[SpottedBeaver]

Whoaaahhh! Am I reading this right? 72 hours out from now, puts the storm close to or over Dallas, according the models. The blue line indicates still a Cat 1 or just below. Our local newscaster on Fox4 was saying that it was going to be a Tropical Storm by the time it gets here.

That is going to put a very large dent in the entire state of Texas.

[burzum]

Whoaaahhh! Am I reading this right? 72 hours out from now, puts the storm close to or over Dallas, according the models. The blue line indicates still a Cat 1 or just below. Our local newscaster on Fox4 was saying that it was going to be a Tropical Storm by the time it gets here. That is going to put a very large dent in the entire state of Texas.

As a hurricane weakens, the level of hurricane force winds decreases as well. Since the graph shows her coming down the the lower band of Cat 1, I wouldn't bet that Dallas will see hurricane force winds. But it's always a good idea to prepare. The big worry that I would fear for the Dallas area isn't the winds, but the possibility that Rita will stall out at that point and cause flash flooding.

[N8VTXNinWV]

Looks like it's going over Waco, too! Prayers for you all...my parents and one sister live in Waco. Be safe!

[burzum]

In my previous post I should have said, the area that will experience hurricane force winds decreases, not that the level decreases. Sorry for any confusion.