Balanced News Blog

South Florida is rapidly preparing for the arrival of Tropical Storm Rita which will likely make landfall in the lower Florida Keys. This area is especially susceptible to hurricane damage because most of its islands are only a few feet above sea level. The National Hurricane Center expects Rita to grow no larger than a category 1 storm on the Saffir-Simpson Scale during its trip between Cuba and Florida. However, South Floridians are not waiting to prepare in light of the recent damage done by Hurricane Katrina. Most businesses and residents have boarded up and left the area. Officials have also ordered the mandatory evacuation of all citizens from Marathon to Key West. The lower Florida Keys have been placed under a hurricane warning, while Miami-Dade and Broward counties are under a tropical storm warning.

The National Hurricane Center has several storm track predictions which could have Rita making landfall in Texas this weekend or possibly even veering towards the storm ravaged Gulf Coast and making landfall in Louisiana.

A Hurricane starts out as a tropical disturbance in the Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone just off the west coast of Africa. While most of these tropical waves (otherwise known as tropical depressions) fizzle out, some of these waves begin to circulate and strengthen into tropical storms and hurricanes. Hurricanes are rated on a scale from one to five. A category 5 hurricane is nature’s most destructive storm and is very rare. A hurricane can only sustain itself as a category 5 for a matter of hours. Hurricane Camille, which devastated the gulf coast in 1969 was one of only a few storms to make landfall in the United States during the 20th century as a category 5 storm, its devastating effects linger to this day. Hurricane Gilbert which never affected the United States was the strongest Atlantic tropical cyclone in recorded history.

Sources: The Associated Press, Wikipedia, NOAA, Ronald M. Reap.

Update: Mayor Ray Nagin has halted plans to reopen parts of New Orleans because of fears that Rita may deviate from its projected course and strike New Orleans. The National Hurricane Center predicts a 50% probability that Rita will intensify to a category 3 hurricane or greater once it reaches the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico.

“I am concerned about this hurricane getting in the gulf. … If we are off, I’d rather err on the side of conservatism to make sure we have everyone out”