Rita is now a category 5 hurricane with sustained winds of 165mph. The barometric pressure is 904 mb, just 2 mb less than Katrinia. This makes Rita the fifth most intense hurricane on record in the Atlantic basin. I used to live in Corpus Christi, Texas, which is threatened by Rita. I was in Corpus Christi in 1961 when we had to be evacuated for Hurricaned Carla. I read in the news this afternoon that my old neighborhood, Flour Bluff, was under a mandatory evacuation. I just pray that Rita will not be the disaster that Katrinia was. See the latest NOAA satellite photo of Rita below.
What the Hell Is Going On 