[nwctwx]

HURRICANE RITA TROPICAL CYCLONE UPDATE
NWS TPC/NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER MIAMI FL
650 PM CDT WED SEP 21 2005

...RITA BECOMES THE THIRD MOST INTENSE HURRICANE ON RECORD...

DROPSONDE DATA FROM AN AIR FORCE RESERVE UNIT RECONNAISSANCE
AIRCRAFT AT 623 PM CDT...2323Z...INDICATED THE CENTRAL PRESSURE HAS
FALLEN TO BELOW 899 MB...OR 26.55 INCHES. THE DROPSONDE INSTRUMENT
MEASURED 32 KT/35 MPH WINDS AT THE SURFACE...WHICH MEANS IT LIKELY
DID NOT RECORD THE LOWEST PRESSURE IN THE EYE OF RITA. THE CENTRAL
PRESSURE IS PROBABLY AT LEAST AS LOW AS 898 MB...AND PERHAPS EVEN
LOWER. FOR OFFICIAL PURPOSES... A PRESSURE OF 898 MB IS ASSUMED...
WHICH NOW MAKES RITA THE THIRD MOST INTENSE HURRICANE IN TERMS OF
PRESSURE IN THE ATLANTIC BASIN. SOME ADDITIONAL DEEPENING AND
INTENSIFICATION IS POSSIBLE FOR THE NEXT 12 HOURS OR SO.

RITA CURRENTLY RANKS BEHIND HURRICANE GILBERT IN 1988 WITH 888 MB
AND THE 1935 LABOR DAY HURRICANE WITH 892 MB.

FORECASTER STEWART

$$

[steveegg]

Should've known you'd beat me by a few seconds :-)

[NautiNurse]

OMG!

[Strategerist]

The other interesting thing is that tropical cyclones over water, on balance, are weakest about this time of day, and reach maximum intensity at about 3-4AM in the morning.

[Howlin]

Dear God.

Leave now, everybody!

[NautiNurse]

...Category five Hurricane Rita continuing to deepen...
...Now the third most intense hurricane in the Atlantic Basin on record...
Maximum sustained winds...165 mph. Minimum central pressure...898 mb.

[Dog Gone]

Oh man. 899 mb. It was 920 at 3 pm. My only hope is for a forecast track change, which means somebody else gets obliterated. I want so much to just get in the truck and drive until I get somewhere safe or run out of gas whichever comes first.

Unfortunately, with the traffic here, I'd get about six miles. Oh man.