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All storm pages · 2005 Atlantic season

Hurricane Rita 2005

Category 5 hurricane · Atlantic · September 18 to September 26, 2005

Rita's peak sustained wind of 180 mph is tied for the seventh-highest of the 1,988 storms in the Atlantic record since 1851, and one of 44 Category 5 storms in that record. Its central pressure fell to 895 mb, tied for the fifth-lowest among the 1,277 Atlantic storms with a recorded pressure. It came ashore in Louisiana as a Category 3 hurricane on September 24, 2005, with 115 mph winds. The name Rita is on the National Hurricane Center's list of retired Atlantic hurricane names.

Track of Rita (2005) from the best-track record, coloured by strength20°N25°N30°N35°N40°N95°W90°W85°W80°W75°W70°W65°WLittle RockShreveportLouisiana, 115 mphPeak 180 mphFirst recordNot tropicalDepressionTropical stormCategory 1Category 2Category 3Category 4Category 500 and 12 UTCLandfall

Strength over time

Maximum sustained wind of Rita (2005) over time, in mphTSCat 1Cat 2Cat 3Cat 4Cat 504080120160200Sep 19Sep 20Sep 21Sep 22Sep 23Sep 24Sep 25Sep 26mph
  1. First record (tropical depression) 115 miles north-northeast of Puerto Plata, the Dominican Republic
  2. Tropical storm 160 miles north-northeast of Port-De-Paix, Nord-Ouest, Haiti
  3. Hurricane 65 miles north-northwest of Sagua la Grande, Villa Clara, Cuba
  4. Major hurricane 125 miles northwest of Artemisa, La Habana, Cuba
  5. Peak 245 miles north of Isla Mujeres, Quintana Roo, Mexico
  6. Landfall Louisiana
  7. No longer tropical (low) 30 miles west of Terre Haute, Indiana
  8. Last record 30 miles west of Terre Haute, Indiana

Against every Atlantic storm since 1851

Peak sustained wind180 mph · tied 7th of 1,98830 mph190 mph
Lowest central pressure895 mb · tied 5th of 1,277882 mb1016 mb
Accumulated cyclone energy25.1 · 156th of 1,7520.173.6
Days as a tropical or subtropical cyclone8.0 days · tied 436th of 1,9880.0 days31.8 days

More from the record

Its winds climbed 70 mph in the 24 hours to September 21.

In the 2005 season

04080120160200Rita

Storm 18 of 31 in 2005, hurricane 10 of 15; it formed after Philippe and before Nineteen. Rita produced 10% of the season's accumulated cyclone energy. See the season.

Places the center passed

The center came within 50 miles of at least 8 towns or cities of 10,000 people or more while the system was tropical. Distances are to the interpolated track line, not the storm's edge.

PlaceClosestWind thenDate
Poplar Bluff, Missouri2 mi25 mphSeptember 25
Little Rock, Arkansas6 mi30 mphSeptember 25
Port Arthur, Texas7 mi105 mphSeptember 24
Beaumont, Texas11 mi90 mphSeptember 24
Hot Springs, Arkansas14 mi30 mphSeptember 25
Shreveport, Louisiana14 mi40 mphSeptember 24
Conway, Arkansas15 mi30 mphSeptember 25
Texarkana, Arkansas18 mi35 mphSeptember 25

Every storm within 50 miles of Little Rock, Arkansas

Similar landfalls in Louisiana

Storms whose strongest landfall record in Louisiana came closest to Rita's 115 mph:

  • Zeta (2020)115 mph, October 28, 2020
  • Andrew (1992)115 mph, August 26, 1992
  • Storm 3 of 1926115 mph, August 25, 1926
  • Storm 9 of 1909115 mph, September 21, 1909

All 98 storms with a landfall record in Louisiana

Also peaked at 180 mph

Of 3 storms from other Atlantic seasons, the nearest in time: