HOUSTON (CW39)- On September 24th, 2005, Hurricane Rita made landfall as a Category 3 Hurricane just east of the Texas and Louisiana border. It happened in the early morning hours Saturday the 24th, bringing sustained winds of 115 mph to the area. Rita was the strongest Hurricane to strike the SE TX/SW LA since Hurricane Audrey in 1957.

Days Leading Up

The tropical storm formed on the 18th east of Bahamas before moving between the Florida keys and Cuba. Upon entering the Gulf, the storm rapidly intensified gaining its name "Rita" and becoming a hurricane. While in the Gulf, the storm reached peak intensity as a Cat 5 with sustained winds of 180 mph. Rita went from a Cat 2 to Cat 5 Hurricane in about 24 hours. The major hurricane weakened to a Category 4 before making landfall as a Catego

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