I've never been in the gunsights of a hurricane this big. Few people have. Now there are about 4.5 million more people who are sharing that experience right now.
My fascination with hurricanes has a very personal element to it at the moment. I look at that storm and am in awe of how quickly it developed.
The NHC has it forecast as a Cat 1 storm over Austin. That's in the hills. That's quite some distance from the coast.
People have fled Houston to Austin and they're going to be nailed there. That's how big Rita is. Yikes.
Deja vu, huh? We were here thinking these things before Katrina hit, but you weren't in the path then. I know I was amazed at how quickly Katrina strengthened, until today.
We'll be praying for you and yours. There's still time for it to weaken.
"It definitely looks as if it will pass north of the forecast point, but I can't tell a wobble from a course shift until it's well in hindsight."
Neither can I. It will be interesting to see if the NHC adjusts their track. Houston has 4.5 million? Thats more than I thought. Are people taking Rita seriously enough?