Well, folks, we have our first legit hurricane threat sitting out in the Atlantic and her name is Rita. Some of you know I’m a bit of a weather nerd and I like to track these storms. Well, this one bears watching if you live in Texas.
While it is just a tropical storm now, it won’t be for long and it will soon be bearing down on the Texas coast.
This is the first one in a while that has really had a legitimate shot of striking us here in the Houston/Galveston area. The forecast models (there are 5 main one’s) range between south central Texas and western Louisiana with two pointing right at us.
Wouldn’t it be ironic if all the Hurricane Katrina victims escaped their ravaged homes and came to the safet of Houston only to be hammered by another big hurricane.
And this one will be a major (category 3 or better) hurricane when it makes landfall. A lot will depend on how quickly it intensifies and what other factors influence it, but it will be at least as strong as Alicia, which hit Galveston in 1993 1983.
Even stranger is that this will likely hit at the end of this week, right after we experience the Autumnal Equinox, the first day of fall. Great timing.
But, seriously, if you live near the coast (that includes us in Houston), the time to think about this storm is now. We do not want to be 2 days out from this thing hitting with a category 4 or 5 sitting in the Gulf wondering what to do. Start making plans now, whatever they are.
For more info on the storm, go to my two favorite sites for tracking storms:
National Hurricane Center
Weather Underground Tropical Weather[/html]