Hurricane Rita

Pre-Landfall 2 | Summary
Posting Date: September 20, 2005, 7:45:00 AM

At 9:15 EDT this morning, Tuesday, September 20, the National Hurricane Center issued a special advisory upgrading Tropical Storm Rita to Hurricane Rita. As of 11:00 a.m. Hurricane Rita has maximum sustained winds of near 85 mph, with higher gusts. The center of the system is located about 75 miles southeast of Key West, Florida and is moving toward the west at 15 mph. This will take Rita south of the Florida Keys and into the Gulf, where it is expected to continue to strengthen over the next 24 hours. However, it is important to note that there is still considerable uncertainty with respect to both the future track and intensity of this storm. A hurricane warning is currently in effect for all of the Florida Keys, and from Golden Beach on Florida’s southeast coast, around the tip to Chokoloskee on the southwest coast. Storm surge flooding of 4 to 7 feet above normal tide levels, and rainfall amounts of 6 to 8 inches, with isolated amounts of up to 12 inches are possible across the Keys. The AIR tropical cyclone team has run scenarios using the latest information about Rita’s current and forecast meteorological parameters, as well as its projected track. Based on this information, AIR does not expect insured losses in Florida to exceed $200 million. Note that this figure does not reflect any possible second landfall along the Gulf coast. AIR is monitoring Hurricane Rita closely and will post additional information as the storm progresses.

Pre-Landfall 2 | Downloads
Posting Date: September 20, 2005, 7:45:00 AM