Rita (2005)

Hurricane Rita formed from a tropical wave interacting with a remnant front and became a tropical depression on 18 September 2005 about 70 nautical miles east of Grand Turk. It moved west-northwest through the Bahamas and Florida Straits, became a hurricane on 20 September, then moved into the central Gulf of Mexico where it rapidly intensified between 20–22 September. Rita reached peak strength over the central Gulf, then weakened while turning northwest and made landfall along the Texas–Louisiana coast on 24 September. The circulation weakened over land and became a remnant low over Illinois by 26 September.

Rita’s primary landfall occurred at 0740 UTC on 24 September 2005 between Johnson’s Bayou, Louisiana and Sabine Pass (near the Texas–Louisiana border). At landfall the hurricane’s best estimate was 100 kt (115 mph) maximum sustained winds and a central pressure near 937 mb, corresponding to a Category 3 hurricane. It had earlier passed about 40 nautical miles south of Key West on 20 September as a Category 2 hurricane and produced impacts in the Florida Keys as it passed south of the islands.

The storm’s maximum estimated intensity was 155 kt (approximately 178 mph) with a minimum central pressure estimated near 895 mb at about 0300–0600 UTC 22 September. That peak made Rita a Category 5 hurricane at its strongest and gave it the fourth-lowest central pressure on record in the Atlantic basin at the time.

Storm surge and rainfall caused extensive coastal flooding and freshwater flooding. Surge estimates and high-water marks indicate surge as high as about 15 ft near Cameron, Louisiana; about 8 ft on Calcasieu Lake (flooding Grand Lake and contributing to flooding in Lake Charles with up to about 6 ft in downtown areas); visually estimated 8–12 ft in parts of Vermilion, Iberia, and St. Mary Parishes (with a high-water mark near 12 ft in western St. Mary Parish); and surge of at least 5 ft at Sabine Pass. Along the Texas coast and many other locations surge values were commonly 3–5 ft. In the Florida Keys storm tide and surge were about 3–5 ft in places (Key West and lower Keys), flooding streets and the runway at Key West International Airport. Rainfall totals of 5–9 inches were common across parts of Louisiana, Mississippi, and eastern Texas with isolated amounts of 10–15 inches; the Keys generally saw 2–4 inches.

Seven fatalities were directly attributed to Rita’s forces (drowning and wind-related tree strikes, and one tornado death near Isola, Mississippi), and at least 55 indirect deaths were reported in Texas related to the evacuation and post-storm conditions (including carbon monoxide poisoning and a fatal bus crash during evacuation). Entire communities along the southwestern Louisiana coast—Holly Beach, Cameron, Creole, Grand Chenier, and Pecan Island—suffered catastrophic surge damage with many structures destroyed or swept away. Widespread wind, tornado, and flood damage affected eastern Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Arkansas, and the Florida Keys. Insured U.S. property losses were estimated at about $5.627 billion; a rough estimate of total damage including uninsured losses and NFIP insured losses was about $12.0 billion. Over one million customers lost power in the affected region.

Noteworthy points: Rita intensified from a tropical storm to Category 5 in under 36 hours, an example of extreme rapid strengthening that was not predicted by operational intensity forecasts. Its estimated minimum pressure (about 895 mb) ranked among the lowest in Atlantic records. Forecast track guidance had periods of both excellent and larger errors, but official track forecasts overall were considerably more accurate than 10-year averages; intensity forecasting, especially rapid changes, remained a significant challenge.