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Hurricane Rita

Sep 18, 2005 to Sep 26, 2005Peak 178 mph895 mb

Hurricane Rita passed within 50 miles of 39 counties in 3 states. It was strongest near Iberia Parish, LA, as a Category 3 on September 24, 2005.

  • Major hurricane
  • Hurricane
  • Tropical storm
  • Post-tropical
Watch how it happened

Hurricane Rita · 2005

How it happened

Follow the storm’s path, strength and milestones.

About this replay
Date and time (UTC)—Historical replay — not a forecast
Wind speed—
Category—
Pressure—

From space

Hurricane Rita on September 23, 2005, about 12 hours before landfall in Cameron Parish, LA.

Hurricane Rita on September 23, 2005, about 12 hours before landfall in Cameron Parish, LA.
True-colour image from MODIS, aboard NASA’s Aqua satellite, on its early-afternoon pass, around 19:40 UTC. Imagery: NASA Global Imagery Browse Services (GIBS), part of NASA’s Earth Observing System Data and Information System.

The storm

Peak strength
Category 5
178 mph, 155 kt
Lowest pressure
895 mb
Over the whole track
Counties within 50 miles
39
FL, LA, TX
Counties within 100 miles
70
FL, LA, TX
Strongest near the U.S.
Category 3
Iberia Parish, LA, 85.9 mi, Sep 24, 2005
Landfalls recorded
1
Anywhere on the track

Every county it passed

Closest approach to each county boundary, with the storm’s strength at that moment.

Counties within 100 miles
Shelby CountyTX0.0Tropical stormSep 24, 2005
Tyler CountyTX0.0Tropical stormSep 24, 2005
Caddo ParishLA0.0Tropical stormSep 24, 2005
San Augustine CountyTX0.0Tropical stormSep 24, 2005
Hardin CountyTX0.0Category 1Sep 24, 2005
Cameron ParishLA0.0Category 3Sep 24, 2005
Orange CountyTX0.0Category 2Sep 24, 2005
Jasper CountyTX0.0Category 1Sep 24, 2005
Panola CountyTX0.0Tropical stormSep 24, 2005
Jefferson CountyTX1.4Category 2Sep 24, 2005
De Soto ParishLA2.3Tropical stormSep 24, 2005
Marion CountyTX2.6Tropical stormSep 25, 2005
Harrison CountyTX2.6Tropical stormSep 25, 2005
Sabine CountyTX3.3Tropical stormSep 24, 2005
Angelina CountyTX3.8Tropical stormSep 24, 2005
Cass CountyTX6.4Tropical stormSep 25, 2005
Newton CountyTX7.8Category 1Sep 24, 2005
Calcasieu ParishLA9.5Category 2Sep 24, 2005
Nacogdoches CountyTX12.1Tropical stormSep 24, 2005
Sabine ParishLA12.5Tropical stormSep 24, 2005
Beauregard ParishLA17.0Category 1Sep 24, 2005
Rusk CountyTX22.1Tropical stormSep 24, 2005
Red River ParishLA25.3Tropical stormSep 24, 2005
Polk CountyTX26.1Category 1Sep 24, 2005
Liberty CountyTX29.6Category 1Sep 24, 2005
Vernon ParishLA31.1Tropical stormSep 24, 2005
Chambers CountyTX31.4Category 1Sep 24, 2005
Gregg CountyTX32.1Tropical stormSep 24, 2005
Monroe CountyFL35.3Category 3Sep 21, 2005
Bienville ParishLA35.5Tropical stormSep 24, 2005
Natchitoches ParishLA36.9Tropical stormSep 24, 2005
Morris CountyTX40.0Tropical stormSep 25, 2005
Galveston CountyTX40.1Category 3Sep 24, 2005
Upshur CountyTX40.2Tropical stormSep 25, 2005
San Jacinto CountyTX43.5Category 1Sep 24, 2005
Camp CountyTX44.1Tropical stormSep 25, 2005
Trinity CountyTX44.3Tropical stormSep 24, 2005
Cherokee CountyTX45.4Tropical stormSep 24, 2005
Jefferson Davis ParishLA48.0Category 3Sep 24, 2005
Houston CountyTX50.6Tropical stormSep 24, 2005
Allen ParishLA51.0Category 1Sep 24, 2005
Titus CountyTX51.4Tropical stormSep 25, 2005
Smith CountyTX54.7Tropical stormSep 24, 2005
Vermilion ParishLA56.6Category 3Sep 24, 2005
Harris CountyTX63.1Category 1Sep 24, 2005
Montgomery CountyTX63.7Category 1Sep 24, 2005
Winn ParishLA65.0Tropical stormSep 24, 2005
Grant ParishLA65.4Tropical stormSep 24, 2005
Rapides ParishLA66.2Tropical stormSep 24, 2005
Wood CountyTX66.6Tropical stormSep 24, 2005
Anderson CountyTX68.2Tropical stormSep 24, 2005
Franklin CountyTX69.3Tropical stormSep 25, 2005
Acadia ParishLA70.0Category 3Sep 24, 2005
Jackson ParishLA71.7Tropical stormSep 24, 2005
Walker CountyTX72.8Tropical stormSep 24, 2005
Hopkins CountyTX78.1Tropical stormSep 25, 2005
Evangeline ParishLA80.1Category 2Sep 24, 2005
Henderson CountyTX80.2Tropical stormSep 24, 2005
Van Zandt CountyTX82.7Tropical stormSep 24, 2005
Iberia ParishLA85.9Category 3Sep 24, 2005
Brazoria CountyTX87.4Category 1Sep 24, 2005
St. Landry ParishLA87.6Category 2Sep 24, 2005
Madison CountyTX89.7Tropical stormSep 24, 2005
Lafayette ParishLA90.6Category 3Sep 24, 2005
Leon CountyTX92.0Tropical stormSep 24, 2005
Miami-Dade CountyFL93.1Category 1Sep 20, 2005
Rains CountyTX95.1Tropical stormSep 25, 2005
Fort Bend CountyTX98.1Category 1Sep 24, 2005
St. Mary ParishLA98.6Category 3Sep 24, 2005
Freestone CountyTX99.3Tropical stormSep 24, 2005

Distances are measured from hourly positions interpolated between the National Hurricane Center’s six-hourly fixes to each county boundary. Strength is shown only where the storm was still tropical. Methodology.

National Hurricane Center HURDAT2. Storm totals cover the Atlantic and Northeast and Central Pacific basins.