LOCATION AND STRENGTH WILL MAKE ALL THE DIFFERENCE IN LOCATION OF LANDFALL. LASTLY...ALL BUT THE CANADIAN MODEL HAVE REALLY TAKEN A MORE EASTERLY TRACK AS IT RELATES TO LANDFALL AND TRACK OF DISSIPATING SYSTEM.
BELIEVE THAT HPC AND NHC HAVE A GREAT HANDLE WITH ADJUSTING THE LANDFALL FURTHER EAST AND TAKING THE DECAYING STORM MORE ACROSS E TEXAS. WOULD NOT BE SURPRISED TO SEE ACTUAL LANDFALL OCCUR EVEN FURTHER EAST...POSSIBLY NEAR OR JUST EAST OF BEAUMONT.
*IF ALL THIS WASN/T ENOUGH...GFS80 HAS CONTINUED TO SHOW A
REBUILDING RIDGE ALL AROUND WEAKENING RITA...SO MUCH THAT RITA
COULD ROTATE AROUND PARTS OF N E AND S TEXAS FOR SEVERAL DAYS.