Hurricane Rita in Gulf As Category 4 Storm
Posted on: Wednesday, 21 September 2005, 09:00 CDT
Hurricane Rita took on enormous strength over the Gulf of Mexico early Wednesday with sustained winds of 135 mph after brushing the Florida Keys.
At 8 a.m. EDT, Rita was moving west at 14 mph about 195 miles west of Key West, Fla., forecasters at Miami's National Hurricane Center reported.
It became a category 4 storm on the Saffir-Simpson scale, in which winds range between 131 and 155.
Damage in the Keys appeared light late Tuesday, although officials were to do a full assessment Wednesday. About 7,000 customers in the Keys were without power late Tuesday, The Miami Herald reported. Hurricane warnings were dropped, and Monroe County emergency officials said residents could return Wednesday morning, but asked tourists to wait until Friday.
Meanwhile, none of the National Hurricane Center's 14 computerized forecast models carried Rita in the direction of New Orleans, still in dismal condition after Hurricane Katrina struck Aug. 29.
It looks like Texas is it, forecaster Lixion Avila told The Herald.
The Houston Chronicle said Texas Gov. Rick Perry declared the state a disaster area Tuesday night.
Source: United Press International
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