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Hurricane Rita was the fourth-most intense Atlantic hurricane ever recorded and the most intense tropical cyclone ever observed in the Gulf of Mexico. Part of the record-breaking 2005 Atlantic hurricane season, which included three of the six most intense Atlantic hurricanes ever recorded (along with #1 Wilma and #6 Katrina), Rita was the eighteenth named storm, tenth hurricane, and fifth major hurricane of the 2005 season. Rita formed near The Bahamas from a tropical wave on September 18 that originally developed off the coast of West Africa. It moved westward, and after passing through the Florida Straits, Rita entered an environment of abnormally warm waters. It rapidly intensified to reach peak winds of 180 mph (285 km/h) on September 21. After steadily weakening and beginning to curve to the northwest, Rita gradually weakened and made landfall between Sabine Pass, Texas and Holly Beach, Louisiana with winds of 120 mph (195 km/h) on September 24. It weakened over land and degenerated into a large low-pressure area over the lower Mississippi Valley on September 26. In Louisiana, the storm surge from Rita inundated low-lying communities near the coast, worsening effects caused by Hurricane Katrina less than a month prior. The surge topped levees, allowing water to surge further inland. Lake Charles suffered from severe flooding. Areas in Texas suffered from extensive wind damage. According to an October 25, 2005 Disaster Center report, 4,526 single-family dwellings were destroyed in Orange and Jefferson counties located in Southeast Texas. Major damage was sustained by 14,256 an additional single-family dwellings and another 26,211 single-family dwellings received some damage. Mobile homes and apartments also sustained significant damage or total destruction. In all, nine counties in the state were declared disaster areas after the storm. Electric service was disrupted in some areas of both Texas and Louisiana for several weeks. Texas reported the most deaths from the hurricane, where 113 deaths were reported, 107 of which were associated with the evacuation of the Houston metropolitan area. Moderate to severe damage was reported across the lower Mississippi Valley. Rainfall from the storm and its associated remnants extended from Louisiana to Michigan. Rainfall peaked at in Central Louisiana. Several tornadoes were also associated with the hurricane and its subsequent remnants. Throughout the path of Rita, damage totaled about $12 billion (2005 USD, $ USD). As many as 120 deaths in four U.S. states were directly related to the hurricane. ==Meteorological history== On September 7, 2005, a tropical wave emerged off the west coast of Africa and moved westward into the Atlantic Ocean. Failing to produce organized, deep atmospheric convection,〔 the disturbance was not monitored by the National Hurricane Center (NHC) for tropical cyclogenesis. Convection associated with the system increased for a brief period of time late on September 13 before dissipating shortly thereafter. At roughly the same time, a remnant surface trough had developed from a dissipating stationary front and began to drift westward north of the Lesser Antilles.〔 Meanwhile, the tropical wave slowly became better organized and was first noted in the NHC's Tropical Weather Outlooks on September 15 while situated northeast of Puerto Rico. The wave merged with the surface trough two days later, triggering an increase in convective activity and organization. A subsequent decrease in wind shear enabled for additional organization, and at 0000 UTC on September 18, the NHC estimated that the storm system had organized sufficiently to be classified as a tropical depression,〔 the eighteenth disturbance during the hurricane season to do so. At the time, the disturbance, classified as Tropical Depression Eighteen, was located roughly 80 mi (130 km) east of Grand Turk Island in the Turks and Caicos and had developed banding features.〔 Situated in generally favorable conditions for tropical development, the depression quickly organized, and attained tropical storm strength at 1800 UTC that day based on data from reconnaissance flights and nearby ships and weather buoys. As a result, the tropical storm was named Rita.〔 However, an increase in moderate southerly vertical wind shear as the result of a nearby upper-level low subdued continued intensification and displaced convective activity to the north of Rita's center of circulation. Once the upper-level low weakened, a reformation of Rita's center of circulation to the north compensated for the disorganization that resulted from the wind shear. Consequently, the tropical storm resumed its previous strengthening trend as it was steered westward across The Bahamas along the southern periphery of a ridge.〔 Upon entering the Straits of Florida on September 20, Rita strengthened into a Category 1 hurricane by 1200 UTC, while maintaining a minimum barometric pressure of 985 mbar (hPa; 29.09 inHg). Six hours later, Rita intensified further into a Category 2 hurricane before subsequently passing approximately 45 mi (75 km) south of Key West, Florida.〔 Aided by a favorable outflow pattern and anomalously warm sea surface temperatures (SSTs), the trend of rapid intensification continued, and Rita reached Category 3 hurricane status upon entering the Gulf of Mexico by 0600 UTC on September 21, making it a major hurricane.〔 Once in the Gulf of Mexico, Rita passed over the extremely warm Loop Current during the midday hours of September 21, enabling continued strengthening. As a result, the hurricane's wind field significantly expanded and the storm's barometric pressure quickly fell.〔 By 1800 UTC that day, Rita attained Category 5 hurricane intensity, the highest intensity classified on the Saffir–Simpson hurricane wind scale. Favorable conditions allowed for additional development, and at 0300 UTC on September 22, Rita reached its peak intensity with maximum sustained winds of 180 mph (285 km/h) and a minimum barometric pressure of 895 mbar (hPa; 26.43 inHg), making it the strongest tropical cyclone ever recorded in the Gulf of Mexico. At the time, it was located 310 mi (500 km) south of the Mississippi River Delta. Rita maintained Category 5 hurricane intensity for 18 hours before an eyewall replacement cycle took place, weakening the hurricane to Category 4 intensity by 1800 UTC on September 22. At the same time, the tropical cyclone began to curve northwestward around the southwestern periphery of a ridge of high pressure situated over the Southeastern United States. As a result of the cycle, a new, larger eyewall consolidated, resulting in the expansion of Rita's wind field. Due to the presence of wind shear and cooler continental shelf waters, the hurricane continued to weaken, contrary to typical tropical cyclone processes that occur after eyewall replacement cycles. Rita degenerated into a Category 3 hurricane prior to making landfall at 0740 UTC on September 24 in extreme southwestern Louisiana between Johnson Bayou and Sabine Pass. At the time, Rita was a Category 3 hurricane with winds of 120 mph (185 km/h) and a barometric pressure of 937 mbar (hPa; 27.67 inHg).〔 Once inland on September 24, Rita began to rapidly weaken. The tropical cyclone had been downgraded to tropical storm intensity nearly 12 hours after landfall, while situated just 40 mi (65 km) inland. Proceeding northward roughly parallel to the state border between Louisiana and Texas,〔 radar imagery indicated that the storm soon lacked winds of tropical storm-force. Therefore, the NHC classified the system as a tropical depression while it was situated over Arkansas by 0600 UTC on September 25, shortly before it turned northeastward ahead of an approaching frontal boundary. Early the following day, the depression lost much of its convection over southeastern Illinois, and degenerated into a remnant low by 0600 UTC that day. The frontal boundary subsequently absorbed the remaining system six hours later over the southern Great Lakes region.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Hurricane Rita」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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