From tropical storm this morning all the way to a Cat 2 hurricane after lunch. NHC’s 2 PM discussion puts Rita at a Cat 2 hurricane. Judging from the NWS’ Key West radar, it looks like Cuba is getting the brunt of the rain from Hurricane Rita though.
Looks like Rita has it’s eye set on the southern Texas Gulf shore.
Word of the day
Pronunciation: k&r-‘f&-f&l
Function: noun
Etymology: alteration of carfuffle, from Scots car- (probably from Scottish Gaelic cearr wrong, awkward) + fuffle to become disheveled
There seems to be a lot of it going on today.
Philippe in the Atlantic, Rita Gulf-bound
8 hurricanes so far, a little over 2 months left in the season, and soon we might see Rita become the 9th hurricane.
Fortunately for us, neither of them look like they will bother us. Folks in the Gulf probably won’t be pleased to see Rita heading there in a few days time though. Forecast has it possibly becoming a Cat 3 hurricane towards the end of the week.
No rest for the storm weary
Well, with Ophelia finally out of the way, there’s now Philippe, which came while I was out running errands this afternoon, and TD 18, which in all likelihood will become Rita in a day or so.
If Philippe stays on its current track, it probably won’t be a bother to us. It does have plenty of juicy warm water to travel over before reaching striking \distance, so it could become another big storm. TD 18 looks to be headed into the Gulf, which could be a concern to people trying to recover from Katrina. More weather to keep an eye on.
If TD 18 does become Rita, then there will be 4 names left on the list before having to resort to the Greek alphabet.
Another TD in the making?
With Ophelia ever so slowly making its way past NC’s Outer Banks, there is another tropical wave moving across the Atlantic that may bear watching.
From today’s 1130 Tropical Weather Outlook:
THE VIGOROUS TROPICAL WAVE LOCATED ABOUT 900 MILES EAST-SOUTHEAST OF THE WINDWARD ISLANDS HAS CONTINUED TO BECOME BETTER ORGANIZED. UPPER-LEVEL WINDS HAVE ALSO BECOME MORE FAVORABLE…AND THE SYSTEM COULD BECOME A TROPICAL DEPRESSION LATER TODAY OR FRIDAY AS IT MOVES WEST OR WEST-NORTHWESTWARD AT 10 TO 15 MPH.