Shez comin shinny its sign
Hurricane Rita now Category 4
7:45 a.m. ET 9/21/2005
Kevin Roth, Sr. Meteorologist, The Weather Channel
Hurricane Rita continues to grow stronger over the Gulf of Mexico. Top winds are estimated to be 135 mph, a Category 4 on the Saffir-Simpson hurricane scale.
An unofficial reading from Key West clocked a wind gust from Hurricane Rita at 102 mph but overall the strongest part of Rita was closer to the coast of Cuba as the storm passed through the Florida Straits.
Rain bands will continue to affect the Florida Keys and South Florida this morning but overall conditions should improve today as the hurricane continues to pull away. Tropical Storm warnings continue for parts of the Lower Keys west of Marquesas Keys.
Rita is forecast to continue on a westward track into the Gulf of Mexico and may grow even stronger. It has already reached Category 4 status. Later in the week, Rita is expected to shift to a more northwesterly course. Residents along the Texas Gulf Coast should be prepared for a significant hurricane on Friday night or Saturday.
Elsewhere in the Atlantic Basin, Philippe has weakened to a tropical storm with sustained winds of 65 mph. is centered about 325 miles ENE of the Leeward Islands. Philippe is forecast to hold its own for a while as it continues to swirl in a general northerly direction. Such a track would keep it well east of the Leewards and also east of Bermuda.
In the central and eastern Pacific, Hurricane Jova (115 mph), Tropical Storm Kenneth (60 mph) and Tropical Storm Max (70 mph) are all swirling (or forecast to swirl) toward the northwest. None of these storms pose a threat to any land at this time.