2005 North Atlantic hurricane season
Hurricane Rita 2005
Hurricane Rita struck the Texas–Louisiana coast less than a month after Katrina in 2005. Its surge devastated low-lying communities, while the mass evacuation of the Houston region became a major part of the disaster.
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178 mph
Sep 22, 2005 during the tropical stage
Full archive record, including non-tropical stages if present
Along the recorded center positions
STORM HISTORY
Rapid growth over the Gulf
Rita developed near the Bahamas on September 18 and moved west through the Florida Straits. Over unusually warm Gulf waters, it intensified to Category 5. The archive records maximum one-minute winds of 155 kt and a central pressure of 895 hPa early on September 22.
The hurricane weakened before reaching the coast near Johnsons Bayou, Louisiana, between Sabine Pass and Holly Beach, on September 24. Landfall winds were about 115 mph, making Rita a Category 3 hurricane. It weakened inland and became a broad low over the lower Mississippi Valley.
Coastal flooding and evacuation deaths
Storm surge inundated communities across southwestern Louisiana and southeastern Texas. Farther east, water overtopped repaired levees in New Orleans and renewed flooding after Katrina. Some communities in Texas and Louisiana remained without power for weeks.
The saved account records 120 deaths, including seven direct deaths. Most fatalities in Texas were associated with the Houston-area evacuation, rather than the storm's landfall. Across Rita's route, damage totaled about US$18.5 billion in 2005 currency. Inland rain and tornadoes extended the storm's effects beyond the coast.
IMPACT
Reported impact
| Deaths | 120 |
|---|
Facts from Wikidata.
US impacts by state
Selected NOAA Storm Events records for hurricane, tropical storm and storm surge events during this storm's archived track. Deaths and injuries include reported direct and indirect impacts. These records are incomplete, particularly for indirect deaths, and are not storm-wide totals. Other hazards and impacts outside the US are excluded.
| State or territory | Deaths | Injuries | Property damage (event-year USD) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arkansas | 0 | 0 | Not fully reported |
| Florida | 0 | 0 | Not fully reported |
| Louisiana | 1 | 0 | Not fully reported |
| Mississippi | 0 | 0 | $495,000.00 |
| Texas | 5 | 3 | Not fully reported |
Property damage is reported in dollars of the event year, without inflation adjustment; crop damage is excluded. A missing value is not zero. These figures do not replace the storm-wide estimates elsewhere on this page.
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database.
Further reading
NOAA IBTrACS v04r01 historical track archive
Official report (PDF) — National Hurricane Center, Tropical Cyclone Report.
QUICK ANSWERS
Rita in brief
What was Hurricane Rita's highest wind speed?
178 mph, the highest one-minute sustained wind in its tropical stage, recorded on Sep 22, 2005, 03:00 AM UTC.
What category was Hurricane Rita?
Category 5 at its peak on the Saffir–Simpson one-minute wind scale, first reaching Category 5 on Sep 21, 2005, 06:00 PM UTC. Other agencies classify storms differently.
What was Hurricane Rita's lowest pressure?
895 mb, the minimum central pressure recorded during its tropical stage, on Sep 22, 2005, 03:00 AM UTC.
When did Hurricane Rita occur?
The archived track runs from Sep 18, 2005, 12:00 AM UTC to Sep 26, 2005, 06:00 AM UTC, with the tropical stage from Sep 18, 2005, 12:00 AM UTC to Sep 26, 2005, 03:00 AM UTC.
Where did Hurricane Rita form?
In the North Atlantic basin, in the 2005 season. Its first archived position is 21.3°N, 69.9°W on Sep 18, 2005, 12:00 AM UTC.
Did Hurricane Rita make landfall?
The archive places its center over land at 1 recorded position; the strongest is 102 mph on Sep 24, 2005, 09:00 AM UTC. Positions are six-hourly, so this is not a landfall chronology.
How many people died in Hurricane Rita?
120 deaths are recorded by Wikidata.
METHODOLOGY
Data sources and limitations
The map and summary are generated from NOAA's IBTrACS v04r01 archive. Wind and category use US-agency records; minimum pressure is calculated during the tropical stage, with the archive's pressure source retained. Category 5 refers to the Saffir–Simpson one-minute wind scale; local agencies may use different classifications. Coastlines use Natural Earth's 1:10m land data.
Track distance adds great-circle distances between consecutive observations, excluding gaps over 12 hours. This track has no gaps over 12 hours. The line shows the storm's center, not its size, rainfall or flood extent. Converted wind speeds are rounded to the nearest whole unit.
Archive retrieved
NOAA IBTrACS archive and Field documentation
Sources & methodology