Forecast track a bit further east, almost exactly between Galveston Bay and the TX/LA border.
Rita is moving toward the west-northwest near 9 mph...15 km/hr. A gradual turn toward the northwest is expected during the next 24 hours. On this track...the core of Rita will be approaching the southwest Louisiana and the Upper Texas coast late Friday.
Coastal storm surge flooding of 15 to 20 feet above normal tide levels.
Maximum sustained winds 145 mph. Minimum central pressure 913 mb.
Rita is moving toward the west-northwest near 9 mph...15 km/hr. A gradual turn toward the northwest is expected during the next 24 hours. On this track...the core of Rita will be approaching the southwest Louisiana and the Upper Texas coast late Friday.
Coastal storm surge flooding of 15 to 20 feet above normal tide levels.
Maximum sustained winds 145 mph. Minimum central pressure 913 mb.
She's huge storm, so she'll affect everyone from Houston to Lafayette, but the eye would not cross many structures at that location. Rice farms mostly.
This landfall might the best one we can hope for under the circumstances.
It still pushes Galveston Bay into Houston, although not as far, and it gives some serious storm surge problems for Port Arthur and Beaumont.
But it could be far worse.