If Katrina was any indication, then we can make some predictions about tropical storm Rita. This storm, headed to the Florida Keys, is aimed straight at the heart of the warm Guld of Mexico. Katrina, a storm which ravaged Florida before entering the Gulf, soaked energy from the waters west of Florida and built strength before making landfall in Louisiana and Mississippi. “Given the information about the thermal content of these regions’ waters”:http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/wp-content/uploads/40742000/gif/_40742400_hurricane_inf416.gif,
it’s likely that Rita will suffer the same fate as her predecessor.
The satellite imagery of these storms is phenomenal (see below for Rita and links to weather.com). The projected path appears to have uncertainty that is roughly the same diameter as Katrina. That means that if the eye of the storm were to wind up following one of the boundaries, and you were located in the center of the original projection, you’d still catch the dangerous winds and rain at the edge of the storm. That’s no small deal, so please don’t take the statement “the storm is projected to hit 25 miles from <<your hometown>>” to mean you’re safe. YOU ARE NOT. Hurricanes, fully formed, can be HUNDREDS of miles across. 25 miles in any direction still leaves you facing furious damage.
That said, my thoughts are again with Florida and the Gulf coast. You have time to organize more evacuations. You have time to leave, if you have means to do so. Please heed these warnings, and get out of the way.
