HURRICANE RITA INTERMEDIATE ADVISORY NUMBER 14A
NWS TPC/NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER MIAMI FL
2 AM EDT WED SEP 21 2005 edited~danielw

...RITA BECOMES FIFTH MAJOR HURRICANE OF THE 2005 SEASON AS IT MOVES WESTWARD AWAY FROM THE FLORIDA KEYS...

...DATA FROM THE KEY WEST NOAA DOPPLER RADAR INDICATE MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS HAVE NOW INCREASED TO NEAR 115 MPH...185 KM/HR... WITH HIGHER GUSTS. RITA IS NOW A CATEGORY THREE HURRICANE ON THE SAFFIR-SIMPSON SCALE. ADDITIONAL STRENGTHENING IS FORECAST DURING THE NEXT 24 HOURS...AND RITA IS EXPECTED TO BECOME A CATEGORY FOUR
HURRICANE SOMETIME LATER TODAY. ...