Each one of these storms, it always gets worse. I find out that I know people in the hardest hit regions, and that just brings it that much closer to home. Seriously, as a meteorologist, I feel both pride and regret in what I do. I feel pride in that I know what I know and can help others with that information; I feel regret in what these storms actually bring to an area. It's a quandry we all deal with at times.

Nevertheless, Rita is making landfall. The winds never came back up, largely because it never really truly completed an eyewall cycle, jumping from one right into another. The inner southern eyewall is gone, leaving an outer southern eyewall that won't come in until sunrise. The storm is likely to sit in the ArkLaTex for some period of time, bringing lots of rain from areas between Little Rock, Paris, Ft. Smith, and even Jackson to Baton Rouge, Lafayette, and New Orleans. Things took a turn for the worse on the east side of NOLA this afternoon, and this certainly isn't going to help.

A few minor things worth watching out in the Atlantic tonight, but nothing of imminent concern. Rita's coming ashore, thankfully much weaker than expected, and once the storm is gone...good riddance.