Weather channel said that the hurricane is the size of Georgia. Moving at a forward speed of 9 mph, that is an aweful long time to withstand F3 force winds.
>>> Weather channel said that the hurricane is the size of Georgia. Moving at a forward speed of 9 mph, that is an aweful long time to withstand F3 force winds. <<<
True, but the intensity on the eastern side of the eye wall increases proportionally with the forward speed. Hurricane Eva of 1982, which had a sustained wind speed of about 100 mph, had a forward speed of over 30 mph when it hit the island of Kauai, causing severe damage. In the case of Rita, with expected winds of 150 mph, or more, it is hard to say which is worse. Either case would be devastating.