Hurricane Rita

Pre-Landfall 4 | Summary
Posting Date: September 22, 2005, 6:00:00 AM

As of 5:00 EDT this morning, Thursday, September 22 Rita is the third most intense hurricane ever to form in the Atlantic Basin. Rita is a Category 5 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of near 175 mph and higher gusts. Minimum central pressure is 897 mb. Rita ranks only behind Hurricane Gilbert in 1988, with a central pressure of 888 mb, and the 1935 Labor Day Hurricane, with a central pressure of 892 mb. The center of the system is located about 515 miles east-southeast of Galveston, Texas and about 615 miles east-southeast of Corpus Christi, Texas. Rita is moving west-northwest at 9 mph. Hurricane force winds extend outward up to 70 miles from the center of the storm. Tropical storm force winds extend outward up to 185 miles. A hurricane watch has been issued for the Gulf of Mexico from Port Mansfield, Texas to intracoastal Louisiana. A tropical storm warning is in effect from the southeastern coast of Louisiana east of Morgan City to the mouth of the Mississippi River. Coastal tides are expected to increase by 3 to 4 feet in the warning areas. Rainfall accumulations of 8 to 12 inches, with isolated amounts of up to 15 inches, are forecast for the central to upper Texas coast. Rainfall amounts of 2 to 4 inches are possible across southern Louisiana, including the New Orleans metropolitan area. Rita has turned more toward the northwest in the past several hours. The NHC expects Rita to weaken slightly. However, Rita is projected to maintain major hurricane status—Category 3 or higher—until landfall on the Texas coast in just over 48 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. Mandatory evacuation orders have been issued for Corpus Christi, Texas and surrounding areas including the Padre and Mustang islands, Galveston, Texas and surrounding areas, and low-lying parts of Houston, as well as New Orleans. Both “All” and “Select” event sets are provided for CATRADER and CLASIC/2 users. The “All” event set contains hundreds of scenarios simulated for this event and are therefore the most appropriate method for estimating your potential losses. Sets of 11 specific scenarios, which are selected from the full event sets and represent the range of potential losses across the full industry loss distribution, are available under the “Select” event sets. AIR is monitoring Hurricane Rita closely and will post additional information as the storm progresses.

Pre-Landfall 4 | Downloads
Posting Date: September 22, 2005, 6:00:00 AM